The transformation began slowly.

First, my eyes dilated and changed
From jet black to emerald green.
I could see things in absolute darkness.

By day, everything appeared monotone
And soon, I began sleeping at dawn
And waking up when the sun went down,

Prowling the house like my cat did,
Checking the locks and the windows,
Making sure we were safe.

We began to patrol together.
I didn’t realize it but my skeleton
Had changed. I walked on fours now,

Lithe and strong, tautly muscled.
I could leap from the ground
To the roof without a second thought.

Winter arrived but I was no longer cold.
Thick fur grew, covering my entire body.
I gave up shoes and clothing,

The tactile pads on my feet could
Sense an avalanche rumbling from
A continent away, reverberating.

My tongue craved the salty taste
Of blood and meat, not the bland
Dry breads I normally relished.

My cat taught me to hunt.
We stalked the forestlands together,
Communicating in the language of cat,

Each moment of enlightenment
Resonated in me like the low hum
Of a faintly familiar melody,

Our purrs dulling the pain
Of a thorn in a paw or immersing
In a sea of pure contentment.

By springtime, I no longer cared
When they repossessed my house and
Took away everything I once cherished.

Kitty and I lived in the forest, curled up
Together like mother and daughter,
Safe beneath bushes and up in tall trees.

I protected her from the larger predators
And she taught me how to live like a cat,
From grooming to scratching to nipping fleas.

We scarcely noticed when the apocalypse
Descended, turning humans into ravenous,
Violent creatures only driven by hunger.

By then, Kitty’s magic to transform me
Was complete, her love for me alchemic,
Fuelled by the loss of her own cat mother.

It was a peaceful life, out in the forest,
Far from the chaos of the big cities
Where humans tore each other apart

In so many terrible ways, screeching
And screaming from being bitten
And eaten, civilization toppled yet again.

We basked in the sun and chased squirrels
And rabbits, slept the days away, perched
On trees, and dreamed of our exact lives,

Perfect and so worth living.