Gazing from my bedroom window, I spot the cat burglar sneaking next door. Engrossed, I watch her leap from a coiled crouch and seize an unsuspecting sock hanging from a clothesline. She briefly dangles, suspended in the air like a child's mobile, and then begins to wriggle, back legs paddling. The clothes peg surrenders its grip, and the cat drops to the ground with her captured prize. Looking both furtive and pleased, she bounds over the fence and into my house. She has a gift for her unwitting accomplice. Returning her plunder is going to be awkward, especially the underwear.
Joel Bryant is a UK-based healthcare worker and occasional scribbler of flash fiction and short stories.