Antonio Catdragon waited by the door.  He was in Louisiana with his favorite person, Gwen, and she had asked him to stay in the hotel room while she went to get breakfast.  He could not fathom the fear some people were suddenly stricken with upon seeing him, but he would do as she asked.  She seemed to have a much better grip on the rules of most social scenes than he did.

 

After breakfast, Gwen gathered up her camera equipment and they ventured out together.  They came to a little house near the bayou that seemed to have been abandoned for quite awhile.  Gwen got out all of her camera equipment and began setting it up.  When she was ready, she scooped him up and gave him a quick snuggle, a kiss on the head and bid him to be careful as he explored the area.

 

Antonio flew over the interstate looking down on cars driving back and forth between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.  He was always fascinated with the way that people interact with each other.  Even more so, the way they interact with each other when they are within the confines of their vehicles.

 

One traveler suddenly captured his attention.  At first it looked a bit like a bed with no sheets or pillows just bookin' it down the road at a high rate of speed all on its own.  Its "head” lifted up as if to see where it was going, and its “arms" and legs tightly wrapped around the belly of the vehicle which seemed to be its beast of burden.

 

The “beast, which was a marvel in it’s own right, was a small bright green car with monstrous tires on it.  Its owner must live in the swamp.  With those tires, they surely could navigate any terrain no matter how deep the marsh.  It would likely float if they ended up in the Mississippi River in that car after a night on Bourbon Street.  Antonio could tell that the owner took great pride in the car.  It had a sparkly smooth paint job, and all the chrome shone with pristine perfection.

 

With every bump in the road though, Antonio noticed that the “bed” seemed to have a little difficulty hanging on.  He felt he should do SOMETHING to help.

 

Just then, an idea occurred to him.  He flew down toward the little car and landed on the front of the mattress.  He hoped that if he could hold the front of the mattress down against the wind, that it would be easier for it to hang on to the car.  However, when he landed, the mattress bent down over the windshield of the car.

 

Suddenly, the car began to swerve awkwardly about on the road.  He had to dig in with his claws just to hang on as he was wildly whipping about.  "Well! That’s not better!" he thought.  As the car began to slow, he let go and flew up to a safer distance to think.  Once the mattress was not covering the windshield anymore, the car pulled over to the shoulder of the highway.

 

A person got out of the car on the driver’s side.  This was not an easy task since the “arms” of the mattress were tightly wrapped around the car just behind the rearview mirror and the door could not be opened.  No matter! It was summertime in Louisiana, and the windows were already down.

 

Antonio watched in amazement as first fingers, then head, peeked up over the top of the mattress.  The man pulled himself to a seated position on the window.  Judging by his long lanky torso, he was tall and thin.  It was a small struggle, but he managed to thread his legs through the window one at a time and get out.

 

“That was painful to watch” thought Antonio.  The man went around the car, tightening and adjusting the straps.  When he was done, with an effort almost as painful to watch as the exit, the man got back into the car and started down the road again.  Antonio followed.  Once again, the front of the mattress curled up straining its "arms” to hold onto the car. 

 

Antonio had another idea.  He flew back down and landed once again on the mattress.  Getting a firm grip on it, he spread his wings and allowed the air to fill them like sails on a sailboat hoping to keep the mattress from covering the windshield again.  The force of the wind blew him back with more force than he expected.  He struggled to hold on, but his claws seemed to just rip through the fabric like butter. 

 

His cheeks filled with air and his eyes began to water.  On the bright side though, he did manage to take in a good portion of his daily protein as the car drove directly through a rather large swarm of love bugs.  He would definitely need to remember to brush his teeth when he got back to the hotel.

 

The area of the mattress that he had been focused on holding onto was now more like an open bag of fluff.  Bits of which occasionally took leave and flew off on their own little journey behind the car.  Bits of fluff in all sizes came randomly out of the mattress causing other motorists to occasionally put their windshield wipers on in an effort to see through the mattress stuffing flurries.  Mostly to no avail!

 

Antonio decided to get a better, more stable grip.  This time he went for the strap that seemed to go from one of the mattress’s “arms” to the other.  It was now a whole lot looser due to stuffing loss.  He held on loosely so that his claws would not engage and cut the strap.

 

It was the very first big bump in the road that sent him flying back into the wake of the car, still clutching the strap in one paw.  He narrowly missed becoming bug splatter on the car behind them and it took a moment or two of awkward aerial gymnastics, before he regained control. 

 

When he finally looked up, he could see the little green car bumping along on its oversized tires.  What was left of the mattress was now standing upright and waving back and forth like a princess in a parade on top of the car.  It’s “hair” was flapping wildly behind it while it's legs remained in a death clench around the back of the car.  It wasn’t much longer before the strap worked its way to the back of the car.

 

Soon the mattress was sitting straight up on the back of the car; it's "legs" straining to hold on to the wheel wells.  Antonio watched in horror as its legs gave way with a snap.  All at once it was airborne!

 

Who knew a mattress could have such impressive aerial acrobatic talents!  End over end it flipped.  Cars pulled over to the shoulder in awe of this impressive feat.  It was a sight to behold as it went from aerial to ground work.  Each time a corner of the mattress touched the ground the landing was punctuated by loud cracking sound.  Small puffs of mattress flurries launched into the air in time to the sound track. 

 

An impressive show no doubt!  When it finally came to rest on the edge of the woods there was an air of peace and calm for a moment.  From his altitude, Antonio gave it a standing ovation.  The other cars slowly began to move back onto the road as they began to awaken from their state of total awe and mesmerization.  Antonio wanted to bask in this greatness for a bit. 

 

He came down and landed on the mattress where it had come to rest.  That was when he noticed eyes.  Eyes looking at him from the woods.  Curious shy eyes.  Antonio smiled his best “Lets be friends!” smile.  This does not always come across the way he hopes.  He is part dragon after all.  But today the animals to whom all those eyes belonged were not afraid.

 

A mother raccoon decided to step forward.  She sniffed the mattress here and there, and after a couple of laps around the perimeter, she beckoned to her young ones.  They scurried over to her and she ushered them into their new home.  Antonio was happy.  The raccoon family had a new home, and the mattress seemed glad to finally be at rest.

 

He was filled with a sense of peace all the way back to the hotel.  As a gift for Gwen, he carefully deposited the strap and a piece of mattress covering at the door of the hotel room, adding a bit of mattress flurry as a special topping.  As per the usual, Gwen would come home much later than Antonio.  He tucked in his wings and curled up next to his gift and awaited her arrival.