Megan lay on her back, caught in that strange place between sleeping and waking. The house was quiet except for the occasional creak of old wood settling and the soft hum of the ceiling fan turning overhead.
She wasn’t quite asleep.
But she wasn’t fully awake either.
The digital clock beside her bed glowed 2:17 A.M.
Her eyes drifted shut.
Then she heard it.
A low voice.
“Not now…”
Megan’s eyes snapped open.
For several seconds, she remained perfectly still, her heart suddenly hammering against her ribs.
Had someone spoken?
The room was dark except for the pale moonlight filtering through the curtains. She slowly turned her head toward the bedroom door.
Nothing.
The hallway beyond was empty.
She listened carefully.
Silence.
Megan let out a nervous breath and laughed softly.
“Dreaming already,” she whispered.
She closed her eyes again.
A few moments later, the voice returned.
“Leave me alone.”
The words were low and gruff.
Very low.
Megan bolted upright.
This time, she knew she hadn’t imagined it.
The voice had come from somewhere inside the room.
Her gaze swept across the dresser.
The closet door.
The chair was piled high with laundry.
Then her eyes landed on Angel.
Her orange tabby cat was curled into a fluffy ball at the foot of the bed.
Sound asleep.
His paws twitched.
His whiskers trembled.
And then…
“Can’t catch the red dot…”
Megan froze.
The words had definitely come from Angel.
The cat let out a tiny snore.
Megan stared.
Angel continued sleeping peacefully.
“What…” she whispered.
Her mind scrambled for explanations.
Had the television been left on somewhere?
Was a neighbor talking outside?
Had she finally lost her mind from being home alone all week?
Angel’s ears flicked.
“Need bigger tuna…”
The cat smacked his lips.
Megan nearly fell off the bed.
“Nope. Nope. Absolutely not.”
She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and switched on the flashlight.
The beam illuminated Angel’s sleepy face.
The cat blinked one eye open.
“Mrrrow?”
Now he sounded completely normal.
Megan cautiously leaned closer.
“Angel?”
The cat yawned.
A regular cat yawn.
Nothing strange.
Nothing supernatural.
He stretched, turned in a circle, and flopped back down.
Megan waited.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three.
Then Angel began twitching again.
His paws paddled through an invisible dream.
And once more the voice emerged.
“Tell her to stop buying the cheap food…”
Megan’s mouth fell open.
The cat’s eyes remained closed.
Still asleep.
Dreaming.
Talking.
The room suddenly felt much colder.
Angel continued.
“And for the love of cats, clean under the refrigerator.”
Megan stared in disbelief.
“What is happening?”
Angel’s ears twitched.
“There’s a toy mouse under there from 2023.”
Megan sat speechless.
A few seconds later, the cat stopped moving.
The voice disappeared.
The room became silent once more.
Then Angel opened both eyes and looked directly at her.
For a moment, Megan thought she saw something oddly intelligent behind them.
Something ancient.
Something that knew exactly what had just happened.
The cat blinked.
“Mrow.”
Then he hopped off the bed and walked toward the bedroom door.
Halfway across the room, he stopped.
Without turning around, Angel spoke in a perfectly clear voice.
“Seriously, Megan. The refrigerator.”
The cat continued into the hallway.
Megan remained frozen on the bed.
After several moments, she slowly stood up.
Then, despite every instinct telling her not to, she made her way to the kitchen.
Because if her cat were somehow talking in his sleep…
She really wanted to know what was hiding under that refrigerator.
Saturday Afternoon 
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