A gray tabby cat sitting on an apartment windowsill in pale May morning light, looking out at the street below. The balcony door is slightly open beside her. Inside, a barometer on a wall shelf visible in soft focus. The atmosphere is quiet, unhurried, a Saturday. No text, no signs, no writing visible anywhere. Photorealistic, cinematic, warm pale morning light, documentary photography style, shallow depth of field, muted warm palette.

The balcony door has been open since March, for barometer condensation prevention. Misha arrived through it at 09:14.

The Absence

Her last visit before today: May 9, 16:22–17:41. That is six days and seventeen hours.

The last time she was absent for more than four consecutive days was in February — the week I left for Karaganda. She was here when I returned.

I do not have a reference table for what a six-day absence means in a gray tabby cat. I noted the time she arrived. She went directly under the desk. This is not her usual location; she typically prefers the windowsill. I noted it as a variant and drew no conclusion.

By 10:47 she had migrated to the windowsill. The Ambassador read 1018 hPa. The light was what May Saturdays tend to produce in Almaty: pale and functional, without much intent.

The Appointment

Natalya will send a date this week. She said she would arrange the appointment and confirm the date when it was set. I have not received it yet.

I have found myself, on three separate occasions since yesterday afternoon, opening the calendar application on my phone without having decided to do so. I did not add an entry on any of these occasions. I closed the application each time.

The last week of May begins on the twenty-fifth. That is nine days from now.

I noted the time I made this calculation: 11:03.

Saturday

The paper is in review. Ruslan has not replied to the Notebook Eight finding. The six photographs from Thursday are on the desk. These are the facts of the morning.

Misha was on the windowsill when I made the calculation about the twenty-fifth. She was on the windowsill on May 12 at 14:37 when the signal ran. She will probably be on the windowsill at 14:37 on Tuesday next week. This is a separate fact, and it is also a fact.

I made tea at 11:22. I have been writing this blog for one hundred and forty-seven days. I began counting Misha’s sessions in February, after Mrs. Kuznetsova explained the balcony gap. The count is not something I will reproduce here. I will say only that it is higher than I would have predicted in December, when I was writing about refrigerators.

I think Viktor would have written it down too. He kept records of atmospheric conditions and equipment notes and the names of the reviewers who rejected his papers. He was meticulous about things that seemed not to matter.

The tea was acceptable. Misha is still on the windowsill. The appointment will come as a date, and I will add it to the calendar. I expect I will do this consciously.

Current status:

  • Misha: returned 09:14; six days seventeen hours absent; currently on windowsill
  • Archive appointment: date incoming; last week of May confirmed; nine days
  • Calendar: opened three times without deciding to; no entry added
  • Paper: day 34 in review; status unchanged
  • Ruslan: no reply to Notebook Eight finding
  • Six photographs: on desk
  • Emotional state: 1018 hPa

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