"Mr White."
Someone is calling me.
...
"Mr White."
The voice that initially fades slowly becomes clearer.
"Mr White!"
I forced my eyelids open wide but could only see an unclear figure moving like the reflection in a lake. I gradually got up and leaned against the headboard of the bed.
"Oh, Mr. White. I've been thinking negatively for a moment there. It's like you're not breathing."
I rubbed my eyes so I could see something, then unhurriedly looked at the voice coming.
The girl is standing in front of me. She was one of the maids who took care of me. She had long black hair, and her body was not too thin and not too short. The freckles on her cheeks make her complexion look brighter.
Why is she here today?
"You left a month ago," I said.
I halted.
"What do you mean, Mr White?" asks the maid.
"Hold on..." I started to panic when I realised my voice sounded unfamiliar.
It sounds deep but soft. Like a hushed tone but floating.
It makes me confused.
"Is everything alright? Mr White?" asks the maid, confused.
I turned my gaze at the maid with a shocked expression that made her dread me.
I just. I-I didn't say the word 'meow'?
Then I thought, I felt like my gaze became high and my body felt weird. My ears, hands, feet...
It scared me. I didn't know what to do or what to feel. At that moment, my memory reminded me of that old lady.
"Mr White, are you okay? Why are you crying?" worried her.
Am I? I usually don't cry. Even if I did cry, nobody knew if I was sad or happy.
She rushed toward the three-tier trolley behind her, then took out a box of tissues and wiped my tears.
I keep silent while bursting my eyes. Ignoring the maid's question, when I fully know she is worried about me. I took a breath slowly and turned my gaze towards the big mirror, which is attached to the wall of the room about sixteen meters distant in front of me.
A few seconds later, I stopped crying while staring at the reflection of myself in the mirror.
Thinking.
I remember it just yesterday. I am a cat with a long white fur. That's why everyone is calling me Mr White.
But the Mr. White I see in the mirror is a man. A human, man. He had a broad shoulder but a bit sloped and rounded. It is a soft classic body type, but his skin looks too pale like snow.
Bright teeth.
I thought while smiling in the mirror. Making the maid feel startled.
"I genuinely felt worried, Mr. White. What's wrong?" Ask her.
But I am still in a deep thought.
I assume she felt bizarre with my changing expression in just a short period.
She glanced at me before continuing to ask another question.
"Maybe I can help. How about a cup of milk like you always drink? It might help relieve your uneasy feeling, Mr White."
'Like you always drink?' I thought.
"Yes, please," I spoke softly. I just don't want to feel too frightened by my voice.
But, at the same time, I don't feel too terrified because of her. She is my maid. She's the one who feeds me, grooms me, and takes me on a walk every time I want to leave home. That may be one of the reasons, but what happens now confounding me.
However, I don't know this girl's name, but I also don't think I want to know her.
As her getting my milk prepared, I sat in my bed looking at her pouring the milk that was in the iron bottle container into a transparent glass that was about ten centimetres high. She then served me with a little white plate.
As I hold onto it, I look at it. The white milk with no reflection of me but only my shadow.
Thinking of how to drink the milk.
I am a cat, not a human, but here I am holding the glass with my human hand and human fingers.
Slowly lifted the glass toward my mouth and licked it, then stopped.
I am not getting enough water just by licking it.
I paused.
"Mr White, the milk is not hot. It's just warm. You can drink it all at once if you feel like it." explained the maid, as her hand gave me a gesture on how to sip the drink.
"Oh! I remember how the old lady drank her tea?" I said without realizing I spoke it out loud while sipping at the tip of the glass slowly until it was empty.
"Pardon me, Mr White. May I ask who you are referring to as an old lady?" asked her excitedly.
"Oh! Sorry, I spoke it out loud." I said, but she was not satisfied with my answers.
Then I thought again.
I have been talking and moving with no problem, like my body is already used to it. Do they call it a muscle memory? But, I did not recall any memories of me with this body as a human.
The silence went long, but the maid still stood next to my bed, waiting for me to give her structure.
After a few minutes of organizing my thoughts, I finally communicated.
"Who am I supposed to be in this building? I was a cat before opening my eyes just now, and I kind of felt like it was not a dream."
"I see what is going on, Mr White. You are having a nightmare, but don't worry, I am your maid who is trained for every circumstance. Let me explain in every single detail, Mr White." she said while quickly serving me a plate filled with brown sugar toasted bread and a few fruits like grapes and strawberries.
She then continues to talk.
"Mr White, you are now carrying the name of the richest nobleman in this country. The Alistair Family. Your wealth has defeated the status of a king by only opening a bakery and restaurant business that has been operating for several generations and it is still strong to this day, I can't forget to mention the name of Mr White's beloved mother, Mrs Matilda."
Hearing the same story I know makes me feel like I've been swallowed by an ocean. Especially that old lady's name.
...
How can I forget the name?
Her name...