Execution
— Maddie
On watch
We had a problem with mice.
So we went to the shelter.
Once inside, we moved through it the way you do—
calm, just looking.
We turned the corner—
and there she was.
Thin—past thin.
Her fur was there, but it couldn’t hide it.
Her hip bones pressed through, plain as day.
Her kennel sat right at eye level.
There was a shift—
movement where there hadn’t been any.
She got up.
Not much—just enough.
A small circle.
Like she was saying hello.
Through everything she’d been through—
she still reached.
We took note
and finished the round.
Maddy’s home now, and she’s happy,
and you catch it out of the corner of your eye sometimes—
a blur across the room,
and she’s already there,
balanced on the top edge of the door
like it’s nothing.
Your brain’s a step behind.
By the time it catches up,
she’s settled.
Watching.
Quiet. Precise.
Like I’ve got a snow leopard in the house.
Everything in line.
No wasted motion.
Built for it.
She knows the house.
Not just the ground—
the air above it.
The quiet shifts.
Where something passed—
or is about to.
You don’t see it—
she’s still,
then she’s gone.
A blur—
and it’s done.
The mice are gone.
Every now and then, she reminds me why.
You see it first—
eyes locked.
Not just watching—
fixed.
Her whole body with it.
Paws set.
Weight forward.
Everything aligned.
No rush.
No wasted motion.
By the time it moves—
it’s already over.
She brought one to me—
set it down, stepped back.
A small twitch.
Eyes still on it—
just for a moment.
Then that’s it.
No noise. No chaos.
Just quiet.
And then there’s this—
she climbs onto my chest.
No hesitation.
Slow, rhythmic—
pressing her paws into me.
She meows now.
Not random—
like she’s saying something.
When I step outside,
she calls out.
Like she’s checking.
Like she knows.
In the house—
a killer.
With me—
something else.
She’s up on her tree now—
curled into herself, asleep.
Still.
Like none of it ever happened.
Scott L.
Baltimore Blessings
Author’s Note
“Execution” carries more than one meaning.
It’s the precision of instinct—the way something is done without hesitation.
There’s a quieter contrast behind it.
In a shelter, not every animal leaves.
Maddie did.
That’s where the piece begins—
within her domain.
