The five words – gallows, tide, mat, section, staple
Tom stole away after dinner. It was pitch dark, with only the orange glow of the streetlights to shine on his path. He told himself he was only going for a stroll – a catwalk (you might say) – but his legs were carrying him in a definite direction. Like a convicted man moving toward the gallows, his steps were guided by a force beyond himself.
There was a time when Tom was happy at home with Julia. She was loving and kind. Tom was a faithful companion. They would lay together for hours each evening in the glow of the fireplace, listening to Dave Brubeck, reading French novels. But the tide had turned. Tom had grown restless of late. He went off looking for something more. Someone to feed his longing, his desires, his hunger.
He walked toward the Italian section of town and tried to think of better days, searching for a reason to turn back. But all he could picture was Luigi. Young. Dark haired. Strong hands. If Julia ever found out, she would be crushed. She worked so hard to feed him – body and soul. To think that there could be another would be just too much for her.
Tom knew it wasn’t right, but his legs kept moving him onward.
Tom entered the alleyway and moved steadily to door and stood on the mat just outside. He called out, softly at first, and then more insistently. More demanding.
The door opened. It was Luigi, with a plate full of spaghetti.
“Ah, my little Tom-cat,” Luigi said lovingly as he knelt down and stroked Tom’s cheeks, scratching behind his ear.
“You are the only cat I know that loves spaghetti,” he said, putting down the plate in front of Tom, “And I love you for it.”
Spaghetti had become a staple in Tom’s diet.
Tom rubbed his cheeks against Luigi’s strong hand, wishing it was an affectionate goodbye, but knowing instead he was marking his territory and that he would be back again. And again.
Word Count: 343
A Way With Words 
You had me there for a minute! LOL.
Tony! That was awesome! I absolutely thought I was peeking in on a dirty little secret. Clever! 🙂 Well done!
Thank you. You just can’t trust those Tom-cats.
Brilliant! I love stories about cats (and dogs too) where they are portrayed in such a human way with their own thoughts. My cat has a penchant for pizza. He’ll flip the lid of the pizza box open and then hook out pieces of the topping until all that is left are the pieces of onion. His favourite is BBQ chicken with feta cheese and mushrooms 🙂
Yeah, I’m not a fan of cats but this was sure fun to write.
You had me going too! Now I’m going to have to go watch Lady and The Tramp!
I knew cats liked Dave Brubeck.
Tom is one cooooool cat.
Haha… you had me fooled there for a while. Great take on the prompt!
Well done! You wove the words perfectly. I enjoyed this a lot!
Ha!
Brilliant! You took me so many simple turns (lies! I took myself on those turns, as all readers do!). I thought Tom off to have an affair with another female lover, then perhaps it went the other way and there was a man in his life, then only to have him fed…so innocent. Shame on me … shame on all of us! Haha!
Great story, Tony. 343 word! Fantastic!
~Christopher
Clever! Such a great way to spin the story. 🙂
An excellent piece of flash fiction, well done. It’s so easy to assume the main character is a human being, but you revealed the true nature of Tom brilliantly.