The cold of the night was already making its presence felt. After satisfying my thirst and hunger, I looked for a shelter to protect myself. I walked near the creek and, a few meters away, I saw a tree; it was slightly bent, but the top was thick with leaves. "It’ll be a good shelter," I thought.

  I remembered that Víktor always climbed trees, so I tried to imitate him. I placed my hands on the trunk and tried to go up, but I couldn't get a good grip; I still wasn't used to this new body. I dug my claws into the bark and tried again. At first, I was making progress—my legs were responding—but then one of my arms slipped, and I tumbled to the ground. The fall wasn't catastrophic, but it hurt. It was mostly my paws, since that’s what I landed on. It was the first time I felt physical pain in this world.

  Even the pain felt good. And before you think it—NO! I’m not a masochist. It’s just that everything is incredible now that I can actually feel.

  After that fall, I gave up for a moment. I didn't know what to do; I felt so pathetic. I sat by the bark at the base of the trunk and gathered some dry leaves, trying to curl up in them. But the ground was damp and freezing. If I stayed like this, I’d die of hypothermia or some fever caused by the bacteria in the mud. I had no idea what would happen to me, and I didn't plan on dying in such a stupid way.

  I stood up and told myself I had to climb, or I was done for. I placed my hands and feet on the trunk again and, with a monumental effort, I began to dig my claws in. I ascended inch by inch. It took everything I had; I was slow and my legs were shaking, but I made it. I wasn't as fast as Víktor, but I reached the top, where the cozy leaves of that beautiful tree awaited me.

  The trunk was a dark brown and its leaves a light green—at least, that’s what I could notice in the darkness.

  I grabbed several leaves and piled them on top of each other, nesting them in a "V" shaped branch growing from the trunk. It was quite cozy for just being leaves and hard wood. With more leaves, I made a sort of blanket and lay down. I spent my first night there. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but at last, I could rest. Shortly after, I fell asleep in this battered body.

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  The next day, the sunlight hitting my face woke me up. When I opened my eyes, I was surprised by the height I was at; I didn't understand how I managed to climb up there last night without knowing how to move properly, but I was happy with the achievement. The landscape was quite beautiful—that blue and pink sky was still strange. Everything around me was a bit desolate from the flood that killed Víktor. I miss him a lot.

  Suddenly, the hunger returned.

  "Damn cat-monkey stomach," I muttered to myself. I had spent about half a year without the need to eat, and now this was torture. But it was still better than being a rock.

  "Hey, mysterious voice, are you there?" I asked the air. No one responded. Only the wind blew hard, carrying away the leaves that used to be my bed.

  "Damn it." I cursed silently and tried to grab some of the flying leaves, but it was useless. Complaining wasn't going to satisfy my cravings, so I started to climb down that tree that cost me so much to climb up. I did it carefully, but it was in vain: almost reaching the ground, I slipped and fell headfirst. The height wasn't much, but the blow hurt quite a bit.

  With my head throbbing, I stood up and started walking around the tree with my monkey-cat-rabbit paws. I still hadn't thought of a name for this species; for now, I’ll call them "Viktors."

  Nearby, I found more of those bitter leaves that smelled like mint. Last night I ate them out of desperation, but today they didn't look appetizing at all; they were pretty bad. I wanted something different. I started thinking about a good pizza, grilled meat, or a juicy burger. My mouth started watering, which I think only made my situation worse.

  While I was dissociating, thinking about food, something snapped me back to reality. I saw a prey animal running right in front of me. It was something like a rodent, a rat mixed with a rabbit—mostly because of its large ears. It was smaller than me, about 6 inches long. My animal instinct—or at least that of this body—went into hunting mode.

  My heart raced, my body felt hot, my pupils dilated, and the euphoria was through the roof. Everything happened so fast that, without realizing it, I was in a position to attack.

  "I have to eat that animal," I thought.

  As best I could, I started running to follow it. The creature was very elusive and I couldn't catch it; I simply tripped and fell face-first against the ground again. I was a rather pathetic predator. I saw where the rodent went, but I think that information is a bit useless. I stayed sitting on the ground, hungry and feeling like an idiot.