Saturday, February 6th, 2021

I finally get outside well after dark. The street is silent, except for a group of children screeching and playing about a block to my right. I turn left and walk down the pedestrian street. I can still hear them about two blocks further away. It hasn’t rained since yesterday morning. The snails have retreated to wherever they go when it’s dry. One empty shell remains by the edge of the path. I greet the cats that I pass. One, lying in the middle of the sidewalk near the city square, doesn’t respond. It doesn’t move, even when I walk right up to it. It appears to be lying comfortably, but I think it may have died. I would call the appropriate authorities, but I don’t know whom. The sidewalk is brightly lit, so there’s little chance that anyone will trip over it. The main street is quiet, though some stores have reopened after the Sabbath. I get a sahlab from the gelato joint. The worker asks me something that I don’t catch. I look puzzled. A man at the far end of the shop calls out “Complete? Complete?” He pronounces it as in French. I repeat the word and nod. On the way home, I see that the cat is gone. I hope it walked away on its own.