The Crossroads of Mina and Celeste

Celeste and Mina are forming a T with their bodies.

When Celeste was young, she hated when Mina tried to make T's with her. Only through great persistence and ignoring offended sighs did Mina achieve victory. These days, Celeste and Mina will sometimes make infinity, never-ending contours of sinewy muscle and feathered tails.


Mina is a touchy-feely dog. She leans deeply into you, as if by fitting the contours of your body, she might find her own solidness. When I first adopted her, she only did this to people she trusted. I don't know the day this changed. Years passed by, I know that, in which she carefully, ever so carefully, selected the people she'd let into her circle. Now, everyone is fair game. Even when she is unsure, when she pulls away, there is a part of her body always reaching out. Sometimes it's her nose, stretching as far as her neck will let her. Other times, it's her paw moving forward. In every movement, she is hoping for physical contact and if at all possible, a chance to nestle deep in your lap, lean heavily against your chest, and stare deeply into your eyes.

Celeste is a selectively touchy-feely dog. She rubs up against you, a feline stuck in a dog's body, spreading her scent across your legs, itching herself the easiest way she knows how. Her greetings are flighty, intense but fleeting. Sometimes they are painful, bashing of canine ribcage against human legs. Even in her quiet moments, when all she wishes is to drape herself across your lap, there is a tautness, an ever-present readiness to move. One shift of the leg, one deep intake of breath, and she's off to something else. At times, she is other, a wildness creeps into her eyes, filters through her slender frame. The world stands still and she is the world, present and perfect and then quickly gone.

Mina and Celeste aren't different sides of the same coin. Their currencies are from two different nations. They are bound by the most basic of things - home, family/pack, food, play. In any other circumstance, they would never be friends, never connect, their orbits would never touch.

But here and now, on this warm bed, they are a T.