ALT A mysterious night scene with a black cat, crescent moon, and glowing lamppost. The title is "Mise en Scène pour la Nuit". The stage has been set for the night's events. The characters involved have assembled. (Yes, I consider the crescent moon, park bench, trimmed hedge, and the lamppost all as players in my 'production'.) What might transpire tonight in this hidden, lonely corner of the old park? Are they waiting for another, as-yet-unseen participant to join them?

ALT In a clearing, a noble white cat sits mesmerized by the open volume at her feet. Is it a favorite book revisited, or something new? She reads by the generous light of the crescent moon, which has kindly lowered itself from the night sky to provide illumination. The scene is framed by swaying grasses in the foreground and a mysterious white column. Behind her is a curtain of flowing, swirling leaves, forming constellations of churning galaxies à la van Gogh. Below the leaves, in the background, a shadowy figure lurks. Is all this actually happening, or is it the dreamlike imagining of the cat as she reads her book?