Leonard (My Life as a Cat)

Leonard sits in Olive’s arms as they zoom down the road at night in a Winnebago. Leonard believes that humans get everything wrong about aliens but acknowledges that he does not belong on Earth. 

Olive asks Leonard to remember her, but Leonard knows that his upcoming intergalactic travel will cause him to forget all his feelings for her. Leonard is not sure he wants to go back. Olive encourages him to type out a message, but he does not want to make the goodbye any harder. Olive pets him and calls him a good cat. He wants to type out a message telling her she is a good human. He begins the story of his trip to Earth.

For the last 300 years, Leonard has dreamed of going to Earth. He romanticizes ordinary Earthly experiences, like having hands and holding an umbrella. Aliens of his species get to go to Earth for a month and live as a creature in order to expand their minds and gather data. Leonard loves the human capacity for art and delight and chooses to be a human. He thinks about it for 50 years, deciding to be a National Park Ranger at Yellowstone.