
04/07/2025
Spacecat football player
The silver ship of the Cosmocat, gently vibrating, pierced the dense layers of the Earth's atmosphere. Thousands of star systems were left behind, but this blue planet had long beckoned to him. The Cosmocat, whose fur shimmered with moonlight and whose eyes held the wisdom of distant galaxies, was not traveling for no reason. He had a dream, earthly and a little strange for a space explorer - to learn to play football. He saw the broadcasts of matches intercepted by his ship's antennas and was fascinated by the excitement, teamwork and elegance of this game.
His ship, disguised as a small meteorite, landed on the outskirts of a quiet town, right on the edge of a large green field where local children were just kicking a ball around. The Cosmocat activated the invisibility system, but left a slight distortion of the air so that his appearance would not cause panic. Having put a universal translator on his collar, he carefully exited.
The children, initially captivated by the game, froze when they saw the strange creature. It's not every day you see a cat the size of a ten-year-old child, dressed in a tight-fitting spacesuit with a transparent helmet.
"Greetings, young earthlings!" - a melodic, slightly purring voice came from the translator.
The boy with red hair, the bravest, stepped forward. "You... who are you?"
"I am Cosmocat, an intergalactic traveler," the cat introduced himself, politely bowing his head. "I have arrived on your planet with a special mission."
"Capture us?" - squeaked the girl with pigtails, hiding behind the red one.
Cosmocat laughed - the sound was similar to the ringing of small bells. "Not at all! I came to fulfill my dream. I want... to learn how to play football!"
The children looked at each other. An alien cat dreaming of football? It was so unexpected and funny that the fear disappeared.
"Are you serious?" asked the red-haired one, his name was Max.
"Absolutely! I've watched your games from space. They're great! But we don't have games like this on Kitty Prime. Will you teach me?"
Spacecat's enthusiasm was infectious. The kids agreed. The first few training sessions were hilarious. Spacecat was incredibly agile and fast, but he had no idea what the rules were. He would instinctively catch the ball with his paws, try to lick it, and sometimes, when he got carried away, he would chase a butterfly instead of the ball. His space boots weren't very good for kicking, and his first attempts at passing looked more like clumsy jabs.
But Spacecat was a keen student. He quickly grasped the concept of "playing with your feet only" (or your hind legs in his case), learned to dribble the ball using his natural grace, and even mastered a few tricks that looked completely alien thanks to his flexibility. The kids nicknamed him "CosmoPaw".
The annual city tournament in yard football "Summer Cup" was approaching. Max's team "Rocket" was missing one player.
"CosmoPaw, maybe you'll play with us?" Max suggested one day after a particularly successful training session, where CosmoPaw demonstrated a lightning-fast run down the flank.
CosmoPaw's eyes lit up brighter than the stars. "Participate in a real championship? This... this exceeds all my expectations!"
Of course, they had to cheat a little. CosmoPaw was registered under the fictitious name "Konstantin Kotov", and for the matches he wore a wide sports uniform and a cap to hide his not quite earthly features. His spacesuit remained under the uniform, ensuring comfort.
The tournament began. "Rocket" with CosmoPaw in the lineup became a sensation. His speed confused his opponents, his jumping ability allowed him to win high balls (even though heading the ball was difficult for him), and his unconventional feints baffled defenders. But most importantly, he learned to play in a team. He passed to Max, covered the goal when the goalie ran out, and rejoiced at every goal of the team as if it were his own.
The final was tense. "Raketa" played against last year's champions, the "Thunder" team. The score was tied, 1:1, and there were only a few seconds left until the end. The ball bounced to Kosmokot near the center of the field. He rushed forward, dodging one opponent after another with his incredible speed. Two "Thunder" defenders rushed to intercept, but Kosmokot made an unthinkable feint, throwing the ball between them, and broke away one-on-one with the goalie.
Time seemed to slow down. Kosmokot remembered all the training sessions, all the advice from Max and the guys. He didn't hit it hard. With a light, precise kick of his modified space boot, he sent the ball into the bottom corner of the goal. The net shook. GOAL!
The final whistle sounded almost immediately. "Rocket" had won! The children rushed to rock their unusual teammate. Cosmocat, finding himself in the center of the jubilant crowd, felt something much more valuable than victory - he felt friendship and the joy of a dream come true.
In the evening, when the stars lit up the sky, Cosmocat said goodbye to his new friends at his ship.
"Thank you, earthlings," he said, his voice trembling with emotion in the translator. "You gave me something more than the ability to play football. You gave me friendship."
"Come again, CosmoPaw!" Max shouted.
"Absolutely!" Cosmo promised
Produced by ISD Comics