Francesca and Stella

Francesca came into the archive through a wrong turn. Stella's entry began with one quiet moment inside her store.

These are two short field notes from different Brooklyn neighborhoods. Each started with a detail that made the cat specific to her store.

Francesca, Williamsburg

I heard three names close together on the same Williamsburg walk: Kiki, Sofia, and Francesca. I mixed them up until someone repeated Francesca's name and pointed me toward her store. Regulars mentioned her while I was asking about the other cats nearby.

The notes kept the order of the walk: Kiki, Sofia, then Francesca. The route got me there, but her name, store, and photographs gave her a separate place in the archive.

Francesca, Brooklyn. Photos: Gulce Kilkis / Bodega Cats of New York

Stella, Park Slope

A store worker held Stella while Gulce Kilkis made the photograph. Stella stayed calm, eyes forward and paws folded. The image keeps the worker and the store around her in view.

Francesca's note follows the route to her store. Stella's holds onto one photographed moment inside hers.

From the StoriesFrancesca and Stella appear in the Bodega Cats of New York stories.