Simba

Simba was named when he was small. He grew into the name perfectly.

Now he is the size of a small dog. Customers step around him and the stacked Corona boxes because Simba rarely moves once he settles into an aisle.

He picks a spot and keeps it for the rest of the shift. Customers adjust when he chooses the middle of the aisle, and deliveries wait when he lies on top of them. Simba moves when he is ready.

Simba makes the store fit around him. The aisles are narrow, the inventory is stacked high, and there is barely room for two people to pass. He plants himself in the center and watches the whole operation like he is running it.

He was small once, though the people we spoke with remember only the full-grown version.

From the StoriesSimba's story appears in Bodega Cats of New York, out November 3, 2026.