Purr

(Wednesday morning)

‘Peeeter! Peeeter!’

Pete pulled the blanket over his head and hugged Leo even tighter. Leo, unlike his name might suggest, was a friendly teddy bear, Peter’s trusted companion at all times.

‘Peeeter! Come! NOW!’ Mum shouted.

‘I won’t,’ Pete hissed under the blanket.

‘Pete!’ that was Dad though. Peter knew this was bad news. He shouted back, ‘If Mum comes upstairs, I’ll go down with her.’

‘I’ve already did,’ Mum shouted back, ‘and you still haven’t.’

‘Come upstairs, and then I’ll go down with you,’ Peter insisted.

‘Pete, we are having breakfast now,’ said Dad calmly, ‘if you want to eat with us, you need to come downstairs.’

Peter kicked the blanket off and jumped out of the bed, ‘Wait for me!’ he cried.

‘All right. Come down.’

‘OK,’ Pete hesitated, ‘but Mum needs to come upstairs first!’

He listened carefully. There was silence downstairs. An unbearably long silence.

Then, Mum blurted out, ‘Why is he doing this to me? Why??’

Pete couldn’t tell why. He only knew that Mum wasn’t being fair with him not coming upstairs the second time. If Mum was being unfair, why should he go downstairs? He will definitely not.

Once he heard that Mum complained to aunt Judith, ‘Judy, I can’t take this anymore,’ she said, ‘I really can’t! He does not care! He has to have a tantrum. No matter why. He just simply has to. He really doesn’t care why.’

Peter did care though. He only had a tantrum when Mum was being unfair to him.

‘He has a tantrum like one million times a day!’

As many times as Mum was being unfair to me, Pete thought.

Mum, for some reason, was unable to understand this simple fact.

Luckily, Leo understood everything. Peter hugged Leo tight, and both of them hid under the blanket again.

(Thursday morning)

‘Pete!’

Peter was about to pull the blanket on his head when he realised that something was wrong. This was not Mum’s voice. Pete sat up, horrified.

‘Come, Pete, it’s time for breakfast,’ Dad called him, sitting on the floor beside his bed.

‘Where is Mum?’ Peter shouted.

‘Well – she is gone,’ said Dad.

‘Where?’ Peter didn’t understand. When Mum went somewhere, she took him with her. Or, at the very least, she said goodbye. Mum simply couldn’t go without him knowing about it.

‘Well – She had to do something –‘

‘What??’

Peter started to realise that Dad actually didn’t know the answer. Or he did know it but, for some reason, he decided not to tell it to Peter. And there was really nothing to do when Dad had decided something.

This shocked Peter so much that he actually jumped out of the bed and went downstairs with Dad, carrying Leo, of course.

They ate in silence. Pete stared at Dad, terrified. Dad was holding his coffee cup for like an eternity now. He hasn’t even tasted the dark, steaming liquid.

‘Dad,’ Peter decided to ask, ‘shouldn’t I put Leo down?’

Mum would have shouted at him to put the teddy bear down immediately, that he should not hold Leo while eating breakfast.

After a long while, Dad looked at Peter, ‘What?’

Pete decided to keep quiet. ‘There is something really wrong here,’ he thought.

Then, he put Leo down, the teddy bear was in his way anyway, and he started to eat.

Dad didn’t seem to notice any of these. He was still holding his cup, he still hasn’t drank from it.

‘Attack, Leo!’ Peter shouted as he crushed his enemies mercilessly.

He suddenly realised that something wasn’t right. Shouldn’t he have his teeth brushed by now?

Pete sneaked a few steps down the stairs and peeked between the leaves of the mini palm tree. Dad was still sitting there, holding the cup with the coffee that went cold a long long time ago. Pete sneaked back to his room, ‘I got away with this,’ he thought but he wasn’t completely happy about this.

A bit later though, he had a bad feeling again. He shouted downstairs, ‘Dad, don’t you go to work today?’

He waited for an answer for a while, then he decided to investigate.

‘Dad, don’t you go to work today?’ he asked timidly. Dad was still sitting in the same position, holding his cup.

Pete waited and waited. Then, he pulled Dad’s sleeve. Most of the coffee went on the table.

Peter was about to defend himself, but he had to realise that there was no one to defend himself against. He was not completely happy about this.

Eventually, Dad put his cup on the table, as if in slow motion, and turned to his son, ‘What?’

‘Don’t you go to work today, Dad?’

‘Well – not today, no,’ answered Dad, after like an eternity.

Pete frowned. This had never happened before as far as he could remember.

‘Dad, come to play!’ Pete shouted downstairs when he had enough of fighting beside Leo.

He didn’t wait for the answer, he ran downstairs, hoping that Dad was not holding that cup anymore.

Pete was not completely relieved. Dad was still sitting there, although he no longer held the coffee cup. Instead, he was looking at the coffee puddle on the table.

‘Dad, let’s play something!’Peter whispered so quietly that Dad wouldn’t have heard it even if he was perceiving anything of the world around him.

After a little while, Peter climbed back to his room.

He picked up his plastic sword, then he let it fall back on the carpet.

Suddenly, he had an idea. ‘Leo, what do you think Mum would say if we went to the bed in our daytime clothes?’ he whispered.

The teddy bear, whom Peter was holding the whole time, didn’t answer, but Pete didn’t actually need an answer. He was in the bed right away. Wearing his daytime clothes, yes, he did! He pulled the blanket on his head and wished that Mum started to shout at him.

She didn’t. Pete held Leo tighter.

(Thursday lunchtime)

‘Dad, I’m hungry!’ Pete shouted downstairs after waiting for like an eternity in the bed, wearing his daytime clothes.

Dad, after contemplating for a long time, ordered a pizza. He should have known that Pete didn’t like it very much. Still, Pete ate the whole slice without complaining. Even if no one shouted at him that he had to eat it up.

‘Won’t you brush my teeth?’ Pete asked Dad after lunch, still feeling guilty about not having his teeth brushed after breakfast.

‘Oh – sure,’ said Dad and he looked around the bathroom, unsure. ‘Which one is your toothbrush again?’ he finally asked.

Peter got his toothbrush. He got his toothpaste as well when he saw Dad staring blankly at the three different toothpastes. Pete didn’t even need the plastic steps to reach it this time. He put the toothpaste in Dad’s hand, although he knew he could have squeezed some out himself.

‘Sleep well,’ said Dad as he pulled the blanket on Pete.

Peter sat up, ‘Dad, won’t you count the sheep for me?’ he asked shocked.

‘Oh – sure,’ said Dad, ‘one, two, three, four –‘

‘No, no, no, Dad! Not like that! One sheep, two sheep, three sheep –‘

‘Oh – sure,’ said Dad, taken aback, ‘one sheep, two sheep –‘

‘Dad!’

‘What?’

‘You are supposed to lie down next to me.’

‘Well, Pete, I can’t fit in this small bed –‘

‘Mum does!’ Peter said under his breath.

Finally, Dad sat on Peter’s bed and counted all fifteen sheep properly. ‘Sleep well,’ he said.

Pete hugged Leo and turned to the wall. He was unable to fall asleep though.

‘Dad! I can’t sleep!’ he shouted downstairs after a while.

‘That’s fine,’ Dad answered quietly.

Peter was astonished. ‘I wish Mum was here,’ he thought, ‘and that she shouted “Be quiet and go to sleep right now!”

Pete twisted and turned until the blanket was in a bundle by his legs. He tried to pull it back on himself but he suddenly froze. There was something under the blanket. Something black. A tail. A cat’s black tail!

Peter was completely baffled. ‘What would Mum say if she knew that a cat came into my room? What’s more, into my bed!’

Mum wasn’t there though, so she didn’t say anything. Peter loved cats. Especially this beautiful black one. He reached out to stroke the cat’s shiny fur. He stopped for a moment because he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to stroke stranger cats. Then, he decided that the cat who was in his bed, cannot actually be a stranger cat.

The cat didn’t behave like a stranger either. She started to purr as soon as Pete’s hand touched her fur. She climbed on Pete and pushed her little black face into Pete’s neck and purred.

Peter hugged the cat carefully. She made herself comfortable in his arms, next to Leo. After a few minutes all of them were fast asleep.

(Thursday afternoon)

Pete woke up all by himself, although he wished that Mum woke him up. Dad didn’t call him to have a snack, so he didn’t go downstairs.

He showed all his toys to Leona. That is how Pete named the cat who was still beside him when he woke up. He explained, whispering, which knights were good and which were the bad ones; which weapons they could use and how; what all that ‘brick-a-brack’ was (Mum called them like that) on the pirate ship; how to fight with a plastic sword against any kind of enemies.

Leona listened. She did not run away after like two minutes to hang the washing up, to wash the dishes, or brew a coffee.

Since Leona couldn’t read to him, Peter took a book from the shelf and started to tell the story to the cat. ‘Once upon a time, there was a Cinderella. She lived with her dad because her mum died –‘ Pete stopped there and put the book down.

‘Let’s fight!’ he shouted and slashed the evil enemy with great enthusiasm.

Leona walked to him, she sat on his lap, she climbed on him and pushed her little black face in Peter’s neck. ‘Purr!’ she said.

Pete hugged the cat tight and they stayed like that for the longest time.

‘I need a wee,’ said Pete. ‘Please don’t go away!’

He hurried downstairs and finished in the bathroom extra quickly, even if no one kept hurrying him. He ran back to Leona, afraid that the cat might disappear by the time he got back.

Only, he ran into Dad at the bottom of the stairs. Peter got really scared. ‘What if Dad comes upstairs and finds Leona there?’ Peter thought really hard.

‘Dad,’ he finally came up with a solution, ‘I’m so hungry!’ As soon as he said that, he realised that he was actually hungry. Snack time was long past. ‘Leona must be hungry too,’ he thought as he gnawed the dry scone from the day before, that Dad put on the table without a plate under it. He didn’t even give Pete a napkin!

‘Dad,’ said Pete cunningly, ‘do cats like scones?’

‘Well – I don’t think so,’ said Dad.

Peter thought for a while, then he chanced another question. ‘Dad, what do cats like?’

‘Well – milk, I guess.’

‘I want some milk!’ shouted Peter, feeling awfully thirsty all of a sudden.

He was hoping that Dad might not notice him taking his mug upstairs. Mum strictly forbade to take any food or drink upstairs. Indeed, Dad didn’t notice it. Until Pete slipped on the last step, yes, the very last one, and the mug arrived downstairs in pieces, and the milk kept dripping from one step to another all the way down from Peter’s room to the bottom of the stairs.

Pete stood in the milk puddle and he was about to cry when Dad ran upstairs to him.

Dad didn’t start shouting at Peter. He stroked his son’s head and started to mop the milk with some tissues he had found in his pockets. When he realised he didn’t have enough tissues, he went downstairs to look for the mop.

Peter quickly looked into his room. The cat was nowhere to be seen.

‘Leona!’ Pete whispered.

‘Meow!’ the answer came from the stairs.

Peter looked there and saw the cat happily licking the spilt milk from the stairs.

‘Hide! Hide quickly!’ Pete urged her.

Leona looked at him in the eye, then she continued licking the milk from the stairs.

‘Hide!’ whispered Pete again, but it was already too late. Dad came back with a handful of tissues, he was unable to find the mop.

‘What –?’ Dad stared at the cat.

Then, he stared at his son. Peter was clearly ready to defend the cat. Dad looked at the cat again, then he sat down on a chair, with the bunch of tissues in his hand.

Peter didn’t know what to do.

Leona stopped licking the milk. She walked to the man. She looked at him for the longest time. Suddenly, she jumped onto his lap.

Peter stopped dead.

Dad swiftly lifted both his arms in the air. Most of the tissues landed on the carpet. Pete wondered whether Dad wanted to throw the cat on the floor or if he was about to jump on his feet.

Finally, Dad stroked Leona.

Pete was astonished.

The cat simply purred.

(Thursday night)

They sat quietly at the dinner table. The only sound that could be heard was Leona licking some milk from her own bowl now, under the table.

‘Where should the cat sleep?’ Dad asked.

‘Not “the cat”. Leona!’ Peter corrected him.

‘Leo what?’

‘Leona.’

‘Ah, Leona.’

Peter had a bath. Dad didn’t forget to brush Pete’s teeth. He counted the sheep properly this time.

Leona was forever under Dad’s feet. When he left the room, the cat simply jumped into Pete’s bed as if this was perfectly normal.

Pete hugged the cat. That night, Leo slept on the bedside table.

Still, when Dad switched the light off, Peter started sobbing uncontrollably.

Leona pushed her little black face into Pete’s neck and purred.

(Friday morning)

Peter woke with Leo in his arms. He jumped out of the bed and started to search desperately. ‘Leona! Leona!’ he called. He looked under the blanket, under the bed, under the pirate ship, everywhere. There was no sign of the cat.

Peter collapsed on the floor and started crying loudly, ‘Mum!Mum!’

He could hear steps hurrying towards him from downstairs. He could hear steps coming up the stairs. Someone was standing beside Pete.

Peter didn’t dare to look up. He didn’t dare to breath either.

He could smell the well-known fragrance. He could feel her fingers brushing into his hair. He could feel her hugging him tight.

Peter held his mum really really tight.

Mum moved away from him a little, and looked him in the eye. Then, she rubbed her face into Pete’s neck and said ‘Purr!’

They hugged each other again and stayed liked that for a long time.

Finally, holding hands, they went downstairs to have breakfast with Dad.

–

(Wednesday morning)

She stared at the same line for quite a while now. Still, she was unable to decipher it. She was unable to concentrate at all. Eventually, she put the book down.

Peter kept having tantrums all day long. She kept shouting at him. And she hated herself for that.

What’s more, Edmund had just phoned the he wouldn’t be home until dawn. Again.

She sneaked upstairs into her son’s room. Peter was soundly asleep. She pulled the blanket back on him, that he kept kicking off. She was careful not to cover the teddy bear’s face because she knew that ‘Leo hated it’.

She went back to the bedroom. She picked up her book again. Something just fell out of the book. It clanged on the floor and rolled under the bed. Alice went on her hands and knees and started to look for it.

It was nothing like in the fairy tales. It wasn’t shiny, gold; it didn’t have diamonds or engravings in it. It was black and heavy.

Alice held it on her palm for a moment and stared at it. She knew exactly what was going to happen.

She slowly took her wedding ring off and hid it in the drawer. Then, she put the heavy, black ring on. She was hardly afraid at all.

(Wednesday night)

It was utterly wonderful. She walked back and forth in the flat. She enjoyed her weightless steps immensely. She jumped onto the furniture, she put her claws into the carpet. She chased her tail. She was, finally, happy.

She sneaked upstairs to Pete, rubbed her face into her son’s neck, and purred.

When she heard the key turning in the lock, she simply jumped out of the window.

She paraded on the rooftops, she jumped, sneaked, danced in the lovely moonlight. She ran up to trees, she peeked from the windowsills to see people sleeping in their flats. She half-heartedly chased a sleepy rat.

She knew that she was meant to be born a cat. It must have only been a mistake that she had lived as a human so far.

(Thursday lunchtime)

She sneaked back home by midday.

First, from a nearby rooftop, she spied on her son and husband quietly eating their pizza. She was hungry too. And thirsty. And tired.

She jumped through the window, and hid under her son’s bed.

She peeked at the slippers of her husband while listening to how he eventually managed to count all fifteen sheep properly for Peter.

When Pete finally found and hugged her, she simply fell asleep in her son’s arms.

(Thursday afternoon)

Alice sat at Edmund’s feet on the carpet. Her whiskers were still milky but she had no patience to clean herself now. Something far more important was about to happen.

She looked her husband in the eye and wondered whether he had finally understood the situation. She was not sure.

She could not stand it anymore. She jumped onto Edmund’s lap. She could feel his body freezing. She waited.

Eventually, her husband did stroke her.

(Thursday night)

When she was absolutely sure that Peter was fast asleep, she slipped from his arms.

She found the ring and slipped her paw in it.

Suddenly, she grew enormous, her weight multiplied, her body became clumsy and helpless.

Alice faced her reflection in the mirror for the longest time.

She sneaked back to Peter’s room. The stairs creaked awfully loudly under her heavy steps.

She pulled Pete’s blanket back on him. She took Leo from the bedside table and gently laid him into her son’s arms.

She leaned down very slowly and rubbed her face into her son’s neck. She didn’t dare to purr this time.

She sneaked back to the bedroom, and looked at her sleeping husband.

Then, she took her wedding ring from the drawer, and put it back on.