I’ve had time to settle, and I think I can finish now.
So…when I went through the flap, I found myself in the kitchen. But I scarce had a chance to catch my bearings before I heard a sound behind me, and then a questioning “Meow?”
I turned in time to see a CAT come pushing through the flap. That was when I finally realized the true purpose of that insane contraption: to let the CAT go in and out at will!
And this was not just any cat. It was a huge and nasty brute with thick orange fur and the devil in its eyes.
That I am not resting in its stomach even now is mostly due to the fact that it was outside when I came through the flap myself.
What manner of people are these that I’ve been sent to live with, who keep a monster as a pet and give the thing free access to the outside world so it can prey on any wee creature that takes its fancy? I shudder to think how many poor little birds have uttered their last note—not a sweet song, nae, but a strangled squawk—as a result of a fur-faced, carrot-colored demon being free to use this devil’s doorway as it pleases.
I cannot help but ask myself anew why, oh why, did Da see it his duty to help Ewan McGonagall all those years ago?
When the monster (which is to say, the CAT) spotted me, I thought all was lost. If I could not escape, I might fare no better than the helpless, blood-drenched songbirds I was sure had perished in those slavering jaws. The beast crouched into a hunting pose and its tail twitched in a way I knew all too well. It had murder on its mind and a taste for blood on its tongue!
I took my pack from my back.
The beast sprang!
I swung my pack and smacked it square on the nose.
It let out the most horrid yowl and leaped back. In that moment, I was able to bound away. The fiend recovered, then sprang again. But I had time to scurry behind the refrigerator (which is twice the size of the one my Sarah had in her little kitchen).
To my disgust, the backside of the coldbox was thick with dust and grime! Just thinking of it makes me want to leap into a tub and scrub myself clean!
The cat crouched outside my hiding place. I could see one burning eye, like a lamp from the pits of hell. A huge paw reached into my filthy place of refuge, trying to snag me with its daggerlike claws. I shrank back just far enough to avoid those deadly hooks.
The beast stayed there for what seemed like ten years, though that could not have been the case, since the sun had not yet risen when my nemesis finally got bored and went back out through Satan’s Flap (as I now think of that hole in the door).
I waited until I was sure it would not return. Then, grateful that the family had yet to wake, I made my way up the stairs. Climbing stairs is an effort for me because of my size. But these stairs were easier than the ones I was used to, as they were covered with a thick blue carpet I could wedge my fingers into to pull myself up.
The upper floor had four bedrooms. I already knew which was Alex’s, as I have an excellent sense of direction even after being chased by a slavering beast, then going round a twist in a stairway. Of course, even lacking that I would have been drawn to her room by the binding of the curse.
Alex’s door was not closed, so I was able to enter easily. My first piece of good luck that long, hard night!
The floor was cluttered. This made me twitch, but there was no point in starting to tidy up right then. I was too exhausted.
I needed a place to sleep, so I went to the closet. The door was not closed tight, but when I pulled it open by another few inches, my heart sank within me.
I was faced with a wall of clutter!
What kind of mastermind of messiness was this child to whom I had been assigned?
I climbed the Clutter Wall. I found the top of the mess about three feet above the floor. Rumpled clothes and a couple of empty shoe boxes covered the surface. Three garments actually hung from hangers. I climbed one of these easily enough, got my hands on the rod that went from wall to wall, and was able to grab hold of the shelf. I swung a leg over and scrambled onto it, blessing the great strength that is my birthright. Once there I pushed a few things around to make room enough to hide a shoe box. Then I returned to the lower level and, with some effort, dragged one up. Then I slept.
Had nightmares.