eliskaThe window creaked open. A small figure squeezed through the gap onto a narrow ledge. Its wing caught on a rusty nail hidden in the wooden frame, tearing the fragile structure. Blood trickled down its side.
A gust of icy wind knocked it back. It took a moment to steady itself, then inched slowly to the edge and peered down. A lamp cast a dim glow on the deserted street. An ambulance siren wailed in the distance. Coming to save someone’s broken body… useless for a broken heart.
A voice drifted in through the window.
“Babe.. stay.” It was a male voice, desperate and exhausted.
The creature turned around. Maybe there was hope? Maybe it got it wrong? But it couldn’t be…
“It’s late. I don’t want you going out there so late. Stay, please. For one more night.”
“It’s broken. We broke it.” Another voice, female, teary and barely audible.
“I know.”
“I’m so sorry we broke it.”
“Me, too.” The male voice broke; he gave up.
A sharp pain shot through its stomach, and it knew it was over.
It watched the two of them through the window, its tiny hands pressed against the frosty glass. It watched as he opened his arms for her, and she stepped into them. It watched as he held her tight and buried his face in her hair. It watched much later, their bodies entwined under the covers, breathing as one, for one last time.
Then it sat down wearily, pulled its knees under its chin, its back resting against the cold wall. The ache in its stomach was becoming stronger.
And now, the wait…
It was odd, really. It remembered when they met, and it didn’t even seem like the beginning of a love story at all. And then it unfolded, slowly at first, the first kisses, the first nights, the first I love you’s, and a thousand ordinary moments turned into a thousand memories that now cracked and shattered and spilt with its every breath.
It wondered when it would hit fully. It wondered about the anger, the longing, the sadness, the emptiness.
It wondered who would be the first one to let go.
“You’re very beautiful.”
The silver cat appeared quietly, seemingly out of nowhere. Still as a statue in the window, his piercing yellow eyes bored into the stranger with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.
The creature lifted its head to meet his unblinking stare. Its injured wing swayed slightly. It was a simple statement, and yet it somehow required an explanation.
The cat tilted his head slightly. “Who are you?”
“I am.. Well, it’s difficult to say at this moment.” It looked sadly at the sleeping couple. The cat followed its gaze, then turned back to inspect its broken body.
“Oh.” His eyes fell.
He observed his paws, lost in thought. “I don’t understand humans. They complicate things. They fight and hurt each other. It’s messy.”
“Love is like that sometimes.”
The cat mulled this over for a moment.
“So.. Can’t you fix it?”
“No. I am but a reflection.”
“Of their love?”
It nodded.
“But you’re in much pain.” The yellow eyes were rounded with confusion.
It nodded again, slowly.
“And yet you are so very beautiful.” A statement, again. The cat seemed to be in a struggle. “So, what happens now?” There was a hint of worry in his voice.
The creature did not answer but waited instead for him to understand.
“I see. I will give you some privacy, then… Goodnight.” The cat held its gaze for a while and tried to communicate something that he somehow could not put into words. Then he bowed slightly, turned around and disappeared in one swift motion.
“Goodnight.” the creature whispered to no one in particular.
It watched as the first snowflakes began to fall, swirling in the glow of the lamp. It thought again of the two. It hoped they would not be too lonely without each other.
It hoped, and wondered, and felt so much and so little at the same time.
It finally fell asleep hours later, a deep and dreamless sleep, with its wings curled around its tiny body for shelter.
It was then that a soft paw picked it up, gently, and carried it inside, away from the freezing cold.