Black Cat
A sequence of cause and effect, between the disaster and the atrocity
“Ophelia, we have to go.” Jakob tells his wife. He watches as the black haired angel in front of him coos over their tiny little girl. “We don’t have much time.”
“This could be the last we see our baby girl, Jakob.” Ophelia states. “I can’t stop looking at her. I want to mesmerize her face and hear her laugh and giggle. This can’t be the end, Jakob. It just can’t.”
“It won’t be. She’ll come back to us; our sweet Charlotte will come back to us.” Jakob promises his wife. “With the things we are leaving her with; she’ll find her way back home.”
“I just hope you’re right about this.” Ophelia sighs. “I pray you’re right about this…
“Hey I’m leaving!” I hear Orion yell over the sound of running water and Lilith Immaculate by Cradle of Filth. I wait to hear the door slam shut in typical Orion style before I turn off the shower. After that I pull out my phone and dial my friend Danni’s number as I turn down the music.
“What’s up Cherry Bomb?” Danni asks, answering the phone.
“I know this is last second, but I need you to come down to the meatpacking district tonight.”
“Why are we going down there at night?” She questions. “Is that, I don't know, dangerous?”
“There is a new street artist down there and I need to take pictures for my Urban Decay collection.” I reply. “Please, I can’t wait to do this. They could be gone by tomorrow.”
There is a sigh followed by brief static on the other end. “Fine, I’ll do it. Meet me at my place in fifteen minutes, okay?”
“See you then.” I say, smiling as I hang up the phone. Time to get dressed and get the hell out of this apartment for the night…
**
“Why are old factories so creepy at night?” Danni asks as she pulls her jacket closer to her body. “It feels like I’m in a horror movie.”
“Relax, D.” I chuckle looking back at my blonde bombshell best friend. “Nothing bad is going to happen. All I need's a few pictures then we can run home and we’ll be safe. That’s it.”
“Can you please hurry up?” She whines. “The quietness is creeping me out. Silence and I aren’t good bedfellows and you know that.”
I should have came by myself, I think to myself as I go back to shooting pictures of this mural. It’s different than the others around town. It looks like a far off place. The clouds are fluffy and bright white. The sky is a wild blue. It’s a mixture of dark ocean water and bright blue skies. And the flowers; they don’t seem like flowers I’ve seen before. It looks magical; something that can’t be.
“Cherry, come on.” Danni rushes me. “I think I hear something.”
“It’s probably just stray cats or a dog.” I tell her. “Hell it could be a rat.”
“Or an alligator from the sewage,” she adds. “But I don’t want to be around to find out.”
Before I can even reply to her craziness, there is movement by a grouping of crash cans. The sounds of metal clanking against each other bounce against the brick buildings causing an echo.
“What was that?” Danni asks, clinging onto me. My right arm is in her death grip.
Slowly we walk over to the crash cans. A sigh of relief escapes my lips when I see a big black tom cat hiding inside the fallen trash can. “There is your monster, Danni.” I laugh, pointing to the cat. “It’s just a cat.”
“A black cat,” she states as she shudders. “Let’s go. Black Cats bring bad luck.”
“Since when are you so superstitious?” I ask her before kneeling down in front of the cat. The cat looks up at me with bright green cautious eyes. I slowly put my hand out in front of it and instead of running away; the cat comes closer and rubs up against my hand. I let out a chuckle as I start petting it. “This guy must be someone’s pet. Seems too friendly to be feral.”
“Orion will kill you if you bring home another cat.” Danni states. “I still don’t think he’s forgiven you for bringing home Yessy.”
“I’m not bringing him home” I assure her as I stand up. “Because you are right, Orion will kill me if I bring in another living thing.”
“Do you have everything you need?” She asks, earning a nod from me. “Then let’s go. This place is really starting to give me the creeps.” I look down at the cat one more time before putting my camera back in my bag and following my best friend out onto a main street. I hope the cat finds his way home.
**
I get home, thankfully, before Orion and I quickly change out of my clothing and put on a simple back V neck, I stole from him. I’m putting everything onto my computer when I hear scratching outside 3rd story window. Curiosity gets the better of me and I walk over to see what it was. Opening my window reveals a black cat sitting on the fire escape next to my small herb garden and Yessy’s natural catnip plant. And this wasn’t just any black cat; this is the same black cat from the meatpacking district; I can tell be the piercing green eyes.
A chuckle escapes my lips as he waltzes right into my bedroom like he owns the place. “You know my roommate is going to kill me if I bring another cat into the house.” I say to the cat as he jumps onto my bed and curls up against my pillows. “But it’s my birthday in a couple days, I’m sure he won’t say no to letting you stay here until we find your owners.” The cat purrs contently as he falls into a slumber. A smile appears on my lips as I go back to my laptop; I can’t kick him out now.
“This could be the last we see our baby girl, Jakob.” Ophelia states. “I can’t stop looking at her. I want to mesmerize her face and hear her laugh and giggle. This can’t be the end, Jakob. It just can’t.”
“It won’t be. She’ll come back to us; our sweet Charlotte will come back to us.” Jakob promises his wife. “With the things we are leaving her with; she’ll find her way back home.”
“I just hope you’re right about this.” Ophelia sighs. “I pray you’re right about this…
“Hey I’m leaving!” I hear Orion yell over the sound of running water and Lilith Immaculate by Cradle of Filth. I wait to hear the door slam shut in typical Orion style before I turn off the shower. After that I pull out my phone and dial my friend Danni’s number as I turn down the music.
“What’s up Cherry Bomb?” Danni asks, answering the phone.
“I know this is last second, but I need you to come down to the meatpacking district tonight.”
“Why are we going down there at night?” She questions. “Is that, I don't know, dangerous?”
“There is a new street artist down there and I need to take pictures for my Urban Decay collection.” I reply. “Please, I can’t wait to do this. They could be gone by tomorrow.”
There is a sigh followed by brief static on the other end. “Fine, I’ll do it. Meet me at my place in fifteen minutes, okay?”
“See you then.” I say, smiling as I hang up the phone. Time to get dressed and get the hell out of this apartment for the night…
**
“Why are old factories so creepy at night?” Danni asks as she pulls her jacket closer to her body. “It feels like I’m in a horror movie.”
“Relax, D.” I chuckle looking back at my blonde bombshell best friend. “Nothing bad is going to happen. All I need's a few pictures then we can run home and we’ll be safe. That’s it.”
“Can you please hurry up?” She whines. “The quietness is creeping me out. Silence and I aren’t good bedfellows and you know that.”
I should have came by myself, I think to myself as I go back to shooting pictures of this mural. It’s different than the others around town. It looks like a far off place. The clouds are fluffy and bright white. The sky is a wild blue. It’s a mixture of dark ocean water and bright blue skies. And the flowers; they don’t seem like flowers I’ve seen before. It looks magical; something that can’t be.
“Cherry, come on.” Danni rushes me. “I think I hear something.”
“It’s probably just stray cats or a dog.” I tell her. “Hell it could be a rat.”
“Or an alligator from the sewage,” she adds. “But I don’t want to be around to find out.”
Before I can even reply to her craziness, there is movement by a grouping of crash cans. The sounds of metal clanking against each other bounce against the brick buildings causing an echo.
“What was that?” Danni asks, clinging onto me. My right arm is in her death grip.
Slowly we walk over to the crash cans. A sigh of relief escapes my lips when I see a big black tom cat hiding inside the fallen trash can. “There is your monster, Danni.” I laugh, pointing to the cat. “It’s just a cat.”
“A black cat,” she states as she shudders. “Let’s go. Black Cats bring bad luck.”
“Since when are you so superstitious?” I ask her before kneeling down in front of the cat. The cat looks up at me with bright green cautious eyes. I slowly put my hand out in front of it and instead of running away; the cat comes closer and rubs up against my hand. I let out a chuckle as I start petting it. “This guy must be someone’s pet. Seems too friendly to be feral.”
“Orion will kill you if you bring home another cat.” Danni states. “I still don’t think he’s forgiven you for bringing home Yessy.”
“I’m not bringing him home” I assure her as I stand up. “Because you are right, Orion will kill me if I bring in another living thing.”
“Do you have everything you need?” She asks, earning a nod from me. “Then let’s go. This place is really starting to give me the creeps.” I look down at the cat one more time before putting my camera back in my bag and following my best friend out onto a main street. I hope the cat finds his way home.
**
I get home, thankfully, before Orion and I quickly change out of my clothing and put on a simple back V neck, I stole from him. I’m putting everything onto my computer when I hear scratching outside 3rd story window. Curiosity gets the better of me and I walk over to see what it was. Opening my window reveals a black cat sitting on the fire escape next to my small herb garden and Yessy’s natural catnip plant. And this wasn’t just any black cat; this is the same black cat from the meatpacking district; I can tell be the piercing green eyes.
A chuckle escapes my lips as he waltzes right into my bedroom like he owns the place. “You know my roommate is going to kill me if I bring another cat into the house.” I say to the cat as he jumps onto my bed and curls up against my pillows. “But it’s my birthday in a couple days, I’m sure he won’t say no to letting you stay here until we find your owners.” The cat purrs contently as he falls into a slumber. A smile appears on my lips as I go back to my laptop; I can’t kick him out now.