THE KITTEN IN THE RAIN
“The Devil’s boots don’t creak.” —Scottish proverb
Alice woke up from her colorful dreams—the lightning woke her up—and now she just lay on her bed with the blanket on the side, listening to the heavy rainfall. She turned her head over to her night table that was crowded with stuffed animals, and looked at the digital clock that shone red light in the dark. The time was 1:17 AM. If she wouldn’t be sleeping soon, she’d be cranky getting up in the morning to school.
But she couldn’t sleep. She thought about counting sheep, but when the sheep appeared in her mind, Alice thought,
This is silly... I’ll never be able to sleep now. Another bolt of lightning struck the air and it sounded as if the rain had doubled its speed of falling. Alice thought she was dozing off, but she returned to reality with another terrifying sound of the lightning and thunder.
She was scared. She didn’t know why, but she was. “I can’t be afraid of the lightning,” Alice said aloud, as if there was another person in the room to listen to her. “Come on, Alice, you’re not a little baby, you’re fifteen. Get a hold of yourself. There’s nothing to be scared of... it’s just rain and lightning and thunder. No big deal. So, sleep... You have to wake up early tomorrow.” But those words of encouragement easily disintegrated with another strike of the lightning.
The sound of the rain was horrifying. It had that ominous tone and Alice’s heart was racing now. “It’s just rain... It’s just rain...” she kept on whispering, trying to calm herself down, but doing a poor job of that.
As the storm quieted for a moment, Alice thought she heard something in the rain, someone’s voice. She concentrated, but all she heard was rain hitting her window. It could have been her parents upstairs. No, there it is again... It’s definitely coming from the outside, from the rain.
Alice got out of the bed and looked into the window. All she could see was absolute blackness. She saw the black drops on her window constructing intricate images, and she could hear the sound of rain... but that was all. Outside it was like a black hole.
When the lightning ripped the air again, Alice thought she saw something just by her window move. Something small. She waited for another bolt of lightning to look at that something in the light of the flash.
The lightning did strike again, and Alice saw the something by her window. It was a kitten. She was sure of that. “The poor thing’s probably cold and lost and it’s crying for help,” Alice said to the window.
Now she heard clearly the kitten’s meow. It sounded so miserable, so pitiful, and frightened, that it made Alice feel like she had to rescue the little pet.
She looked back at the night table’s clock. It was 2:47 AM.
Time flies, Alice thought, and looked back to the window. As the lightning struck again, Alice saw the kitten had moved away from the window a little, but still was calling her. The kitten’s voice was very piteous.
Alice opened her window and called out into the storm, “Kitty-kitty! Come here!” Alice’s nightgown got wet the moment she looked out the window. The rain was heavy.
Another meow came from the darkness; the little kitten mustn’t have heard her. Alice yelled for the kitten again, but got a meow in response, which sounded just a little bit more away.
Why is it moving away? Alice thought.
It must be scared...
She looked at the open window, felt the carpet by the window was soaked, and looked again into the darkness of the night. The storm was getting heavier.
“Hey, kitty?”
Meow...
Since Alice’s bedroom was on the ground level, she just got out of the room through the window and into the cold, wet, and dark night. It was extremely windy, and all Alice had on was her nightgown and panties. She was wet and cold, her feet were covered with mud now, and she was looking for the kitten.
When the lightning brightened the night again, Alice saw the kitten sitting a couple of feet away from her.
“Oh, you poor, little thing...” Alice said, and moved toward the kitten, but as she was nearing it, the kitten stood up, and started to walk away. “Where are you going?” Alice said, but the kitten did not seem to hear her, and kept on walking. Then it stopped and looked at her.
Meow, it said.
“I’m not going to run after you just to save you from dying, you know,” Alice told the kitten as if it understood her. “Are you afraid of me? There’s nothing to be afraid of, I won’t hurt you.” Alice walked over to the little kitten, and it moved away from her. “Is it the rain? I know it’s scary and all, but you have to let me take you inside.”
Alice was all wet now, but hadn’t noticed. She was concerned about the poor, little kitten. As the thunder growled again, Alice went after the kitten, which was still running away from her, and did not let Alice approach itself.
“Come here, kitty! You’re going to freeze to death, don’t you understand?” Alice cried out through the blaring of rain and lightning.
It was after three in the morning now, but for Alice (who didn’t have a dry spot on her body, with her feet covered in mud) the time did not matter as much as saving the kitten. The kitten called from the storm once more, and Alice saw it walk away.
Stupid cat’s going to get itself killed in this kind of weather... Alice thought, and started out for the kitten.
In five or so minutes, Alice was far from her house, still chasing the little kitten. The storm had gotten worse.
At about four o’clock in the morning Alice and the kitten came near the end of the town, and the kitten walked into the deep woods that went on for miles, as far as Alice knew. But that did not bother her. On the contrary, she thought it’d be easier to catch the kitten in the forest. She walked into the dark woods after the kitten, absolutely unaware of the time, and her being wet and cold and covered up to the knees in mud.
Alice looked for the kitten in the woods, but it wasn’t there. She went in deeper and called it, but got no meow. She was calling it and looking for it, going deeper into the endless rows of trees, but the kitten did not respond.
Then, the storm quieted down. The rain stopped, and there was only a vague sound of the thunder coming from far away. The sun was starting to rise at the horizon; at first it was just a blood-red stain in the East, then the sun itself got out from the horizon, sending its rays over to the earth. A rainbow, just a small piece of it, was in the middle of the sky, and the water on the trees and the grass and everything else looked like little, beautiful diamonds.
And Alice never came home.