The Cat Who Liked Rain

Then he wondered what to do with the empty tin. Mum would doubtless think it was odd. She had a remarkable ability to see everything that nobody ought to be able to see. That somebody had eaten the cat food even when Night wasn’t there, for instance.

Lukas put some of the food from the saucer back into the can, and added a few drops of milk to make it look a bit more than it was. Then he closed the fridge door and tiptoed out into the hall. He listened to his father’s snores as they came rolling out from the bedroom. Then he carefully unlocked the front door and put it on the latch so that he wouldn’t be locked out when he’d closed it behind him.

It was still raining. It felt very cold, and Lukas shuddered. He wasn’t wearing any socks. He’d just stuck his feet into his Wellingtons. It felt creepy in the dark garden. Lukas hesitated before daring to enter the darkness beyond the light cast by the lamp over the door.

The currant bush was a long way away in the darkness. When it was light, Lukas used to think it wasn’t far at all to the fence. But now that it was dark, it felt as if the fence was as far away as a star in the sky. A black star that didn’t glisten.

He didn’t have a torch with him. But nevertheless, he would have to be brave and dare to walk into that darkness even so — and the splashing of the rain would prevent him from hearing if anybody came creeping up behind him.

But he had to do it. He needed to do it for Night’s sake. He had to be brave, even if there was nothing so difficult as daring to do something you didn’t dare do.

He closed his eyes tightly and ran through the darkness, holding tightly onto the saucer of food. He stumbled when he came to the fence, and spilled half the food. But he didn’t dare to pick it up, he didn’t even dare to look round. He clambered over the fence. He came to the currant bush, placed the saucer on the soaking wet ground, and ran back towards the welcoming light over the front door.

Then he went back to bed, his heart pounding.

He wasn’t yet sure what was worse: Night having disappeared in the darkness, or him daring to do something he didn’t dare to do.

He eventually fell asleep.

The next day, after he’d woken up, he ran through the garden to the wild, mysterious currant bush — then stopped dead.

Night wasn’t there.

But the saucer was empty.

Six

Lukas stood absolutely still.

It was as if his heart had stopped beating. He couldn’t stop looking at the empty saucer. So Night had come back. He’d returned to his currant bush, he’d found the saucer of food, and he’d eaten up everything that was there, because he was so hungry. Lukas couldn’t possibly stand still any longer. Night must be somewhere close by.

‘Night,’ he shouted — no, he yelled. He yelled so loudly that a neighbour who was sweeping up fallen leaves jumped and almost dropped his rake.

Then Lukas started searching. He would have to find Night now. On the opposite side of the road, where they hadn’t started building houses yet, there was a lot of high grass, bushes, and some trees. That’s where Night must be. Lukas looked left and right, then ran over the road. And started looking for Night. Now that he was sure that Night wasn’t far away, he wasn’t frightened any more. He was so sure of himself that he could turn the search into a game. He imagined Night as a wild and dangerous predator who could only be tamed by Lukas. A red lion, he thought. The rare and highly dangerous red lion can only be found in the jungle on the other side of the River Rowan. Lukas picked up a broken-off branch lying in the ditch. He had a weapon now, and would be able to overcome the red lion.

At that very moment the postman arrived on his bicycle. Lucas ducked down behind a bush. The postman, dressed in blue, was one of the most dangerous of all enemies, and had to be avoided at all cost.

But the postman noticed Lukas and waved to him as he pedalled past.

One of the more friendly postmen, Lukas thought. There aren’t many of them. But sometimes you get lucky.

Then he carried on searching. It was still a game, looking for the red lion. But the lion became more and more difficult to imagine, the more he searched for it. He started to feel frightened again, when he couldn’t find Night. Eventually, the red lion had disappeared altogether, the tree branch was just a branch, and not a weapon; and there was still no sign of Night.

Suddenly, Lukas was angry with his cat. Why was he acting like this? Why didn’t he come home?

Lukas went back over the street, taking with him the empty saucer, and went back to the house. He kicked off his boots and went into the kitchen, where his mum was. He felt a need to talk to her.

‘Night’s come back,’ he said.

‘Really?’ said Beatrice in astonishment. ‘Where is he?’

‘I can’t find him,’ said Lucas. ‘But he’s come back home. I know he has. He ate the food I put out for him last night.’

Beatrice looked at him in surprise.

‘Now I don’t understand what you’re talking about,’ she said. ‘What food?’