The Cat Who Liked Rain

‘It’s a he,’ said Axel. ‘Shouldn’t you be leaving for school soon?’

Whirlwind disappeared into his room without answering. Lukas was relieved to be rid of him. Whirlwind could be difficult sometimes.

‘Well,’ said Axel. ‘What do you have to say?’

‘Thank you,’ said Lukas. ‘Thank you very much.’

‘You mustn’t ever forget that you have a cat,’ said Beatrice. ‘He needs to have food every day, and you’ll have to play with him. And change the sand in the litter tray. You’re a big boy now, Lukas. Seven years old.’

‘I’ll look after him,’ said Lukas.

‘Anyway, I’d better be going,’ said Axel. ‘By the way, what did you think, when we came in with an old cardboard box?’

‘I thought I was going to get a pair of old shoes,’ said Lukas.

Axel gave him a wink.

‘I saw your lower lip starting to tremble,’ he said. ‘But of course we weren’t going to give you a pair of old shoes!’

‘Of course not,’ said Beatrice.

They went out of the room and left Lukas alone with his cat for the first time.

When he lifted him up, he gave a little squeak. Then he started playing with one of the buttons on his pyjama jacket.

At that moment, Lukas just knew that he was in love with this cat. He’d often wondered what it would be like, being in love with something. Now he knew. He’d got something for his birthday that he’d never even dared to dream about.

He was interrupted by Whirlwind barging in through the door.

‘It’s not allowed in my room,’ he said. ‘Don’t forget that!’

‘You must knock before you come into my room,’ said Lukas. ‘Look, you’ve frightened him!’

‘A dog would have been better,’ said Whirlwind. Then he left and slammed the door shut.

Lukas guessed that Whirlwind was only jealous. That wasn’t a bad thing. Now Whirlwind could find out what it felt like. It was usually Lukas who felt jealous, because Whirlwind was allowed to do much more than he was. Now he could have some of his own medicine.

It seemed to Lukas that today marked the start of something different. Having a cat of your own that you were responsible for — that was something tremendous, something important. He must start by finding a name for the cat. What could you call a cat that was completely black? He wondered if he ought to have the same name as he did, Lukas. That could be good when Mum or Dad shouted: they would both come. But what would happen when Whirlwind shouted? That would be bound to cause problems, because he’d said the cat wasn’t allowed in his room. No, Lukas would have to think of a different name. He looked at the cat, who had lain down on the middle of his pillow and fallen asleep. He was a completely black patch on the white pillow. And then it struck him what name the cat must have. Lukas didn’t know of anything that was as black as the night.

Obviously, his cat would be called Night.

Now he had the only cat in the whole world called Night.

He lay down with his head next to the cat, and started stroking him. He immediately started purring.

‘Night,’ said Lukas. ‘I have a cat called Night. I have you.’

Then Lukas fell asleep, and when his mum wondered why it was so quiet in his room and popped her head round the door, only Night was awake. Lukas was fast asleep.

From that day on, Lukas thought of hardly anything apart from his cat. Night was a remarkable cat. Although he could only miaow, or squeak when he was hungry, it seemed to Lukas that he always understood what he’d said. Lukas had made up his mind that if he couldn’t teach the cat to talk, he would have to learn the cat’s language. Then they could go out into the world together.

He had never imagined he’d get such a wonderful present when he celebrated his seventh birthday.

Three

And so Lukas began his new life with Night.

It was soon clear to him that everything had changed since Night joined the household. Every morning when Lukas woke up, it was Night who’d woken him. He would jump up onto the bed when he thought Lukas had slept for long enough, and lie down on his face. Deep down in his dreams, Lukas could hear a purring noise: he would slowly wake up and open his eyes. The fur was so soft, and there was a smell of leaves and rain about Night.

The only problem was that the cat couldn’t tell the time. He sometimes woke Lukas up at four in the morning. Lukas tried to explain to Night that it was too early, and that he wanted to sleep longer than that. But Night just carried on playing, and when Lukas pulled the covers over his head, Night would continue to tug away at the sheets and bite Lukas’s toes. Lukas had no choice but to get up, go to the kitchen and pour out some milk for Night, in the saucer on the floor next to the cooker. Then he would close the door and hurry back to bed. Night would sit in the kitchen, squealing and squeaking, but there was nobody to let him out until Beatrice and Axel got up to make breakfast.