The Cat Who Liked Rain

‘Of course he hasn’t run away,’ she said. ‘This morning when your dad and I were having breakfast he was scampering around in the kitchen. There were fish bones all over the floor. You don’t need to worry. He wouldn’t go out when it’s raining like this, now, would he? Cats don’t like rain, surely you know that?’

Just for a moment Lukas felt a little calmer. It was true what Mum said, Night didn’t like water. Once, and only once, Lukas had tried to give Night a bath — and had decided he would never do it again. Night had wriggled and scratched and in the end Lukas had been covered in water and soap. Night had hidden underneath the sofa in the living room, as far in as possible, and it was several hours before he came out again.

So Lukas felt a bit calmer. But not for long. He searched through the house once again. This time he made as much noise as he possibly could, in an attempt to make Night appear. He also fetched a tin of cat food from the pantry and hit against it with a fork. Night usually recognised the noise, and would come bounding up, even if he’d only just finished eating.

But Night didn’t appear. He was nowhere to be found. Eventually Beatrice joined in the search as well. When Whirlwind finally woke up and saw how unhappy Lukas was, he also started calling for Night.

They spent all day searching, but there was no trace of Night. Lukas and Beatrice put on Wellington boots and rainwear, and went out. It was typical autumn weather, windy, and pools of water everywhere. They searched through every inch of the garden, and Beatrice also asked the neighbours if they’d seen Night. But they all shook their heads, nobody had seen him.

When Axel came home for dinner, he started looking as well. That was Lukas’s last hope. If his dad couldn’t find Night, nobody could.

But there was no sign of Night.

‘How on earth was he able to get out of the house?’ Axel wondered. ‘And why has he chosen to run away on a day when it’s been pouring with rain all the time?’

But Lukas didn’t want to know why Night had disappeared. All he wanted was for somebody to help him find his cat. Axel and Beatrice and even Whirlwind tried to console him.

‘He’ll come back,’ they said, over and over again.

‘Night doesn’t like getting wet,’ said Lukas.

‘A cat will cope with anything,’ said Axel. ‘They say a cat has nine lives. You don’t need to worry. He’ll come back.’

‘I don’t care if Night has nine lives or not,’ said Lukas. ‘I just want him to be here.’

‘You’re bound to get a new cat if he has run away,’ said Whirlwind. That was the stupidest thing he could possibly have said. He didn’t mean any harm, of course. But as far as Lukas was concerned, it made it sound as if Night no longer existed, that he was no longer alive, that he might even never have lived. Had it all been no more than a dream? Had he dreamt about that birthday present he’d been given over six months ago? Had he been asleep all that time and only thought he was awake? Perhaps he had in fact received a carpet, or a box of old shoes?

‘I don’t want any other cat apart from Night,’ said Lukas, and now he couldn’t stop himself from crying. There is only one cat in the whole world that I care about.’

That night Lukas didn’t want to go to bed. He went from window to window, staring out into the darkness where the rain was pattering against the swaying street lights. He tried to force himself to see through the thick darkness, forcing Night to come back.

But the street was deserted. Night wasn’t there.

When Lukas finally fell asleep on a chair in front of the living room window, Axel carried him into his mum’s and dad’s bedroom.

‘It’s best for him to sleep here with us until he wakes up,’ he whispered.

‘What can we do?’ Beatrice wondered.

‘I don’t know,’ said Axel. ‘Let’s just hope the cat comes back.’

But Night didn’t come back the next day either. Beatrice wrote out a number of little notices that she and Lukas could attach to lampposts, telegraph poles and notice boards, and inside shops.

Runaway Cat

Has anybody seen a black male cat with a little white patch at the tip of its tail?

Please contact Rowan Tree Road 19.

Telephone 491408.

Reward.

‘Put a million kronor,’ said Lukas.

‘I can’t do that,’ said Beatrice. ‘We haven’t got as much money as that.’

‘Put it in any case,’ said Lukas. ‘Then people will understand how much I miss him.’

‘They’ll understand that even so,’ said Beatrice.

It continued raining the next day as well, the second day with no sign of Night. Lukas went with Beatrice to put up the notices. When they got back home again, Lukas asked for some money so that he could go and buy a comic. Beatrice thought it would be good for him not to simply hang around, wondering where Night had disappeared to. But Lukas didn’t go to buy a comic. Instead he went back to all the places where they’d stuck up notices, and added an extra line at the end.