"And I told you, that's just not gonna cut it!"
Cindy cupped her hand and dragged it along the length of her face. She wasn't exactly sure why it was such a natural thing for people to do. It didn't really do anything, at least not in her experience. It simply felt like an appropriate gesture to show off just how much she'd rather be anywhere else on the planet than where she was right now.
"Ma'am, I understand it's a bit pricey, but I really can't go any lower than that."
She was at it again. Her mum was notorious for haggling. They couldn't walk through the market and just pay whatever number was on the price tag. It always had to be an argument.
Sure, they weren't exactly well off. Penny pinching was a basic survival trait that her family had instilled into themselves through the generations. Really though, when the difference was only a couple of quid, she could never see the point. Especially when she, being only nine years old and still far away from financial independence, was often left to sit on the curb whilst her mother raged against the capitalistic tyranny of Simon, the local butcher.
It was a quiet time of day. Not many people around, all the smart ones were inside. The sun was slamming down hard on the pavement. Several times, Cindy had to reposition herself to avoid getting toasted by the heat of the cement beneath her. She felt like a sausage, rolling round and round to avoid burning.
After several minutes, she had to give up the charade and stand up. There are few things in the world more dangerous than when a child has been forced to sit still for long periods of time, then has the notion to suddenly get up. They build up tension, with a sort of industrial efficiency. Once they get up, they have to spend it all on the very next thing they do.Ā
Adults still haven't quite figured this rule out though. Yet it always puts them out when it happens. It's like stretching an elastic band as far as it will possibly go and expecting it not to snap right into your thumb the first chance it gets.Ā
Now, Cindy wasn't exactly the type of child to be bouncing off the walls, or snapping into thumbs for that matter. Another child would be running around the street, torturing the insect population or climbing on top of something they most definitely should not be climbing on. No, Cindy wasn't like that. She was worse.Ā
A curious child can be fascinated by a dung beetle for a good twenty minutes or can be found on the other side of town after ten. Depends what catches their attention first. On this day, however, it was a little, black cat.Ā
Cindy was very familiar with the local wildlife but she was not at all familiar with this cat. It looked like it was still a kitten, maybe only a few weeks old. As much as she tried, she couldn't think of anyone in the feline community who would be the mother. She spent enough time on this blasted curb to have most of them cross her path, so she was very familiar.
She saw it stroll its way into an alley. She peeked around her shoulder.
"These are yesterday's sausages, aren't they? Don't try it, I wasn't born yesterday! Half off, at the very least! Sounds fair, doesn't it?"
Mum would be a while yet. She avoided eye contact with poor old Simon and slunk across the street. A little peek and then she'd hurry back without a soul noticing her absence.
She peered down the alley. It was dark. A strange, almost supernatural darkness that seemed to persist in spite of the bright sun. It was like the buildings encircling it were designed in such a way as to deprive the little crevice of any natural light.Ā
Cindy remembered reading how trees in the rainforest would spread their branches wide, to take in as much sun as possible and to starve the little baby trees below them. There were no branches above her however. She felt as though this kind of darkness was not something that could be explained away with trees or perfectly placed buildings or anything of the like. It was different. As if someone had flicked a switch and actively turned the dark to the 'ON' position.
Squinting, she was somehow able to spy a little black shape amongst the other black shapes. To be more precise, a cat shaped one. Defying all laws of perspective, she seemed even tinier up close than far away. Yes, of course she was a 'she.' All cats are girls, until proven otherwise. Everyone knows that, Cindy had always thought.
She was licking her little paws and sitting much more patiently than Cindy had been. Was she just cooling off in the shade or was she maybe waiting for something?
It didn't take long for Cindy's first question to be answered. The problem was that the answer only caused more to sprout in her little mind.
What's in that person's hand? The answer seemed to be a little fish, which the kitten happily nibbled on.
Who is that person? While she couldn't put a name to them, she recognised them as a skinny, old man, probably as old as her granny. It seemed impossible to her, but he might even have been older than that.
Why does it feel so cold? This one was a doozy. Not fifteen seconds ago, she was being cooked alive. Now though, there was an unmistakable chilly feeling.
Much like the darkness, the chill was not normal. She still felt the heat of the sun on her skin. The cold seemed to be coming from inside. Like someone had slipped an ice cube down the back of her shirt and it had slowly melted into her skin and reformed on the other side.
She felt a strange alarm going off in her head. An odd, buzzy feeling that made her brain feel as if it was being stroked the wrong way. A primal, distinctly human warning that something wasn't quite right.
Children are terrible at listening to warnings. They're famous for it.
It wasn't quite instant. Her eyes adjusted the same way they did every morning when she woke up. The supernatural darkness seemed to come into focus a little more, allowing a spare bit of light to barge its way through. The chilly feeling was melting away. The little cat took half a moment to stare back at her with big eyes like dinner plates. Or maybe supper, for all the size of it.
Fish firmly in its fangs, it strutted the opposite way and down a corner just out of view.
What was I doing here again?Ā
"Cindy? Cindy! Come back here and stop messing around!"
Mum was holding up a bag of sausages like a hunting trophy. Simon was massaging the bridge of his nose. Another odd gesture people like to use to show off how annoyed they are.
Cindy took one last look down the alley, then skipped over to Mum.
"You'll eat pork and leek, won't you?"
Mum talked and talked all the way back home. Cindy didn't really hear her though. Her mind was elsewhere.
It was a very cute cat after all.
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