by K. J. Emrick
Home. It just has a nice, safe sound to it, doesn't it? Like no matter what's going on in your day, you know you're safe when you get home. That's exactly how I felt as I went around to the back of the house where my secret little entrance is. There's a gap in the foundation where the cellar walls meet the support beams. Easy enough to slip through. Just like that, I was in.
Home.
Couldn't be any safer than I am right now.
Heaving a sigh of relief, I shook myself all over and drank probably half of the water in my dish. Solving mysteries around this town can make a guy thirsty. It's sort of becoming a habit for me. Not that I mind. I kind of like helping out where I can. I just hope it doesn't become something I have to do all the time.
Climbing up the stairs I can feel the day catching up to me. The sun is still out, and it's still warm, and with everything else I've done today sleep is ready to claim me. So up the stairs I went, stretching out on the carpet along the very top stair. It's one of my favorite sleeping places. Right in the middle of everything, but still nice and cozy. I stretch out and yawn, my tongue curling as my muscles twitch and I close my eyes, looking forward to a nice long nap.
I roll over onto my side, thoughts of a certain gray cat running through my mind, completely forgetting where I am.
Stairs.
And down I went.
Ow…
Wait…
No, not the…
Ooph…
Ow…
Ow ow ow…
Hey isn't there a bottom—
Meow!
Ach!
OW!
It's a pretty common misconception that cats land on their feet when they fall. That's kind of true. Feet first is the preferred method. Some of us less graceful cats land everywhich way when we fall. Especially when we're falling down a full flight of stairs all the way to the bottom where we end up landing right on the top of our head.
The rest of my body followed me down, trying to land in the same spot as my head did, and, well, you get the idea. Things can go paws-up in a hurry when you're not being careful.
I could feel it when it happened. My life slipping away, I mean. It's like you're leaving your own body and I suppose it's kind of like what dying feels like for people. It's a scary thing. A single dreadful moment in a cat's life when they know they've gone from having nine full lives down to having only eight. I guess, considering how hard I fell, I was lucky to only lose the one life.
Getting back up onto my paws, shaking badly, I meow and spit and call myself every word for stupid that I know. I know a lot of them.
Today, I had survived a fall from a window, getting nearly scared to death by a stupid crow, running full tilt into a glass door, nearly getting run over by a truck, and several other misadventures. All to wind up falling down the stairs in my own house and losing a life to something as mundane as gravity.
Don't I feel stupid.
So, there it is. I've never told anyone this story. It's seriously embarrassing. If the other cats ever found out they'd never let me live it down.
I wonder what that gray cat with the liquid blue eyes would think? I might just make an exception and tell her, someday. If I can ever find her again.
Anyway, that's the story of how I ended up having only eight lives. I've been careful ever since not to lose another. Well, more careful than before, anyway. Careful isn't always easy to come by here in Misty Hollow.
This town is a lot bigger than it seems.
—End—
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About the Author
Strongly influenced by authors like James Patterson, Dick Francis, and Nora Roberts, Kathrine Emrick is an up and coming talent in the writing world. She is a new Kindle author/publisher and brings a variety of experiences and observations to her writing.
Based in Australia, Kathrine has wanted to be an author for the majority of her life and can always be found jotting down daily notes in a journal. Like many authors, she loves to be surrounded by books and is a voracious reader.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at the local library.
Her goal is to become a bestselling author, regularly producing noteworthy content and engaging in a community of readers and writers.
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