Day 66

Day 66:

It's Halloween today. It's a bit spooky out tonight.

There's a tension in the air, a presence floating on the wind, a chill seeping in through the walls. Strange noises that I swear I've never heard outside echo around my walls, and dark clouds assemble in the sky, preparing to rain on the trick-or-treat parade of the local children. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter against my window goes the rain, glossing the road over, and creating a shiny, slippery sheen. The cracks in the pavement fill with water, let's hope that nobody walks over them.

Cats in the street watch our human Halloween practices with their usual dismissive and superior eyes. They pop out from around corners, criss-cross over the road, and stand eerily under the streetlights, in full view of everyone. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, tiny footsteps clatter against the sodden pavements, little chatter echoing down the alleyways, while rain still splatters down. We wait for the knock at the door, footsteps and voices growing louder and louder, peaking outside, then pausing, waiting.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, they pass us by and fade away. There was no adult chatter, these days it doesn't seem to matter. No knocks, just footsteps passing by. The clouds are fading and making way for the breaking moonlight, coating the cats and illuminating the pavement in bright, white light. In the clearing conditions, more voices flooded the streets, and winds picked up. The cries were carried and whipped up all around my house, echoing down the alley and around the back. The inevitable, voices rising up against my door, footsteps stopping on the step. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, "May we come in for a natter?" I took a deep breath, rose my tired frown into a grin, and opened the door.

There were no children. Just a gust of wind blowing inside, and a cat staring at me from across the street. Stood in the middle of the road, unaware or uncaring of traffic. I'd never seen that cat before. When I closed the door and peeped out of the window, it was gone. My grin was gone, flipped around, and shone right back at me in my reflection. 

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter. "You look scared, what's the matter?"