Something
stirred in the brown crisp pile of leaves over in the shadows next to the old
building. Closer examination revealed a black cat standing over the disturbance
in the leaves. The cat’s eyes were a luminous green color, but they projected
kindness and a touch of sadness. The black cat had only a stub for a tail and
it did not run when approached. The woman and man had come out to the old
mining plant on business. They were about to leave when the woman spotted the
wild movement of the leaves.
The man and woman got out of
their car and approached the black cat. Down in the leaves, jumping furiously
around was a black and tan ball of fur. The kitten did not resemble the black
cat and was the only kitten to be found with the black cat. The kitten was most
definitely a seal-point Siamese. It had a black face, paws and tail, but was
beautiful beige in the middle. Its eyes were as blue as the sky and appeared to
be crossed. It had been playing with a dead bird that presumably the black cat
had brought to it.
The woman had not wanted another
pet. She had recently lost the last of a series of stray cats that she had
adopted. Her three-year-old daughter however had begged for a puppy for about a
year now. On a whim, the woman picked up the kitten. “Could the kitten be as
good as a puppy?” she thought. Having picked up the kitten, there was no
turning back. The woman and the kitten were bonded for life. She wanted to take
the black cat as well, but decided that one cat was enough.
She looked at the man and asked him if he
would take the black cat. He decided that it would make a good pet and a good
mouser for his hay barn. However, when he turned to pick up the cat it had
disappeared. They looked all around for it, but there was no sign of the black
cat anywhere. “My that’s strange,” said the woman.
“Yes,” said the man. “ I wonder how it got away so
fast?” It was time for them to go so they didn’t have more time to ponder the
mystery.
The kitten was dropped off at the
local veterinarians. The woman returned after work to get it. Everyone in the
vet’s office wanted to keep the kitten but the woman knew that it was a keeper
and belonged nowhere else but to her. It had been named Smokey on the ride to
the vets. The man had thought of it and the woman agreed, after discarding some
other possibilities.
So Smokey went to his new home
and was presented to a little girl. The little girl was delighted to have this
new friend. She loved him a lot even though he wasn’t a puppy. The only problem
was Smokey had developed an unusual attachment to the little girl’s mother.
They did not know it yet, but Smokey was an unusual cat. He had powers that no
one suspected. If anyone really knew this cat they would never look at animals
the same way again. For one thing, Smokey could talk. Oh, not like people do.
He had his own language. People just had not been able to learn it. Smokey
understood English quite well. He knew his name and he knew when people talked
about him. He also understood what they said. He had a huge capacity for love.
He loved the woman and the little girl dearly.