Tommy was thrown out. Again. The third time in his short life. Luck just wasnt on his side.
Hed only just turned a year old, and already three families had cast him aside. Well, not exactly cast him asideat first, hed been passed from hand to hand. And then.
Then they just carried him outside, walked a little further from the house, and dropped him into a rubbish bin before hurrying off. So he couldnt find his way back. Not that he wouldve tried.
He understood. Straight away, he understood. From the look on the mans face. His wife had been furious when Tommy clawed their brand-new leather sofa.
Expensive, it was. Shed made the decision. And the husband? Well, the husband always agreed with everything.
He grabbed the one-year-old cat under his arm and walked to the bin in the next street. Tommy wouldnt have chased after him. No, he wouldnt. Hed seen the sentence in the mans eyes.
It was pointless. They mightve at least said goodbye properly. Given him a stroke for the road. Apologised. But no.
It was all rather heartless. Like tipping out a bucket of rubbish.
Tommy sighed and rummaged through the bin, nibbling on some old bits of chicken. He clambered out and sat beside the big green container, staring at the sun.
He squinted but didnt look away. The warmth from that big bright circle felt nice. He liked it.
Those were the last rays of sunlight. The last warmth of summer, autumn, winter. Just a little thaw. A thin layer of ice melted away.
But the ice in Tommys heart stayed frozen.
The evening and night were bitter. Once the sun had gone, the wind and frost set to work.
The ginger cat was freezing. He had no idea where to go or how to hide, so he found a pile of dry, rust-coloured leaves and burrowed into them, curling into a ball. At first, he shivered violently, but then.
Then, when the wind and icy drizzle stiffened his ginger fur, he stopped trembling. Some strange warmth spread through him. A quiet voice in the back of his mind whispered kind words.
Words that lulled him, urging him to close his eyes and forget all the hurt and misery.
*Just curl up tighter and sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep.* He could feel the warmth now, seeping into his stiff little body.
It was so easy. All he had to do was give in, and it would all be over. Peace. Eternity. No more pain.
Tommy sighed one last time and agreed. Why fight? What was the point?
Tomorrow would bring the same cold, the same hunger. The same longing to shut his eyes and never, ever open them again.
The streetlights flickered on in the distance. Tommy looked at them one last time. He used to watch their glow from his window. The ginger cat soaked in the light, his eyes gleaming one final time in the fading dark.
That tiny spark caught the attention of a little red-haired girl. She was walking home with her dad when she tugged his sleeve.
“Theres someone in there,” she said, pointing at the leaves.
“Dont be silly,” her dad muttered, pulling his coat tighter. “Lets get home. Im freezing.”
He tried to steer her away, but the girl shook her head stubbornly.
“I saw a light.”
“A light? In a pile of dead leaves?” her dad scoffed. “Impossible.”
But the girl was already digging through the leaves until her fingers brushed against fur.
“Dad!” she cried.
“I told you! Its him!”
“Whos him?” Her dad frowned, stepping closer.
“Here he is,” she said, lifting the stiff little body.
“Put him down,” her dad sighed. “Hes gone. We cant take a dead cat home.”
“Hes not dead,” the girl insisted. “I know it. I saw the light in his eyes.”
“Light in a cats eyes?” Her dad rolled his own.
Still, he bent down, pressing his fingers against the cats chest, searching for a heartbeat.
Tommy just wanted to sleep. So badly. His eyelids felt like lead, and warmth soaked through him. The voice inside whispered, *Sleep, sleep, sleep. Dont open your eyes.*
But that small, stubborn voicethe girlskept repeating, “Theres a light in his eyes!”
*What do they want from me? Why wont they let me rest?*
With effort, he cracked his eyes open.
“There!” the girl gasped. “See? I told you! The light!”
Her dad hesitated, then sighed. Stripping off his coat, he wrapped the ginger cat inside and started toward their building.
His daughter hurried alongside. “Hurry, Dad! Hes so cold!”
They disappeared into the stairwell, and moments later, light flickered on in a fifth-floor window.
Tommy was bathed in warm water and fed warm milk. The girl knelt beside him, pleading, “Dont die. Please dont die.”
The ice on his fur melted. The ice inside him melted too.
The big ginger cat watched in surprise as the man and his daughter fussed over him. He was awake now, properly warmnot just from the radiator, but from the little girls heart.
Outside, someone stood in the cold. The one who sometimes comes to help.
He watched the glowing fifth-floor window and murmured, “Thats all I can do. All I can do.”
After a moment, he added, “Not everyone sees the light. And not everyone who sees it can keep it.”
Tommy, gazing at the red-haired girl, wasnt thinking about the greatness of mankind. People think about things like that. He was thinking about his own small miracle.
Hed seen the light. The light in her eyes.
