Whiskers Went Missing
“Emily, are you home?” Daniel burst into the flat and froze when he saw his wife in the hallway. She was crouched on the floor, sobbing loudly. “I couldnt understand a word you said on the phone. You were crying so hard, and then the battery died. What happened? You look awful.”
“Whiskers is gone” Emily barely managed to whisper. “Hes not here.”
“Gone?!” Daniel stared at her. “How? Where could he have gone? Thinkmaybe hes hiding somewhere in the flat?”
“No. Your sister Victoria She said he ran out into the hallway when she took little Michael out for a walk. But Daniel, you know Whiskershed never just bolt outside. After what happened to him before Why would he? I think she let him out on purpose.”
“What?!” Daniel clenched his fists. “Where is she now? Wheres Victoria?”
“She went to the shops I dont know. Ive been searching everywhere, but no ones seen him. How could someone do this, Daniel? Throw a helpless creature out into the cold. Is that even human?”
“Most people wouldnt. But Victoria Victoria would. Shes done it before. Dont worryshe wont set foot in this flat again. And Ill find Whiskers.”
***
A month earlier
Daniel was walking toward the bus stop when he spotted something grey half-buried in the snow.
At first, he thought it was just a stone. But then he noticed it was tremblinglike an old fridge rattling on its last legs.
Curiosity got the better of him. He stepped off the path and moved closer.
Only then did he realiseit wasnt a stone. It was a tiny grey kitten.
“Well, well” Daniel murmured, scratching his head. “What are you doing out here, little one?”
It was a rhetorical question.
Everyone knows what happens to pets left outside. They survive as best they can and this kitten was barely managing that.
It didnt meow or cry for help. It just lay there, shivering.
As if it had already accepted that no one cared.
Daniel carefully scooped it up, brushing snow from its fur, then tucked it inside his coat and ran for the bus.
On the way home, he rememberedEmily had always wanted a kitten just like this. A little grey tabby. Theyd never found the time to visit a shelter.
Now here one was, as if fate had dropped it at his feet. And when fate hands you something, you take it.
“Emily, Ive got a surprise for you,” Daniel announced as he walked in.
“Oh, youve been spoiling me lately,” Emily smiled, stepping into the hall. “First those gold earrings, then the phone Id wanted for ages, then cinema tickets. What is it this time? Ski trip vouchers?”
“Better!” Daniel grinned, unzipping his coat. “Look! Found him outside. Isnt this the kind you wanted? A little grey tabby?”
“Oh my” Emily gasped. “Hes freezing, poor thing. Here, give him to me. You get changed, wash up, and come to the kitchen. Dinners ready.”
She cradled the kitten, smiling. “Hes beautiful”
And so, Whiskers came into their lives. They debated names for agesTom? Oliver?but settled on the classic.
“Whiskers suits him better than anything fancy,” Emily said.
“Agreed, love.”
That joyful day had been in late November, just as the first snow fell. Whiskers never had to endure the worst of winter outdoors.
Thank goodness. For many strays, thats a death sentence.
Within weeks, Daniel and Emily adored him.
Notheyd loved him instantly, but with each day, that love grew deeper.
Whiskers adored them too. Kind people. The sort whod never hurt him or abandon him like his last owners had.
Even when he knocked things overfor the tenth time that daythey never shouted. Just asked him to be more careful.
“I will!” hed meow back, already eyeing the next jump.
Everything was perfect until the knock at the door.
“Who comes visiting at seven on a Sunday morning?” Daniel rubbed his eyes, squinting at the clock. Still dark outside.
“Neighbours?” Emily guessed. “Maybe somethings wrong?”
“Ill check.”
When Daniel opened the door, his sister Victoria stood therewith her five-year-old son, Michael.
“Hello, brother,” she smiled. “Weve come to stay. You dont mind, do you?”
“I”
“Ah, I know, I shouldve called. But it was such a rush, and you wouldnt have picked up this early anyway. Let us in? And help with the suitcasedragging it up to the fourth floor nearly killed me.”
Daniel let them in, though the suitcase unsettled him. Guests dont usually bring luggage.
“Something wrong?”
“Isnt it obvious?” Victoria countered. “My husband kicked me out. Found himself a new woman, can you believe it? Ive got nowhere to go. Mind if I stay a bit? Just till I figure things out. We can even spend New Years together! Its been four years since we really talked. Were family, arent we?”
“You know why we dont talk. Lies dont make for good relationships.”
“Oh, dont dredge up the past. Who holds grudges? People make mistakes.”
Daniel bit back his retort.
No point starting the day with a row.
And Emily wouldnt approve of him berating his sister after shed been thrown out.
Even if Victoria deserved it.
Five years ago, their father died. Hed long lived apart but always helped financiallyand left a spacious three-bed flat in London to his children.
Victoria, pregnant at the time (by whom, no one knew), begged Daniel to give up his share.
“Daniel, sweetheart, shes having a baby. She needs the space,” their mother pleaded.
Daniel didnt fight it. As a bachelor in student digs, he could manage.
But then Victoria sold the flat and moved in with some new boyfriend who “needed the money for his business.”
Daniel was furioustheyd agreed shed keep it. At least give him half the proceeds! But he never saw a penny.
Their mother stayed out of it. “Sort it out yourselves.”
Just like when they were kids.
Back then, Daniel had brought home a stray kitten. It vanished soon after.
He never suspected their mothershed allowed the pet. That left Victoria.
“Where is he? Tell me!” hed yelled.
She never confessed, but he saw the lie in her eyes. That kitten had annoyed her from day one. When he brought home anotherit disappeared too.
Coincidence? Unlikely.
After that, Daniel stopped bringing animals home
And his relationship with Victoria never recovered.
Now here she was, suitcase in hand.
“Daniel, where else can she go?” Emily sighed. “Let her stay a while. Its almost New Yearsmaybe youll reconcile.”
“Fine,” Daniel relented. “But only till she finds a place.”
Something told him this wouldnt end well.
It didnt.
The next day, Victoria complained about Whiskers. He disturbed her sleep, sat on her sofa, looked at her “funny.”
Then Michael developed a sniffle.
“Its the cat,” Victoria declared. “He never had allergies before.”
“Doubt it,” Daniel said. “Hes probably just caught a cold. And even if it is allergiesWhiskers stays. Hes family.”
“Dont be daft,” Victoria laughed. “‘Family’? I thought youd outgrown this childishness. Dragging strays home like youre ten. How does Emily put up with you?”
“Emily loves animals as much as I do. Unlike youwhats your problem with them?”
“Theyre a nuisance. I cant sleep because of that cat. Michaels restless at night. Do you even care about your nephew? Youll understand when you have kids.”
Daniel went silent.
Children were a sore point. Theyd been trying for years. Doctors couldnt explain it. Victoria knewtheir mother mustve told her. And shed jabbed right at the wound.
“I suggest you donate that cat to a shelter. Michaels your nephew. Im your sister. Were your real familynot some stray.”
“Are you hearing yourself?” Daniel snapped. “Donate him? This is his home, not yours. If you dont like itleave. No one invited you.”
(He bit back the thought: Maybe donate your child instead.)
Victoria quieted but kept glaring at Whiskers.
When alone, shed shoo him into corners, bar him from furniture. Whiskers tolerated itthen retaliated. First, knocking
