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Novelo Rectangle

The Man cat.By Mary McLoughlinPaula was devastated. Her most beloved pet, the Man cat, had passed. She had him from when he was a kitten. He was fifteen, and her father had called him the Man cat, and the name had suited him.She had just buried Man cat in the back garden, and was sitting thinking about him, when she heard his familiar knocking on the door. She rose and went to answer the door, thinking he was back and knocking to come in.When she went to the door, nobody was there, no Man cat. How stupid of me, she thought, I must be imagining his little knocking by his cat flap, it always made a knocking sound when he came in. Paula had tears running down her face as she remembered the day on her twentieth birthday when her then-boyfriend Kevin had given her the kitten who was all black except for a white patch over his left eye. He was so cute and very independent and very protective of her. Her Mum and Dad said, “What are you going to call him? He is definitely your protector.”&nbsp;Paula said, “I don't know, I will have to think about it.”&nbsp;Her Dad looked at him and said, “Come here, little Man cat?” The kitten went to Him, lifted a paw, and then ran back to Paula. “What did you just call him?” asked Paula. “Man cat,” said her dad.So that was what she called him, and he always responded to it, her then boyfriend Kevin said, “What a silly name.” Paula told him you are jealous because my little Man cat protects me. He just laughed and said, “he is so cute, but you are right, he is possessive of you.”Two years later, Paula and Kevin married, and they had a lovely photo of themselves at their wedding with her holding Man cat. She picked it up and looked at it, remembering the day as if it were yesterday, when they returned from their honeymoon, Man cat was not happy about sharing the bedroom with Kevin, it took him a while to get used to Kevin, he did eventually but as always was very possessive of Paula.&nbsp;&nbsp;When Amy was born, their only child a year later, Man cat was delighted; he now had two females to look after, and he became just as possessive of Amy as she had with Paula. Paula thought, “How am I going to tell Amy when she comes home next week from staying with her paternal grandparents?” Kevin’s parents lived in Spain, and he had taken Amy to visit them during the school half term holiday for a week, Paula had deadlines to meet with her job, and they had decided that Kevin would take Amy as he had some holidays due, it would be nice for her to go with her dad to visit his mum and dad.&nbsp;She decided not to tell them until they came home; she did not want to spoil their holiday.This time yesterday, she had been talking to Man cat, telling him how much he must be missing Amy, and now he was gone. the tears flowed down her eyes as she re-lived what had happened today.On her arrival home which was early today about four o clock she had let herself into the house and could find no sign of Man cat, she though he must have gone out through his cat flap she went to prepare his dinner thinking he will be hungry if he has been out on the prowl, chasing the birds and squirrels in their garden.At six-o clock she went out to the garden and stated to shout for him no sign, so she went to the front of the house and looked out for him still no sign, this was not like Man cat, he was always home when she came home from work, for his tea around five thirty. It was as if he could sense she would be home at this time.At seven o clock she was now worried, when there was a loud knock at the door and Mr. Young from across the road stood their holding Man cat who looked like he was fast asleep, he told her he had found him like this in front of his drive way, when he had come home from work about five minutes ago, he had been hit by a car and he had been killed.Paula was in total shock, and Mr. Young asked her if she wanted him to bury him in the back garden. She was so upset he came in carrying Man cat, he then put him into his bed, which was in the front room, and got Paula a drink of brandy from the cocktail cabinet. She said to Mr. Young, “Who could have done this and not stopped? Poor Man cat, I hope he did not suffer.” She was so upset, but the brandy calmed her down. She thanked Mr. Young and told him that she wanted to bury him herself, and after he was sure she was okay, he left. Paula then went into the garden. she had taken out the spade and dug a hole under the small tree at the bottom of the garden where Man Cat liked to climb, she wrapped him in his favourite blanket then put him into the ground.At the end of the week, Kevin and Amy returned from their holiday, and Paula had to break the sad news to them. Amy was devastated, and Kevin knew how upset Paula must have been. They all hugged each other.A month later, they were all watching television. It was early on Saturday evening when Paula turned to Kevin and Amy and said, “Did you hear that knocking on the cat flap like Man cat always made when he came home from his wanderings?”&nbsp;Kevin and Amy said they had not heard anything. Paula got up and went to the back door where the cat flap was, and there, she found a little kitten that was all white except for a black patch over his left eye, just the opposite of Man cat. She shouted, Amy, who came running, followed by Kevin, and they could not believe their eyes.&nbsp;The End.&nbsp;

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The Man Cat

marymcloughlin

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The Man Cat

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