Tandem

Raechel Harchey

Raechel lay still, the sound of her breathing the only noise to be heard. Her head spun as though she had been thrown in a tumble dryer. It was accompanied by a feeling of sickness deep in her gut and the burning of stomach bile as it rose through her throat. Raechel desperately tried to focus on the silence and peace that surrounded her as she lay in her Nook.

Just as she felt her heart rate return to normal and the sickness subside a little, she noticed a soft noise as though someone was tapping lightly on the floor. Odd sounds and noises were common when you lived so close to other people. If you paid attention to every little tap and scratch, you would never find peace and quiet. It was only when an unmistakable scrabbling noise erupted from inside Raechel's Nook, followed by the sound of fabric tearing, that she realised that the noises were coming from inside her Nook. She sat up quickly, cursing her actions as the blood rushed to her head, making her vision go dark and patchy. When it cleared, Raechel could see the source of all the disturbance peering back at her through the patterned fabric of a tapestry that was no longer hanging on the wall but instead was acting as a veil for the creature underneath. A ginger cat, with eyes the colour of emeralds, stared sheepishly at Raechel, who sat with her mouth slightly agape. To say she confused as to how he had made it all the way up to her Nook was an understatement.

However surprised she was though, she couldn't help but feel a little impressed by his efforts.

"Hello. What are you doing in here?" She asked, feeling a little stupid at herself for engaging in conversation with an animal. After all, he couldn't respond. Cautiously, she reached over to remove the thin fabric from over his face.

"Come on you need to go back home. Someone will be missing you for sure." How he was going to get back down Raechel had no idea, but he'd obviously gotten into the Nook, so as far as she was concerned, he could make his own way out.

Now that the tapestry no longer concealed him, Raechel noticed he had a white patch in the shape of an A on the top of his head. She couldn't help but notice he was on the leaner side, with his hip bones protruding slightly more than she thought they should be.

"Are you hungry?" Raechel reached over to a large tin in the back corner of the Nook, removed the lid, and broke off a corner of bread. She placed it on the floor in front of him and watched as he tentatively sniffed at it.

"It's not very exciting but it's all I've got."

The bread had been eaten before Raechel even had a chance to blink and confirmed her suspicions that the cat was very hungry. He began scratching at the mat on the floor, as if protesting at the minuscule portion he'd received.

"Please don't scratch that. I don't want to have to haul another one all the way up here." He immediately stopped, staring up at her with his soulful eyes.

"I hate to admit it but you're pretty cute and I think you know that." Raechel took the yowl to mean that he agreed. Judging by how skinny he was, it was more than likely he was a stray. If he was someone's pet, then clearly, they didn't care much for him. She couldn't resist the look of desperation and anticipation on his face and broke off more bread to feed him. She didn't have a clue what cats could and couldn't eat but figured that the little chunks of bread were better than nothing.

"What a hungry boy you are."

Slowly she reached towards him, attempting to stroke his soft fur. How he would react to being touched by a strange, new person Raechel didn't know but there was just something about him that was so reassuring and comforting. Gently she ran her fingers over his fur, all the while expecting him to react negatively to this new human contact, but he didn't. When he'd finished eating the bread, he pushed himself into Raechel's hand, clearly appreciating the kindness and affection.

"You're a confident little guy aren't you." He pawed at her hand as she moved it across the floor playfully.

"You want to stay here a while? If you do then you need a name." The white A marking on his head seemed to catch her eye even more in the light. It was almost like a superhero marking, maybe that was how he'd scaled the wall up to her Nook. She brushed the thought off as quickly as it had entered her mind.

"Alfie?" Raechel called out. The cat didn't respond in the excited way she'd envisioned him too. She'd watched too many videos of puppies running proudly and slightly giddily when their names were called and somehow expected this little guy to do the same.

Alfie had been the name of her father's first dog, he'd told her many stories over the years of the adventures he'd had as a child with Alfie the Retriever, until Raechel had begged him to get her a dog of her own. Sure enough Tripp the Jack Russell came home, a tiny ball of energy who'd been found by her mother abandoned on the roadside. Raechel loved every moment she'd spent with Tripp; he'd made her so happy. Now though, all she had left of him was the crippling reality of never knowing what happened to him. The force of the crash had killed two human beings who'd been restrained by seat belts, Tripp had been perched on her brothers lap the moment the two vehicles collided. Raechel didn't want to think about what had happened to her beloved friend; the guilt and grief would forever be with her.

"You're a strong cat, I can see it in your eyes. Don't ask me how but I just know it. You're the alpha male." She couldn't help but smile at him. Just his presence alone was comforting.

The cat stopped licking his paw at that moment to look Raechel in the eye. Two big green eyes stared back at her. She had no idea what he'd gone through, but she knew he'd seen things that most never would, just like her. He had that look about him, cautious yet at ease all at the same time. All Raechel could be sure of was that somehow, against all odds, he'd found his way to her Nook and that she wanted to care for him as long as he stayed.

"Alpha, welcome home."