Back to Human

Chapter Seven

I was so exhausted that I managed to sleep with out waking up every couple of minutes. When I woke up I forgot where I was. I was warm and comfortable and for a minute I believed I was at home, in bed. That the smell of spaghetti was coming from my mum and any minute she would yell that dinner was ready and tell me off for taking a nap at this time of day. I opened my eyes and immediately found myself in an unfamiliar place. The carpet was a garish orange and extremely close to my face. For a second I sat, confused. Then I remembered everything and wanted to cry. I got out of the mess of towels and wandered around. I followed my nose and found Charlie in the kitchen cooking. I sat and watched her for a while with out her noticing me.

Did I trust this woman? She had saved me from drowning in the river, meaning she obviously didn't mean me harm. Charlie turned around, humming a cheery song. She stopped when she saw me. "Hey Bub, you okay there?" She asked as she kneeled down. She held her hand out like a fist, like you're taught to approach dogs. I walked up hesitantly and sniffed her hand. She smelt of tomato sauce and a sickly sweet smell like incense. The smell was setting off alarm bells in my head. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously but rubbed my face against her hand. She did save me after all. Charlie stood up. She walked over to her living room and I followed behind her silently. There was a pet bed on the end of her large sofa, and it looked brand new. "I had Lee pick up a few things for you while I stayed home to make sure you weren't going to wake up alone in a strange house." Charlie informed me. The bed looked comfy, much better than the hard plastic chairs that Cooper and I slept on. "You poor thing, I'm going to look after you." Charlie said somberly.

Charlie walked to the kitchen and opened a cupboard. It was full of different cat food brands and types. "I asked Lee to get you plenty of different food because I don't know what you'll like." She closed the cupboard door and turned around. "Oh, and Lee also got you a dirt dish." She said, gesturing to a litter box. Ugh, the indignity. Charlie turned around again to check on the food on the stove.

"Mmm, I think the spaghetti is ready kitty." She said absent-mindedly while turning off the stove. She pointed behind her casually and a cupboard door opened before a plate flew out.

Immediately I hissed and backed away from her.

SHE'S A WITCH!

Charlie- the witch turned towards me in confusion.

I ran to the front door and looked up to see if I could escape but the door handle was very high up. Even if I was able to reach it, the door had a deadbolt. I turned back towards the witch who was walking towards me with a look of concern. She reached out to touch me and I hissed again.

"Don't touch me!" I growled. The witch froze for a second and shook her head before continuing to reach out.

"I mean it! Don't touch me!" I yelled. The witch's face went pale and she backed up. She grabbed her phone and ran down the hall. I watched wearily as she raced into a room and slammed the door shut. I heard a click like she had locked herself in. I was confused. Why would she do that? I thought for sure she would do something terrible to me, maybe send me back to Eleanor. I silently crept up to the door. The witch's voice was sightly muffled but I could still hear everything she said.

"Pick up, pick up." She said sounding frustrated. Suddenly she was shouting hysterically. "You know how I talk to pets like they're human? MY CAT JUST TALKED BACK!" She paused for a couple of seconds. "No, you're not listening. She suddenly freaked out for no reason and when I went to check on her she said very clearly 'don't touch me'. I thought I was imagining it when she said it again. What do I do? Am I crazy? Animals can't talk but I very clearly just got told off by my cat." Another pause. "No, I didn't eat anymore of Ryan's mushrooms, I am one-hundred percent sober." Another pause, longer this time.