Warriors Short Stories | 2020

The Fluttering Jewel | Short Story

The kitten stared through the glass window, his black and gray tail hung off the windowsill and swung back and forth. Vinnie wanted to meet the birds the ones that flapped around the small yard, the ones that played hide and seek in the roses. The birds that were so carefree, the birds that ate out of the food that Vinnie’s human mother put out for them. They were sparrows, he heard one of the human kittens say. And Vinnie wanted to meet one.

“It’s a really hot day today, isn’t it Vinnie?” Vinnie’s human mother asked as she brought him down from the window before he got a chance to meow a reply. She opened the window slightly and let a small but comforting breeze in. “That’s better.” She smiled and walked down the long hallway to her bedroom.

Vinnie watched her go and started to follow his human mother, only to be stopped by the sounds of chirping. The sparrows chirping. Vinnie turned his head and ears to listen to the relaxing sound as it put him under a spell. His paws brought him back to the window and he sat under it. The window was open just enough for him to crawl under and finally experience the world outside of his huge den.

Vinnie tried to remember how he got on the windowsill in the first place. Oh yeah, the littlest human kitten lifted him up there. Well he couldn’t ask for that again. The human kittens were at a place they called school. Vinnie pondered on how he would reach the window and then he saw the spotless white couch against the wall the window was at. The black and gray kitten walked over and leaped up and onto the white cushions, landing on a soft pillow.

Vinnie clambered across to the windowsill. Now that he was up higher, it would be much easier to jump up and escape to the outside world. Vinnie’s heart sped up as he wondered about all the wonderful things he wound find out there. Vinnie jumped up and onto the windowsill he had been sitting on a few minutes before.

He peered out the window that he had been looking through all morning. The birds were still going about as if today were a normal day. Well it wasn’t. It wasn’t for Vinnie.

The warm breeze wafted through the crack in the window. Vinnie bent down to sniff it and a bundle of new scents awoke his nose. The kitten purred and made the final decision. He would venture to the outside world today.

I won’t go far, Vinnie thought to himself as he crawled under the window, just enough to experience what it’s like. Finally he made it out and onto a colorful flowerbed. The ground was spiky and green, and Vinnie wondered how bad it would poke him when he jumped down. White roses lined the edge and blossom trees swayed calmly, calling for the escaped kitten to come and sniff the small blossoms swirling to the ground.

“This is wonderful,” Vinnie whispered, his mouth curling into an excited smile.

A pearly white bird feeder full to the rim with seeds sat under a blossom tree. Small, brown sparrows huddled in a gathering there, with some in the feeder and some pecking at the ground for extra seeds that fell earlier.

Vinnie raised his tail into the air and dropped onto the surprisingly soft, green ground. He was planning on talking and meeting the birds (they would be better company than the humans and the dog inside), but they opened their feathery wings and flapped far away when they saw him coming.

The kitten frowned. His chance of making new friends was gone.

“They won’t let you get close to them,” a female voice that he could clearly understand said from above.

Vinnie peered up a noticed an adult tabby cat sitting up on the brick wall. “Hello!” He smiled. Maybe he could be friends with this newcomer.

“Good afternoon,” the tabby said.

“Why did the birds fly away?” Vinnie asked.

The tabby threw her head back, amused. “They are our prey, and they don’t want to be caught.”

“Oh,” Vinnie looked down at his paws, disappointed and a bit confused.

Then a bright color caught his eye.

The gray kitten looked up and noticed another creature of some sort fluttering with grace by his nose. Sparkling blue and black colors were patterned in its wings.

“Why hello!” Vinnie exclaimed.

The sparkling creature flew around his head and landed on his small, tan nose. Vinnie’s eyes widened and he froze, trying to stay as still as possible. He tried to examine the creature while it rested on his nose, but he soon got double vision and it hurt his eyes.

“Oh look!” The tabby suddenly became very interested in talking to Vinnie. “You found a fluttering jewel!”

“A what?” Vinnie asked, trying to move his mouth as less as possible.

“A fluttering jewel,” the tabby replied. “They’re beautiful and rare. Isn’t cool and fascinating?”

Vinnie didn’t answer. He was too busy watching the “fluttering jewel” flap away with the warm breeze, up and over the roses and the brick wall. Vinnie grinned and a wave of calmness washed over him.

“Just fascinating,” he heard the tabby cat murmur with a dazed expression.

“Goodbye new friend!” Vinnie called after the fluttering jewel.

Suddenly a sound of a door opening came from behind him and he turned around to find his human mother coming outside with open arms.

“Whoops, gotta go!” The tabby cat exclaimed. She ran across the wall and jumped into the neighbor’s yard.

Vinnie waved his paw in goodbye as his human mother picked him up and lectured him that he shouldn’t venture outside and was an inside cat. Vinnie licked her chin, grateful that she had brought him in, for he was beginning to get tired from all the adventure and new discoveries.

The kitten’s human mother opened the clear door and closed it behind her. Vinnie stared out of it. The birds had returned and got back to eating and pecking quickly. Maybe Vinnie will finally meet a bird. Maybe he’ll see that tabby again, and he’ll learn her name. Maybe he’ll find a window left open and he’ll jump out and onto the soft, green floor. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll get the opportunity to see the  rare and fascinating fluttering jewel again. Maybe. But that would be an adventure for another day.