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When the Rain Falls, Contd.

Chapter 2

Aphrodite stared up at Joseph. Her eyes were deep orange and seemed to blaze like the embers of a fire. Her dark fur rippled with each step, as black as coal, as dark night itself. Joseph could see her claws curled like crescent moons, sharp as a pirate’s dagger. Wiry whiskers jutted out and bristled like an old man’s beard. Her ears pricked, sensing every sound.

To Joseph’s amazement, she opened her mouth. Ivory teeth curved, as savage as a poacher’s metal trap. She nudged forwards, sniffed his hand and her pink tongue, rough as sandpaper and blood-hot, licked his fingers. Joseph was transfixed.

“She likes you,” said Mrs Hill, as the great cat turned and disappeared into the bushes. Joseph looked up at her and could not help but smile. On their way back to the village, the night wind rustled the leaves in Spinney’s Acre as if the trees themselves were shivering. Moonlight illuminated the path ahead. Joseph sensed that they were being watched. He paused and peered back between the trees. For a second, he thought that he saw the fiery eyes of the great cat.

“She’ll be watching,” nodded Mrs Hill. “I found her a few years back in the snow. She was a cub then, starving. Someone must have let her loose. I reckon they couldn’t afford to feed her, what with the war. I took her in, like a secret, and nursed her back to strength. My, she grew so fast!” Joseph listened attentively, fascinated by the story. “She’s our secret Joseph. They’d shoot her, if they saw her. No one must ever know.

That night Joseph dreamed of the great cat. Aphrodite, slinking through the dark forest, eyes of fire piercing the gloom. When she had licked his hand, he had shuddered. Her eyes were fire but they had warmed him; spoken to his soul.

So it was that nightly, Joseph visited Aphrodite, taking any scraps that he could find. He learned from Billy Go-Lucky how to set rabbit traps and, often enough, he caught the odd cottontail which Aphrodite would snatch from his hand before disappearing back into the forest, giving a low, contented growl. Of course, she also hunted for herself, taking mice, voles, rabbits, hares and even bringing down the odd deer. She was shy but Joseph learned to lower his voice and talk soothingly.

One night, Aphrodite let Joseph stroke her back. Within weeks, she would nuzzle his pockets for scraps of meat, always making her low, throaty rumble. And Joseph changed.  He no longer scowled and once his chores were done, was off walking the village, checking his snares. Mrs Hill could hear him whistling or even singing one the hymns that he’d learned at school.

Over the months and through the summer’s heat, Mrs Hill saw how the wild cat soothed the wild boy and their secret bound them together.

© Pie Corbett 2024