It happened five years ago. My neighbor, Granny Vera, had buried her husband, a war veteran, and was left all alone. They had no children. The old lady often reminisced about her dear Mitchel.
They had married just before the war. Then her husband went off to fight, while faithful Ruth waited for him. Mitchel returned alive, but without his left hand. He loved his wife dearly and treasured her. He promised to always protect her from harm, but he couldn’t keep that promise. He passed away, leaving her alone!
On the anniversary of her husband’s death, a large black cat showed up at her place. It appeared at night, seemingly from nowhere, meowing pitifully at her door. A blizzard was raging, and the wind howled fiercely outside, but somehow Granny Vera heard the meowing. Stepping outside, she saw the unfamiliar cat. Feeling sorry for the poor creature, the old woman let it into her home and even placed a saucer of milk for it.
But, refusing the milk with a proud, independent air, the visitor wandered through the rooms. After carefully inspecting the house, it chose a spot on the owner’s pillow, began to purr, and immediately fell asleep.
For some reason, Granny Vera didn’t drive the cat away and lay down nearby.
In the morning, she took a closer look at the cat. Well-groomed and plump, it didn’t look at all like a stray! Jet black, with striking green eyes taking up half its face, and a decidedly confident demeanor. Another note-worthy detail: the left front paw was missing some toes, as if they had been torn off.
“Just like my Mitchel’s!” the old lady cried.
Meanwhile, the cat gently jumped into her lap and purred.
“Pussycat, you need a name… Maybe you’ll be Toby?” she gently stroked the animal and scratched behind its ear.
The cat shivered and gave Granny Vera a look that caught her off guard.
ITS EYES WERE HUMAN! NOT “LIKE HUMAN,” BUT TRULY “HUMAN!”
“I see. You don’t like ‘Toby’. Then, perhaps Oliver? It’s a nice name!” she said hurriedly.
The cat meowed in dissatisfaction, leapt off her lap, growled, and started scratching the sofa.
“Alright, alright. I won’t give you a name just yet. You’ll just be Cat for now. Just leave the sofa alone,” she kindly asked.
Murmuring something indiscernible in response, the Cat complied with her request and promenaded to the living room.
So they began living together: Granny Vera and Cat.
I visited the old lady quite often, and she told me amazing stories about her Cat!
Firstly, the Cat healed her. After her husband’s death, Granny Vera had a heart attack and her heart often troubled her. But no sooner would she lie down than Cat was right there. He would ease his soft, warm body onto her chest, purr, and fall asleep.
The pain would vanish as if it had never been there!
One time, a rather extraordinary incident occurred! Granny Vera had lain down. Settling in beside her and purring sweetly, Cat dozed off too. There was a knock at the door. Rising, she went to answer. Cat followed her. It was Victor, the local drunkard and troublemaker. He shoved a foot in the door and demanded money from Granny Vera for more booze, swearing vulgarly. The old lady tried to refuse, but the scoundrel insisted and got bolder by the minute. He even stooped to insulting her and defiling her late husband’s memory.
Suddenly, Cat unexpectedly growled and lunged at the offender. Victor brushed him off, but Cat sprang again, nearly latching onto his throat. Cursing, Victor gave up and left.
Cat, looking meaningfully at his owner with his HUMAN eyes, raised his tail high and, feeling his duty completed, retreated to the room.
Once, Granny Vera planned to go to the town council about firewood and asked me to accompany her. We were taking the bus to the town center. I agreed and took the morning off work to go by her house early.
The old lady was sitting on the bed in her house clothes, looking flustered and even bewildered.
“Granny Vera, why aren’t you ready? Get yourself together; maybe we can take a lift from someone,” I directed.
“I won’t be going, dear. I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know how to say… Just don’t laugh at me… The Cat doesn’t want me to go.”
“What?!” I exclaimed angrily. “I got the day off, and you’re deferring to a cat! Get yourself ready!”
“Listen, dear. I had everything prepared last night; I went to bed. I dreamed that my Cat spoke to me. He looked at me and said: ‘Stay home, Ruth. You shouldn’t go tomorrow.’
I was in shock! Not just because my Cat spoke! But because he called me Ruth! Only my late Mitchell called me that! AND THE CAT’S VOICE WAS EXACTLY LIKE MITCHEL’S! Meanwhile, the Cat started singing. That song Mitch loved: ‘Through the wild steppes of Exmoor Where gold is found in the hills… Remember, Ruthie, I sang it before heading to the war?’”
I gathered the courage to ask:
“Mitchel, is it you?!”
“WHO ELSE CAN IT BE?! I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS FOR YOU ALONE, SO I CAME BACK…”
So, Ruthie, relax and stay home tomorrow. They won’t have good news for you there anyway. The firewood will come next week. Tell Lucy to refuse that surgery. She won’t survive it…”
And then I woke up…”
To say I was shocked would be an understatement! I was silent for quite some time, gasping for air like a fish.
Then it struck me:
“Granny Vera, are you feeling okay? Should we call the ambulance? Your blood pressure must be off!”
“Couldn’t be better, dear! I talked with my sweet Mitchel!” she replied, smiling through her tears.
I checked her blood pressure nonetheless. Amazingly, it was normal!
From that moment on, Granny Vera started calling her cat Mitchel. Curiously, he responded to the name at once!
Soon, Granny Vera’s predictions (or the Cat’s?) began to come true. The bus we were supposed to take to the city nearly overturned that very day.
There was black ice, the bus skidded, and the driver lost control. Thankfully, no one was killed, but many were injured. A coincidence? Perhaps. And exactly a week later, Granny Vera received her firewood delivery…
The neighbor asked me to call Lucy, Mitchel’s niece, and advise her to cancel her scheduled surgery. But she didn’t listen and passed away on the operating table…
ANOTHER COINCIDENCE?! I doubt it.
So they lived together: Granny Vera and her cat Mitchel. He continued to heal and protect her, staying with her until the end of her days…
Granny Vera lived to 94. She passed away last year. Until the very end, she was up and about, always worrying about her Mitchel. She made me promise to take care of him if anything happened to her.
She left quietly in her sleep, without suffering…
I remember how Mitchel, her cat, mourned Granny Vera. He was already old, and his once lush black coat had grayed.
During the three days the coffin lay in the house, Mitchel never left its side. I SAW TEARS ROLLING DOWN HIS EYES!
People scolded, shooed, and even kicked the cat… Yet he somehow always found his way back to the coffin, sitting by it and weeping!
Mitchel followed the deceased to the grave and, once they laid her to rest, stayed there. I tried to catch the poor guy and bring him to my place, but he ran away…
The Cat remained in the cemetery on Granny Vera and her husband’s grave. He refused to come with me, and I visited daily to feed him.
I worried about how the cat would survive the winter there and made attempts to take him with me by force. Once, I succeeded, but that very day, he disappeared and I found Mitchel back at the cemetery.
The winter was harsh, but the cat made it through. He passed away early in the spring. When I came to feed Mitchel, as usual, I found him on the grave. Curled up beside Granny Vera’s cross, Mitchel seemed to protect her peace…
I don’t know if Mitchel was just an ordinary cat or if the spirit of late Grandpa Mitchel really inhabited him…
There’s so much talk about reincarnation these days; people say one can come back as any creature – including a cat.
I don’t know if that’s possible. But I want to believe that in the form of Cat lived the spirit of Grandpa Mitchel. He returned to his dear Ruthie, to protect and save her…
And he stayed with her till the very end, just as he promised.
