They cast out poor Marmaduke Again For the third time in his short life Misfortune seemed to dog his every step, and nothing ever quite went his way.
He hadnt even turned one, but already three households had sent him away. At first, he’d simply been passed from hand to hand, as if he were little more than a borrowed book or a fading bouquet. But in the end
In the end, someone just took him outside, walked a ways from the house, and set him in a dustbin before hurrying off, careful not to let him remember the route home. Not that he tried to find his way back Marmaduke understood what had happened, right away. He’d seen the decision reflected in the mans expression. The wife had been terribly upset when Marmaduke scratched the new leather settee a rather expensive one at that. Shed delivered the verdict, and the husband? Well, he always went along with whatever she decided.
So, tucking the one-year-old cat under his arm, the man had gone out to the bin by the row of terraced houses. Marmaduke didnt run after him not even a bit. Hed seen that look, the finality in a mans eyes, and he understood. There was no sense hoping.
A word of farewell, perhaps, a gentle pat. At the very least, an apology. But there was none of that it felt less like being left behind, and more like someone simply dumping out a waste pail.
Marmaduke sighed and searched through the rubbish for something half-edible, gnawing on some old chicken bones. He crawled out and sat by the side of the big green bin, staring up at the sun. He squinted into the light, but didnt look away. There was a comforting warmth in that bright, distant disk, a warmth he clung to.
Those golden rays were the last of summer the tail end of lost warmth before autumn and winter finally edged in. The thin crust of frost that morning had thawed, but inside, Marmadukes little heart grew colder.
Evening fell, and the night brought with it the kind of chill that cut through to the very bone. When the sun vanished, a biting wind and sharp frost swept in, making his ginger fur stiffen with cold. He had nowhere to go and no idea how to find shelter. Stumbling upon a large heap of brittle, orange leaves, he burrowed in and curled up tight. At first, the cold made him shiver uncontrollably, but then
After a while, as the damp, icy wind turned his pelt to cardboard, the cold oddly faded. A soft whisper, gentle and kind, seemed to echo in his mind, soothing and coaxing him: Curl up, close your eyes just let it go, sleep now sleep, sleep He felt warmth wrap round his tiny body, seeping through the numbness.
It would be so easy to simply give in, let go, and find peace at last. No more disappointments, no more hurt.
Marmaduke took one last deep breath and agreed. After all, what was there left to fight for? Tomorrow would be the same, cold and hungry, with nothing but an aching wish to never wake up again.
The street lamps flickered to life in the distance. Marmaduke watched them one last time. He often gazed out at those golden glimmers from various windows in his short life, and now, for the final time, he let the soft glow reflect in his darkening eyes.
That lingering glimmer caught the attention of a small ginger-haired girl, walking home with her father. She tugged at his sleeve.
Daddy, look over there in the leaves! she said.
Theres nothing there, her father muttered, drawing his coat tighter against the chill. Lets get home. Im freezing.
He tried to pull her along, away from the pile of leaves, but she shook free.
I saw it! she insisted. I saw a light.
A light in a heap of dead leaves? he replied, rather bemused. That cant be.
But she was already kneeling by the pile, rummaging through the crumpled leaves, until her searching hands found something the cold, stiff body of a ginger cat.
Daddy! she cried out.
There he is! I told you, I saw him!
Who? her father asked, approaching uncertainly.
Here, she said, straining to lift Marmadukes frozen form.
Leave him, love, her father said quietly. Hes gone. We cant take a dead cat home.
Hes not dead, the girl protested softly but stubbornly. I know he isnt. I saw the light in his eyes.
The light? her father muttered, but he stooped down, touched the limp little body and listened, feeling for a heartbeat.
Oh, how sleep tempted Marmaduke, clinging to his eyelids, flooding him with warmth. And still, the faintest trace of a childs voice echoed in his mind: Light, Daddy, theres light in his eyes
What do they want from me, he wondered sleepily, why wont they let me be? Just let me sleep
With effort, he opened his weary eyes, just for an instant and the girls voice sang out once more, excited and triumphant.
There! Daddy, did you see? See? The lights back!
What light? her father murmured, puzzled. Nevertheless, he shrugged off his coat and wrapped Marmaduke up carefully, cradling the small bundle as they hurried home.
The little girl dashed alongside, pressing him on. Daddy, quick! Hes still so cold.
They disappeared up the stone path and into the house, where, moments later, the fifth-floor window shone with a cheery light. Marmaduke was bathed with warm water and soothed with heated milk. The girl sat beside him, pleading gently,
Please dont die, Marmaduke. Please stay with me
The frost on his coat gave way to warmth, which seeped right through to his soul.
The great ginger cat watched, amazed, as the father and daughter cared for him. He drifted back to wakefulness, filled, for the first time, with real warmth. Not from the radiator, mind, but from the tiny, welcoming heart of a little English girl.
Outside, someone lingered in the street below, the sort who arrives unseen in such times. He gazed up at the bright window on the fifth floor, quietly murmuring,
Ive done all I could, all I could
He stayed a while in thoughtful silence, then added to himself,
Not everyone can see the light. Not everyone. Even fewer can save it once they do.
But Marmaduke, looking into the eyes of the small, ginger-haired girl, had no thoughts of human greatness. Such thoughts belong to people, not cats. Instead, he thought only of his own.
He saw light the soft, unquenchable light shining in her eyes.
