Oliver the Cat
“Emily, are you home?” James burst into the flat and froze when he saw his wife in the hallway. She was crouched on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. “I couldnt understand a word you said on the phone. You were crying so hard, and then, of course, my battery died. What happened, Emily? You look awful.”
“Olivers gone…” Emily barely managed to say. “Hes not here.”
“Gone?!” James was baffled. “Where could he have gone? Can you explain properly? Maybe hes hiding somewhere in the flat?”
“No. Your sister… Victoria… She said he ran out into the stairwell when she was taking Noah out for a walk. But James, you know Oliver… hed never run out on his own. Why would he? He nearly died out there last time. I think she let him out on purpose…”
“What?!” James clenched his fists. “Where is she now? Wheres Victoria?”
“She went to the shops, I think… I dont know. Ive been searching for Oliver all this time, but hes nowhere. No ones seen him. How could anyone do something so cruel, James? Throw a defenceless creature out into the cold. In the middle of winter. Is that even human?”
“Most people wouldnt. But Victoria… Victoria would. Shes done it before. Dont worryshe wont set foot in this flat again. And I *will* find Oliver.”
—
A month earlier…
James was walking to the bus stop when he noticed something grey beneath a layer of snow.
At first, he thought it was just a rock. But rocks dont shiver like an old refrigerator.
Thats what caught his attentionhed never seen a stone tremble from the cold before.
Curious, he stepped off the path and moved closer.
Only then did he realise it wasnt a rock at all. It was a tiny grey kitten.
“Well, Ill be…” James muttered, scratching his head. “What are you doing out here, little one?”
It was a rhetorical question.
Anyone could see what a pet was doing out on the streetstrying to survive. Thats all this kitten was doing. He wasnt mewing for help, wasnt making a sound. Just lying there, shaking.
It was as if hed already accepted that no one cared. So he didnt even try to call out. Just focused on staying as warm as he could.
James carefully scooped the kitten up, brushing snow off his fur before tucking him inside his coat. He sprinted for the bus stop just as the bus arrived.
The whole ride home, he thought about Emilyhow shed always wanted a grey tabby kitten, but theyd never found the time to visit a shelter.
Now fate had dropped one right at his feet. And when fate gives you something, you take it.
“Emily, Ive got a surprise for you,” James announced cheerfully when he walked in.
“Oh, youve been spoiling me lately,” Emily smiled, stepping into the hallway. “First those gold earrings, then the new phone Id been wanting, then cinema tickets. What is it this time? Ski resort getaway?”
“Better!” James beamed, unzipping his coat to reveal the kitten. “Here! Found him outside. Isnt he exactly what you wanted? Grey and striped?”
“Oh my goodness,” Emily gasped. “Hes freezing, poor thing. Give him here, Ill warm him up. And yougo wash your hands, dinners ready.”
She looked down at the kitten and smiled. “Hes beautiful…”
And so, Oliver became part of their family. They debated names for agesconsidered classics like Tom or Felixbut settled on Oliver in the end.
“It just suits him better,” Emily said.
“Agreed, love.”
This happy event happened at the end of November, just as the first snow fell. Oliver never got to experience the “joys” of winter on the streets.
Thank goodness. For many strays, thats the end of the road.
In the two weeks Oliver lived with them, James and Emily grew incredibly attached.
Notheyd loved him from day one. But with each passing day, that love only grew stronger.
Oliver adored them too. Kind, gentle people whod never hurt him or abandon him like his previous owners had. So he felt safe. Even when he knocked things off shelves or tables, theyd just gently remind him to be careful.
*”I will!”* hed chirp back, before promptly leaping onto the dresser and swiping the TV remote for the tenth time that day.
Everything was perfect until the knock at the door.
“Who could that be on a Sunday morning?” James rubbed his eyes and squinted at the clock6:30 AM.
Still dark outside.
“Maybe the neighbours?” Emily suggested. “Something mightve happened.”
“Ill check.”
When James opened the door, he found his sister Victoria on the doorstep. With her five-year-old son, Noah.
“Hey, little brother,” she smiled. “Weve come to stay. You dont mind, do you?”
“Actually”
“Oh, I knowI shouldve called. But its a bit of an emergency. And you wouldnt have picked up this early anyway, so I thought Id just come. Can we come in? And help me with the suitcasedragging it up to the fourth floor nearly killed me.”
James, of course, let them in. But the suitcase unnerved him. People didnt usually bring luggage for a casual visit.
“Did something happen?”
“Isnt it obvious?” Victoria replied with a question of her own. “My husband kicked me out. Found himself a new woman, can you believe it? Ive got nowhere else to go. If you dont mind, Ill stay here a while. Until I figure things out. We can even spend New Years together! Thatll be nice, wont it? Its been ages since we caught up.”
“You know why we havent,” James said coldly.
“Oh, come on. Water under the bridge, yeah? How long are you going to hold that over me? People make mistakes.”
James wanted to argue, but stopped himself.
No point starting the day with a fight.
And Emily wouldnt approve of him tearing into his sister right after shed been thrown out.
Even if Victoria *did* deserve it.
Five years ago, their father passed away. Hed lived separately for years but always helped financially. He left behind a spacious three-bedroom flat in London, meant to be split between James and Victoria. No other relatives.
At the time, Victoria was pregnantno one knew who the father was.
With their mothers backing, she begged James to give up his share of the inheritance. *”I need it more,”* she insisted. *”Youre a man. Youll manage.”*
James didnt put up much of a fight. He understoodshe really did need a place to live. He was in student housing at the time. So he agreed. Hed manage. Get a mortgage if he had to. Everyone did.
Fine.
But after Noah was born, Victoria *sold* the flat and moved in with some new boyfriend who didnt mind taking her *and* the baby.
*”Vals starting a business and needed the money,”* shed explained. *”Anyway, it was my flat. I can do what I want with it. Clear?”*
James, of course, blew up. That wasnt the deal.
If shed sold it, she couldve at least given him *half*. For fairness. But he never saw a pennyit all went into Vals “business venture.”
Their mother stayed out of it: *”Sort it out yourselves, youre adults.”*
Though ten years earlier, when they were kids, shed stayed out of it then, too.
Back then, James had brought home a stray kitten hed found on his way home from school. A while later, it disappeared.
He didnt suspect his mothershed *let* him keep the kitten (they lived in the countryside, plenty of space). The only possible culprit was Victoria.
*”Tell me where you took him! Now!”* hed shouted.
But she never confessed. Though James could see the lie in her eyes. That kitten had annoyed her from day one. Later, he brought home anotherand that one vanished too.
Coincidence? Unlikely.
Their mother just shrugged, and Victoria played innocent. After that, James stopped bringing animals home…
So, naturally, their relationship was strained.
And now here she was, at dawn, asking to stay.
“James, where else is she supposed to go?” Emily sighed. “Let her stay a while. Until she finds a place. You cant throw her out with a child. And New Years is coming upmaybe youll finally make up.”
“Fine,” James relented. “If youre okay
