Year of the Rabbit

The Star's Children
2002-10-16 01:47:33 (UTC)

Chapter Three:

I woke with a start as I herd my Sailor Moon alarm clock
go off next to my bed, I pushed down the button on her
head and the theme song stopped automatically. I grabbed
the remote next to the clock and pressed the power button.
The TV across my bedroom turned on as I rolled over and
rubbed my sleep dust filled eyes, my mind was still a bit
groggy from my dream that didn’t seem to come back to my
head. As soon as I could open my eyes wide enough I
glanced at the Tv, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Theme song was playing, I
couldn’t help but smile.
I love my cartoons, more then anything. Sure I’m a
teenager, but there’s nothing I cherish more then waking
Saturday morning at 8:00 and watch my cartoons until noon -
I even skip breakfast- then get up and get dressed, grab a
light lunch and start to read my comic books all over
again for the millionth time.
I hugged my baby blue covers with white daisies scattered
across it, and sighed. I wasn’t tried, but I wasn’t awake.
There’s no better feeling in the world. As today’s
episodes started I looked to my stuffed teddy-bear-rabbit,
she was a white rabbit with pink ears, nose and eyes. She
was one of my prized possessions. A thought crossed my
mind, more like a man crossed my mind. That face, that odd
and questionable looking face, just peering back at me
threw the bus’ window. But no, my mind didn’t stop there.
My mind had to remind myself what he said. That man,
standing there, in the football field, talking to me. What
did he say?
“Meet me at the lighthouse tomorrow at eleven, before
high tide.”
The words echoed in my mind. Should I go? Was I just
imagining this guy? If I was- why?
I frowned as I kicked the covers off of my bed and rolled
out, my feet found their way into my baby blue and white
slippers as I changed into my usual blue jeans and
sweater. I couldn’t just lay there in bed like usual. I
don’t know why, I just didn’t feel like it- not with that
guy wandering through my mind like that.
I finally took a seat at the foot of my bed and tuned my
attention to the TV, sure the episode was a re-run, but
none the less it was a cartoon. As soon as I was getting
more interested into the cartoon, I herd a loud howl come
from outside my window. I glared at my window, the howl
stopped. I looked back at the TV and the howling started
back up again, I glared at the window once more hoping
it’d stop the thing outside my window- even though it
couldn’t see me. It started back up as soon as I continued
to ignore it.
“What!?!” I yelled at my window as I jumped up and pushed
open my white lace curtains.
I looked around but no one was there, I then looked down
and I saw a little cat sitting there. Howling it’s head
off like a rooster to the dawn of the new day.
“. . .” I just stared at it, “How can such a little thing
make such a noise?”
As if to answer my question the cat howled again that
face cringing howl, I walked out of my room and down the
hall to the front door of the house. I walked out of the
house and to my window outside, I looked around for the
cat but it was gone. I turned around to go back inside but
I stopped as the cat sat there before me and howled again.
“I’m not aloud to feed you!” I hissed at it, “Mum won’t
let me!”
It’s true. My Mum didn’t want me to feed any of the
strays around the neighborhood. It just so happens that
Crescent City has an obscenely large number of stray cats,
Crescent even has it’s own cat center where strays can
come and go as they please. Me, I have my own cat, her
name’s Smokey. We found Smokey as a kitten in an lot
across the street from our apartments in Carson City
Nevada, she’s been our cat for about six years now.
I looked down at the scrawny little thing before me, it
was a really pretty cat. It was Siamese, small, and petit.
I bent down and stroked the cat, it purred and hummed as
it gazed up at me with those beautiful big brown eyes. I
swore the cat was grinning at me, but that’s silly, cat’s
don’t smile.
I looked around, Mum’s car was gone. She was probably off
and at work already, I knew for a fact my brother Joe was
still asleep. I herd a thud come from our backyard, Da was
obviously in the tool shed. I swooped up the cat in my
arms and hurried back into the house to my room, I placed
the cat in my room and ran to the kitchen, grabbed a fist
full of food from Smokey’s bowl and scurried back to my
room.
I placed the fist full of cat food in front of the cat’s
nose and closed my door, locking it. I leaned over my bed
as I watched the cat eat the food gingerly, I grew bored
of watching the cat eat and moved my eyes from the cat to
the TV where the seconded episode was already playing of
Yu-Gi-Oh! When the cat had finished I picked it up and
leaned on the wall, I cradled the cat in my arms and
started to stroke it’s head. It purred and hummed like it
did when we were outside, I smiled. Smokey is going to be
jealous, I know it. I could picture Smokey already meowing
at me for having another cat’s sent on me. I chuckled.

* * * *

Eleven o-clock rolled around, Yu-Gi-Oh! was still playing
and the very last thing on my mind was that guy from the
football field. Everything right then that mattered to me,
was my cartoons.
The cat at my feet swiped a paw and left a small scratch
at the button of my left foot, I yelped and glared at the
cat. I just fed you! What more do you want!? The cat
cocked it’s head to the side and started to howl it’s
lungs out at me.
“Shh!” I hissed at it, “Or I’ll throw you out that
window!”
The cat stopped instantly, it started to pace in front of
my TV, after a few minutes of that the cat jumped onto my
bed.
“No way kitty,” I stood up, “I don’t want YOUR fleas on
MY bed!”
The cat ignored me as it headed to the head of my bed,
when it got there it lunged at my Sailor Moon alarm clock
and batted at it furiously. I briskly walked over and
snatched my poor Sailor Moon out from under the new
terrorist of my bedroom and placed her back on the
nightstand next to my bed. I glared at the cat as it
started to howl again.
“Yes I know it’s 11 o-clock!” I snapped at it, I
paused, “. . . eleven o-clock . . .” I looked at the cat
before me, did it know I had to be somewhere at eleven? If
it did, why did it want me to be there so badly? I swore I
saw it grin again, “That’s it! Your going outside!”
I took the cat up by the scruff of the neck and marched
down my hall way, when I got to the door I held the cat up
evenly before my face. I looked at those brown eyes, they
were warm and friendly, like a human's. I shook my head,
it’s just a cat. I opened up the door and lightly chucked
the cat out onto my front door steps.
“Scoot,” I watched the cat hurry down the steps and away
from my house, “You howl at my room again and I’ll hang
you by your tail Mr.!”
I closed the door and leaned up against it, I sighed. I
told myself over and over again that I just imagined that
man. That he wasn’t real. He was just a figment of my
imagination. I admit, I have quite a bit of an
imagination, but this is absurd.
I started to walk away from the door but then paused,
should I go to the lighthouse? I shook my head, no.
Besides, how would you get there silly-goose?
I smirked at myself as I went back to my room in hopes to
catch the last few minutes of my cartoons.
But no such luck, cartoons had ended and a "Reality" TV
Show had already started. I switched it off and walked
down the hallways to the kitchen, I took out the bread and
popped it into the toaster, I started to take out the
things I'd need for a half way decent sandwich when my Mum
walked through the door. I looked up.
"Hey hun," Mum brushed my single bang that always hung in
my face to the side and kissed my forehead, "How are you?"
"Peachie," I took the toast from the toaster and started
to butter it up with mayonnaise, "You?"
"Pretty good," She pulled down a bowl from the cupboard
and slid it over to me, "Could you do me a favor?"
"I knew there was a catch," I smirked at her,
jokingly, "What is it?"
"Could you go across the street and pick me some black
berries?" She smiled, "Please?"
I rolled my eyes and smiled back, "S-uuure."
Another thing that Crescent City (and any other forest
cities) was it's berries, you couldn't walk down the
street without passing a black berry bush or a raspberry
bush or any kind of bush with a berry of some sort.
I took the bowl and marched outside and across the street
where a huge family of black berries populated a large
lot, the lot was empty and un-owned but it always had a
sign on it saying the real owner was willing to sell it
please call this number, blah blah blah.
I started to pick the berries when all of a sudden I felt
the oddest presence behind me, a cold and slow shudder
went down my back. I tried my hardest to ignore the
feeling, it was probably just a stray cat. Yea, that's
right. A stray, that's all it is. Someone coughed behind
me and I whirled around, he was standing there.
"I thought I told you to meet me at the lighthouse at
eleven," He said, his brow knotted into a frown, "Not here
at a bush across from your house."
"I don't have to listen to you," I snapped at
him, "Besides, I didn't tell you to come here. Did I?"
His frown subsided to a puzzled look, he shook his head
violently.
"This will not do," He said, "Not at all, this is
insubordination."
"Insubordination!?" I yelped as I glared at him, "I don't
even know your name, you crazy loon!"
"What's your sign?" He asked.
"That's s-ooo old, besides," I scoffed, "I'm half your
age!" I paused, "What are you any way's? A stalker?"
"By thirteen years to be exact," He thought something
over, "Tiger."
"It's Bunny," I hissed, "Some of my friends call me
Bunny."
"Technically it's Lagomorpha," He ‘corrected’ me, "So
let's meet half way and call you Rabbit or maybe even
Hare."
"Sure," I rolled my eyes, just amuse the lunatic all
right?, "Long as you don't call me Tiger."
"No," He waged a finger at me, "Your Rabbit, I'm Tiger.
It's the Chinese zodiac. Don’t you know anything?"
"What ever you say Kitten!"
"ARGH! Your impossible!!"
He flung his arms into the air and turned around, he
paced to and fro in front of me as if deciding something
over. He continued to mumble things over and over, but I
couldn't understand a word what he said. He asked
questions aloud and even paused as if someone was
responding to him, I stood there and watched him
curiously. I wanted so badly to just run but something
told me that I wouldn't get too far, he stopped. Looked at
me, and sighed.
"Fine!" He hissed to no one, "I'll do it your way!"
"Pardon?" I asked.
"My name is Ross Banks," The odd man flung out a hand,
almost regretfully, "I'm from Regina, Canada. I am 1974,
Tiger."
I cocked my head to the side, "Is that a type of car?"
"No!" He shouted, I took a step back, "Year of the Tiger!
Do you know nothing of your blessing!?"
My the puzzled look just got more puzzled, my what?? I
forced a smile and nodded, "Of course I do," I slowly
backed away from him, and around him, "You stay right
here, I'll be right back all right?"
"Wait, I'm not done talking to you!" Ross seized me by
the shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" I yelped.
I quickly grabbed a finger from his hand and bent it back
as far as I could. He let go of my shoulder with a howl of
pain, I gave him a quick swift kick in the shin before I
ran past him and back to my house.
I hurried inside and slammed the door behind myself, my
Mum came out of the kitchen and looked at me questionably.
"Sarah? Is everything all right?"
"There's a guy after me!" I yelped, "Call the police!"
"What?" She went past me and to the door.
"No! Don't open it!"
She opened the door and peered outside, she chuckled.
"What's so funny!?" I snapped at her.
"Hun, there's no one out there," She opened the door
wide, "See for yourself."
I peered outside, once again... he was gone, without a
trace...
Must be a bad habit of his.

(c) 2002




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