MY BESTEST FRIEND
MEEOW!

Written By: George L. Avery

One dark night as time stood still
and the moon was hiding behind the crest of a hill,
a young child awakened on her pillow of quill to see strange eyes at her window's sill. Her breath caught short and her heart stood still, while the strange eyes stabbed the darkness like a winter's chill. An unearthly wail broke the silence of the night. It was the cry of a Banshee who has a man in flight. The child sat upright, clasping covers to her chin, while elsewhere without, the Banshee wailed again.

"EGAD!" said she. "What can it be? And why should such a strange thing happen to me?"

She opened her mouth to call for her mom, but her breath caught short and no words would come. She thought she could hear footsteps pitter-patter on the floor. But it was only her heart beating once more. The creature sitting outside her window's sill did not speak, but she heard it still.

"Open the window," it said, "And let me in. I only want what is mine, again."

"OH GOODNESS!" she exclaimed. "I do not know what you seek ... or wish to find. I haven't got much, but what I have is all mine. Go Away! Go Away! My window is latched and latched it will stay."

"Open the window," it repeated. "Let me in. I only want what is mine, again."

She clutched the covers as tightly as she could and swore she would not get up, but she knew that she would. Her feet seemed to move with a mind of their own and soon over the side of the bed her legs were both thrown. Something was drawing her towards the dark window's sill. Where the creature did not speak, but she could hear it still.

"Open the window," it repeated. "Let me in. I only want what is mine, again."

Her arms hung loose against her soft cotton gown as one foot lifted and the other sat down. She was edging closer and closer to the window's sash when the night sky was lit by a lightning flash. Large droplets of rain struck the window with a crash. The winds began to moan, wail and howl. The rain on the roof went SPLITTER-SPLAT! SPLITTER-SPLAT! ... and outside on the ledge sat a skinny, black cat.

The cat was a sight, black like the night
with eyes consumed by a fire
Orbs with a light that burned in the night
with a flame that would never expire
...
It was truly a fright, sitting there in the night
on the window's ledge in the rain
Using it's front paws and razor-sharp claws
it scratched at the window's glass pane


The cat did not speak, but she heard it still: "Open the window," it said. "Let me in. I only want what is mine, again."

"No!" the child protested. "That I will not do. There is nothing inside that belongs to you."

The cat scratched loudly against the windows glass pane, while the wailing Banshee paced about in the rain. The cat then snarled. It hissed. It spat. It smacked with it's paws: KERSPLAT! KERSPLAT!

"Open the window," it said. "Let me in. I only want what is mine, again."

Then out in the storm beneath the lightning's brief glare the child saw a figure with long streaming hair. Be it spirit or fairy she could not tell, but it's eyes were weeping and it emitted a wail.

Her Irish ancestors awakened from their thousand year sleep. "It is a Banshee," they whispered. "Look Away! Look Away! It is a soul that she seeks." But the childs eyes were frozen on that form in the rain, as it returned her gaze with a face wrought with pain. The voices whispered again in the back of her mind: "Turn away from the window or you will join us below. When a Banshee visits, it brings only woe."

The cat on the ledge did not speak, but she heard it still: "Open the window," it commanded. "Let me in. I only want what is mine, again."

The child felt a chill and shrank back from the cold. "I now know what you want." she answered. "You are here for my SOUL." She was then overcome with sadness, for she had a family she loved and she knew she would miss them in Heaven above."

"Woe to me," said the child with a deep, deep sigh. "Are you here to tell me that I am to die? I may be a child but I'm old enough to know, when the angel of death visits you always must go.

She then wiped at a tear that fell on her cheek and reached for the window, when she heard the kitty speak. Actually, the cat never spoke, but she heard it still: "Open the window," it said. "Let me in. I only want what is mine, again."

The child sprang the latch and let in the cold rain, and unwittingly released the cat's tail where it had been trapped beneath the pane. The cat sprang forward, which gave her a scare, but it was only reaching for it's bruised tail to give it some care. The cat did not speak, but she heard it still.

"Thank you, dear child." Said that skinny black cat as it flashed it's best kitty smile. "You opened the window and set my tail free. If ever I can return the favor just you call on me."

"I only wish you could help me," replied the child with a frown. "For there is a Banshee outside my window in a ghostly green gown. She has come to my window to borrow my soul. I am dreadfully frightened. I am afraid of the cold. "

"Oh! Her," said the kitty, although it spoke not a word. "That is no Banshee, but my mistress below. She paces down there because she knows of my distress. She certainly will be happy once she see's I am free. It isn't you she has come for, she has come here for me." It then sprang out the window with a brazen "GOODBYE" and the child fell back onto the bed with a wholehearted "SIGH!" Quite soon she was snuggled in bed, fast asleep, and tomorrow it would seem that all that had happened here tonight had been only a dream.

When suddenly! Outside. In the rain. On her windows narrow sill. Appeared a skinny black kitty who placed it's paws beneath it's chin. The cat did not speak. But the words were heard still. "I think I will sleep here tonight," it said, "and stand watch over my new bestest friend."

THE END

07/28/00



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