"Purr's Night"
It was extremely necessary for me to follow that girl into this house.
She be an interesting one, that midwife’s apprentice, I thought, continuing to prod along by her feet. It was she who had saved my life long ago from that cursed eel! Idiotic boys from this town thought it would be real funny to toss me in a bag with an eel and throw me into a pond. Alyce, as she called herself, was rather kind in pulling me out of the bag and feeding me while I was out of it for a handful of days.
Speaking of feeding me… I could go for a nice piece of cheese about now. Mmmm. Cheese. My belly was getting much bigger from the delectable, yellow blocks of yum.
“Alyce! This cat best be putting off the weight! I shall not be tolerating such a creature eating all the food,” the midwife, whose name I had learned was Jane, hollered.
What was her problem? I heard a loud sigh from the apprentice as she came over and picked me up, carrying my soon-to-be extremely fat body outside.
“Go, Cat. You heard the woman. Now scat,” Alyce demanded. Oh, so now I was to run around like some mangy boys or a dog was chasing me? How preposterous the idea sounded! I, a lazy as heck cat, was to run about town!? Responding to her absurd request, I hissed and scampered off.
Of course, as soon as Alyce was out of sight, I curled my fluffy self into a ball inside a stack of hay. The warm, June sun beat down on my orange and white fur. It made my belly feel so much warmer than usual. How I longed for a soothing rub!
The day passed by rather quickly after my afternoon nap. I awoke feeling abnormally tense. Alyce had gone out for a walk to gather some materials for the midwife. It’s not like I had anything better to do, so I followed her. “Alyce! So you be back now from that inn, hm?” Will Russet had appeared from behind.
“Yes, Will Russet. I have decided failure is no reason to give up,” Alyce responded, quite wisely.
“That cat of yours be mighty fat. Knowing animals, I see it giving birth in coming days.”
“Impossible.”
“Is it? With all the walking you two been doing, surely it ain’t just fat.”
I stopped listening to the two conversing, as I had been thinking the same as that Will Russet boy. “Mrrroww,” I sang, trying to gain some attention. Maybe that girl would come to her senses and agree with the fellow!
“You’ve birthed animals. Why don’t you take Purr for her birthing, Will Russet,” Alyce suggested, in a demanding manner.
“I will not without you,” Will had answered.
They be falling in love. No doubt about that matter, I thought.
Some living creature had to realize this obvious fact! Surely they were old enough to be wed by now. Days went by very slowly, especially for me. It was evident I was only as fat as I was because of the kits inside of me. After a while, I just stopped moving around. It would be best for my children if I were to sit around and not risk hurting myself or them.
As day turned into night, my breathing grew heavy and screeches representing my pain were heard. Jane Sharp was off, helping some woman on the other side of town with her labor. Alyce had stayed, as she didn’t feel it right to leave a cat who sounded like it was about to die. I knew my kittens would come tonight. How long it would take and how many there would be was unknown to me.
Alyce had left me, presumably to find Will Russet. After moments passed, I heard the midwife’s apprentice’s voice from outside. “Will Russet, your current task must be put in abeyance for now! Purr’s babies are on the way!” Alyce cried to the boy.
They came into the room. Will immediately came over to comfort me and whispered sweet words in my triangular ears. Alyce, figuring human herbs would help me, went to fetch a raspberry tea leaf, a mugwort, and a birthwory. Inwardly, I laughed at her stupidity, refusing to eat any of those unnecessary plants.
The two were yelling, cursing, comforting, and doing their job as my kits popped out. There was one… No, there were two… Yes, two lovely kits had arrived by midnight. Being completely exhausted, I fell into a sleep.
What was this? Had I woken up, or had I just been dreaming? I felt very odd. Surrounded by a white abyss, I frantically ran around, as if I were looking for something. Images of the midwife’s house appeared below me, so I stopped and watched. There was Alyce, Will Russet, the two kittens, and my breathless body. The humans were desperately trying to awaken me, but I knew I would not wake. Understanding what had happened, I laughed; I laughed at the two who were trying to revive what had passed. All I could do was walk away and hope my kittens grew up to be content and healthy, even without their mother’s care to guide them.
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