Crone.

The day passed in a daze and when night came she laid her bedding down in the kitchen but did not sleep. Pacing the room with soft steps, she kept trying to think of a way out but in vain. Crone occasionally voiced her disapproval of this untimely restlessness by meowing loudly. However the cat soon realized that her room-mate was not going to sleep anytime soon and curled up in her new basket. For the little girl though, this was going to be one long night.

It was way past midnight when a faint clanging noise caught her attention. Had she not been awake already, she would never have heard it. But in the silence of the night, it was clear to her that the noise had come from the room that belonged to her mistress’s son. Had he woken up? Did he need something? She peered out of the kitchen. The door to the young man’s room was wide open and she could see someone moving inside. Even in the dark, she could clearly make out that it was not him. He was probably still asleep in his bed. Who was this intruder?  What was the sharp gleaming thing that he held in his hand? Was that a knife? Did he intend to kill her young master? If she raised an alarm now, he might kill her master. Her heart beating down her throat, she decided that she would need to get closer to the intruder. Not courageous enough to venture out alone, she picked up old Crone.

“Quiet now, Cronie” she whispered sharply into the cat's furry ear as she trembled out of the kitchen. She now had a clear view of the intruder. He was standing with his back to her, with a long knife in his hand. Her young master was sitting upright in bed visibly shaken. Perhaps the same noise that had caught her attention had roused him from his sleep as well. Was the intruder about to kill him? There was not a moment to lose. She moved as fast as she could, closing in on the killer. The rustle of movement behind him caused the killer to turn around instinctively. That was the moment when she flung the cat right at his face.

“Get him Cronie. Kill him … Get him”, she shrieked, consumed by the madness that arises from being in extreme danger. Crone dug her claws into the man’s face mewling as loudly as she could. There was simply not enough time for the intruder’s mind to register all these acts separately. He must have felt that a hundred demons were suddenly upon him. He tore the cat off his face and running blind in agony, crashed into the little girl on his way out. She was flung clear off her feet onto the cabinet; and as she fell, the room lit up with light.

“Are you alright?” he steadied her with a helping hand. Yes, she was still shaking but was unhurt. And Crone was fine too. Like any respectable cat, she had landed on her feet. There was no sign of the intruder and all the racket had not disturbed her mistress’s sleep, whose room was on the other side anyway.

“Go back to your kitchen and lock the door from the inside. I will see to the rest. You have done enough for today. Say nothing of this to your Ma’am. Good night” He had regained his composure and was now in control of the situation. As she left the room, he picked up the piece of steel lying on the floor. It was not a knife at all. It was an instrument to pick locks. He turned towards the iron safe, and sure enough, its door was ajar.

The next few days, he said not a word about it. He did get stronger locks and bolts installed on all the doors and windows. He even got burglar alarms fitted all round the house. But he did not mention the incident to his mother. Then came the day he had to leave.

Peeping out from behind the main door, she saw him load his luggage into the cab. His mother was going with him to see him off at the airport. He helped his mother into the cab, whispered something to her and hurried back towards the house. Perhaps he had forgotten something behind. She started to move away from the door, but he was quickly beside her. He pulled out a colorful packet from his jacket and held it out to her.

“You were very brave. I stole something from the iron safe that night. It’s a gift for you.” And with that he was gone. As the cab pulled away, she opened the packet with trembling hands – inside was her passport and a ticket to home.

The End.