The Witches of Holmwood 5/7

There wasn’t really anything that Jennifer Jane could do to help her dad, as he began putting the grinding wheel stand back together.

She wandered off back towards the woods, wondering if she should go and ask Abigail if she‘d heard any more about Megan.

She was halfway along the lawn and had just stopped to smell some flowers, not really thinking about anything in particular, when she was most surprised to feel something warm and furry rubbing against her legs. She looked down and saw that it was next door’s cat. She squatted down and stroked it.

“Hello there, you’re a beautiful pussy aren’t you!” She felt round its neck to see if she could find a collar with its name on. “Haven’t you even got a collar then, I wonder if you’ve got a name?”

“Moggy,” said the cat, much to her surprise.

“I didn’t know cats could talk. Come to that you didn’t open your mouth either.”

“Of course not, I can’t talk the way you do,” said the cat, “my mouth’s the wrong shape. I’m telepathic; you can hear what I’m thinking inside your head. I’ve seen you before in the woods you know! You met my old owner and beat her at a running race. I haven’t seen her since.”

“I thought you belonged to our new next door neighbours.”

“Not likely! I just happened to arrive in their garden while they were putting up a table out of doors. I thought they were going to have a meal out there, so I hung around for a bit. Not so much as a saucer of milk or even a good stroke. Most peculiar, just ran round in circles chanting. It wasn’t any spell I recognised and I’ve heard a few in my time I can tell you.”

“I don’t remember meeting you or your old owner.”

“Yes you do. She made a sort of doorway out of sticks and set fire to it. Then she walked through and I followed her. She was running round a tree when I arrived and you were standing there laughing your head off.”

“Of course, I remember now, but I don’t think you’ll be seeing her again. Did you live near a village called Hetherside?”

“That’s the place! Not that I want to go back, it’s much nicer here. Humans locally are far friendlier than those villagers. You must be a witch, although you look a bit young to me, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to hear what I’m saying. So if it’s all the same to you, I’ll come and live in your house. See you at suppertime!”

The cat walked off into one of the flowerbeds and disappeared among the plants. Jennifer Jane walked back to the house and told her parents that a cat had just adopted their family and please could they buy some special cat food for it in future.

Moggy quickly settled in and was already part of the family when the message arrived from Abigail asking them to be ready the next morning for their trip to see Megan’s egg.