#31 Cat

It was an accident.

She was settling down for the day, knitting a long grey scarf for her partner who was seven hours behind. Can you believe that despite living in a snowy climate, her partner has never owned a scarf? She chuckled at the absurdity. It had been a little over three months since she last saw him in person, and though she has a life here, as warm and welcoming as one should be, she was lonely. Seven hours did place a wedge, no matter how small, in the relationship. She wondered if she should adopt a companion for these nights. A cat, perhaps? She thought, As she wounded a fresh hank of yarn into a ball.

Then she felt a sudden tug from the yarn, as though a cat was clawing at the hank on the carpet and the string began to spin on its own, whirring out of her hands. When it was done, and the room finally calmed down again, the yarn had transformed into the shape of a cat. The yarn-cat mewled and rubbed its soft 100% Merino woollen body against her leg, the half-knitted tail brushing across her toes.

But soon the cat noticed a stray piece of yarn flinging out of its paw and became distracted. As the yarn-cat played with the yarn, it slowly unraveled itself. The cat left as soon as it came.

She had accidentally summoned the ghost of her neighbour’s yarn-loving kitten.

*****

IT’S THE END! This is the first time I’ve ever completed all thirty-one days of an October art challenge, and I am so freaking proud of myself!! I’ve been attempting to complete inktobers since at least 2016, and the closest I came to finishing was 2018 with the story of the Mermaid and the Witch.

Even though the challenge is done, I'm currently writing more stories — because I realised that I'm really writing for my mother, who asked for more.