Dark As Night

• Jaime D'cruz, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2013

Her warm yellow eyes watched with piercing earnest at the man, too lost between his own thoughts to notice the soft pattering of her feet against the marble floors. Papers, thick batches with his familiar loopy script covered the floor, piled on top of each other, towering over her meek figure.

The history between them left her conflicted, whether to approach the man and earn her life, or whether to retreat and save his. But even with the love she had felt long ago deep inside her, she could not deny her desire to be as she once was, the desire she felt to see every colour of the rainbow, and her own smooth skin caressing another’s. As sure as her love was, desire had a much deeper hold on her heart.

Her padded feet forced themselves in front of each other, whispers sent chills down her once tall, lean body. She paused for a moment and tilted her head to the side, wondering what had happened. Just a second ago it was there, in her mind torturing her and now she could barely remember who this man was, the man sitting at his table, oblivious to the internal conflict happening only a few feet away.

She knew her days were numbered. She had been told that and she had accepted that. But she had expected more. More time to live the way she is, as horrible as that is, and more time to figure out what to do with the tidal wave that was her life.

First confusion then absolute terror- the terror of knowing she may have lived her last day with the conscious mind of a human. That perhaps her time was truly up. Waves of deep, gut-wrenching emotion ran through her like a tsunami, distorting her pain into something she knew in her heart wasn’t right, but her heart was lost among the mountains of fear and the anger it brought on consumed her.

She began to step towards him, one soft foot at a time and when she was barely a whisker from his legs she let out a soft purr. Her eyes widened, she had not meant for that to happen and she had not expected it, rage was boiling over her and yet she could not figure out why. She held her breath as the man turned and looked down. He was startled for a moment and then smiled sweetly. He opened his mouth to speak but her soul had been ripped out and she no longer felt anything real.

With one final yelp, she stepped, tail up, and pounced.