Magical Tabby

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The morning after, Father and Alastair left at the same time again. This time they didn’t ask Ava and just assumed, either that or they were letting me have some more rest from where she was ill supposedly yesterday. They are preparing for the up and coming winter. Again Mother was delighted when she passed Ava another list of chores and gave her the same threat; if all the chores weren’t done she would kill Ava’s beloved tabby. Ava wept, yesterday, she was working on the chores all day, finishing just as her Mother came into the door. She sat on the stairs and hugged herself, shedding some tears that were meaning to fall for a while.

“Don’t cry dear,” a very tiny voice came from behind Ava, almost purring. When she turned around the only thing behind her was her orange tabby, smiling up at her. Ava placed her hand on her head to see if she was warm; maybe she was sick yesterday, Ava thought. “You’re not ill dear, I can talk. I may have been hiding it for a few years.” The tabby then started to bathe himself. Ava was baffled to say the least.

“A few years” Ava whispered, “I-I had you since I was a baby, a mere infant and you say you were hiding it for a few years. Wait, I’m talking to a cat, I’m going crazy.” Ava picked up the broom and started to sweep the kitchen floor, dragging all the dirt in front of the door before she swept it outside.

“Who do you think calmed you down when you were a baby? It definitely wasn’t your mother I’m telling you that.” The tabby continued to bathe himself as he spoke to Ava. The broom dropped to the floor with a bang as Ava stared in horror at her tabby. “Now do you want to know how to get through those chores quickly or are you still in shock?” Ava looked around the dirty kitchen and stared at the dirty laundry before she quickly nodded. Sitting on her knees she listened closely to her tabby.

Again the next morning, Mother gave her daughter lists of chores after the boys had left. Ava did exactly what her tabby said to do yesterday; she went outside and drew two circles in the dirt. She then continued to draw different shapes in the circle.

When Ava went back inside, the broom and mop were magically alive cleaning the floors as they went. Robins flew in when she opened the windows, grasping the laundry in their beaks and flying towards the stream. Two animals on four legs came in, helping out on the upper levels of the house. Ava took charge of a room on the main floor; in a few hours they were done.

Mother came home around supper time telling her to go to her room. Before Ava went upstairs she decided it was time to ask about the dinner theater.

“Why would you want to go to that? There is going to be girls a thousand times prettier than you dear, do you really think the prince would pick you? If he sees you in any of your gowns... I can’t even think about it, I mean, the last thing you want is for him to be sick.” She dumped the loose change out of the bag counting our days make just like she did every day when she got home from the market.

“I just thought it would be fun to go. Is there any way I could go, Mother?”

“Of course you can’t go, who’s going to go to the market that day? Your father, brother and I will go and you’ll stay here. Hopefully the town’s people won’t mind buying their vegetables from such an ugly girl. Don’t ask again.”  Ava nodded to herself, running up the stairs fighting off tears.

It’s been a years since she cried over the things her mother said to her.