FlashFiction Dumpground

Thousand-Year Cat (realistic fiction)

Mikah turned the ceramic figurine in his greasy hands, amused by how ugly it was. People paid for this junk?

"Put that down!" the old man barked, ripping it from his hands. "Ah! What have you done?"

Mikah bit his lip, seeing the dark marks he left on the creamy ceramic. "I'll fix it, Master."

He took it back and desperately wiped the grime on his tunic. The white linen quickly stained but the marks on the figurine refused to disappear as if it had absorbed the grease.

"Get it nice and clean, boy," the shopkeeper said and got back to inspecting a new shipment of junk. "One thing you have to remember if you want to apprentice here - stained products are worthless."

Mikah's hands trembled as he held the little statue, unable to get the grease off.

"It is just a cat," he countered, hoping it wasn't worth much.

"I acquired this just a cat for five pounds and it shall fetch me a sale twice that." He smiled, showing off his remaining two teeth. "This old artifact is a rare find indeed."

He frowned and took the statue out of his hands. "Go easy on it, boy."

Mikah held his breath, hoping the old man's eyes were as bad as his teeth.

The wrinkled face glared back, looking sinister in the lamp's shadows.

"You've ruined it!"

Mikah stuttered but the old man wasn't interested in apologies.

"Five winters you shall work for free till you earn back the lost sale."

And the boy's fate was sealed.

Mikah brought the cursed cat home, having paid for it with his freedom. Apprenticeship with no income! He was supposed to support his ailing mother. Five more winters working in the fields would kill her!

The ancient cat smirked at him in defiance. The evil totem didn't care what trouble it caused, how many lives it ruined. It didn't care if it was clean or dirty, expensive or worthless. It was cursed.

He threw it at the wall, where it broke into a thousand pieces, but it did not make him feel any better.

He screamed and pulled on his hair. What would he tell his mother? He paced the room, gnawing on his lip so much, it bled. He had no answer yet.

His eyes fell on the mess he created. He could not let her see this.

He brought out a broom, eager to get rid of the remainders of the infernal cat when a sparkle of red caught his eye. He leaned down to inspect it and discovered the secret of the ancient cat figurine.

When his mother came home, he was still sitting on the floor among the debris of the smashed cat.

"What's that you're holding?" his mother asked, squinting at his find.

"Old buzzard didn't know what he had," Mikah said, turning the giant ruby in his hand.

♢♢♢

A/N: 483 words.

#ReadingListMarathon entry. Pick a title from WattpadShortStory Phantasm and Sorcery reading list and write your own story of the same title but in Realistic Fiction genre.