Trick or Secret

Flash Fiction

Trick or Secret

I have a black cat. For eleven months out of the year he is just Stormy, my cat. Being an indoor/outdoor cat, he often spends time with me as I do my daily chores. He follows me around inside, and follows me around outside too. Of course, when he’s not napping, which involves the other half of his days. I’ve had him for well over ten years, people time. How old does that make him?

October, of course, is the month he gets a lot of attention. In my town some people start putting out Halloween decorations at the end of September! You drive by a beautiful house you’ve admired forever, and suddenly it has a ten-foot skeleton in the front yard supposedly pouring water on a ghost or two that are all around him…her? Two houses down a huge witch on a broom flying through the yard! (I often wonder if that particular street runs a contest… but I am too shy to ask…)

I do not put up decorations early, but you can’t imagine how many times people stop and giggle and yell, when the see Stormy. And Stormy reacts exactly like a real witch’s cat would react. He sits there and stares back at them until they leave!

I must admit, I get a kick out of it. It’s probably the second most exciting thing for me, Halloween. I live alone, no family nearby. I would get more involved with the neighborhood, but I have a lot of work and meetings all though the year that are basically secret, so what would I talk about? Not getting overly involved with humans is one of the requirements if you choose living near them. And I love living here, but then, I also love being a witch.