A crow cawed softly up in the tree above my head before flying off to join it’s friends flying in the sky. I sat on a bench underneath them, watching as the light was slowly leeched from the sky tuning the light from yellow, to pink, until finally they glowed pearly silver in the light of the full moon. I knew I would get in trouble if I stayed out here much longer but the night was always so quiet since all the daylight creatures went to bed leaving the landscape free for the rest of the world to take over. All the unsavory creatures that haunt nightmares come out at night and rule the world for 8 hours at a time, and yet…… it was so calm.
The night offered sanctuary to me. Perhaps it’s because I belong with all the other nocturnal out at this time, or maybe it’s just because I don’t fit in with the other 9-7s. Whatever the reason, nighttime is my time, but for now I needed to get home.
*****
The harsh glow coming from the houses that lined the street always seemed disruptive to me. It had always seemed unnatural, as though the light was trying to invade, cutting a large hole out of the night. I had never understood why people didn’t enjoy the night as I did. It wasn’t necessarily dark out, and the light of the full moon always lent the world a softness that was lost in the sunlight. It was mystical to walk through the night like this, and though I knew it would inevitably make my punishment worse, I couldn’t help but walk slowly slipping through the shadows that lay just outside the domes of light.
My house was at the far end of the street, the lawn was trimmed neatly and there was no paint peeling, the door was painted red and there were flowers blooming in the garden. No toys littered the front lawn as opposed to our neighbor’s houses, and the car (which I knew had to be there) was parked in the garage. I stepped carefully up to the front door, and knocked. Perhaps the doorbell had worked at one point but no it had given out some years before ago and now there was nothing there but an empty socket. I looked at my feet studying y shoelaces and wondering why we had no welcome mat when the door opened with a loud creaking noise.
“Tyler.” A face peeked out behind the door frame, staring down at me. “Come inside.” She turned and walked into the house, not looking back to see if I followed.
So, anything you want to say to me?” Her face was coated thickly in make-up, eyes wide and staring, red lips pursed as if she had eaten something sour.
“Not really…” Blue eyes that looked so much like my own met mine and stared, one perfectly plucked eyebrow raised. I stared back defiance in my expression.
Her eyes narrowed and one strand of blond hair fell from her bun and onto her face, “Is that so?” One manicured hand nails red and sharp, raised and swiped.
I turned my head with the blow making so as dispense some of the force, of course it still hurt. I raised one hand to cup my cheek small rivulets of blood running between my fingers, making a soft ‘plop’ as they fell to the floor.
I looked up and met her eyes just as they were beginning to tear up, “My poor boy, look at you, mommy was so worried.” Her voice broke as she pulled me to her chest. I stood there unmoving, not hugging her back, but knowing not to move in case it made her angry again.
It was several minutes before the sobbing turned into deep breathing. She removed her constricting grip and I winced as her fingernails extracted themselves from my shoulders. Her makeup was running down her face and she looked like a half melted Barbie doll. She stared at me for a few moments her eyes unfocused as she looked over my shoulder, “I think I left the tea on.” Her voice was detached and slightly raw from crying. She left the room, her heels clicking on the linoleum floor.
I stood there for a few more seconds waiting, making sure that she wasn’t about to come back, deciding it was okay to leave when he heard humming coming from the kitchen.
*****
It was Saturday, which meant no school tomorrow so I sat in my room for a long time enjoying the silence, my curtains open and my lights off. I watched the pool of silver slink along my room floor as the moon changed position in the sky. The house was completely silent save for the light pitter patter of the rain on my windows. My cheek throbbed underneath the bandage. Earlier in the night Mom had brought out a first-aid kit and bandaged up the cuts, admonishing me for not coming home earlier.
A lock of hair fell into my eye, it was long and disheveled, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long, sooner or later she would want to cut it. I shivered; I didn’t like the idea of that woman coming so close to my head with a pair of scissors.
“Kshh, Kshh” I looked towards the window where a light scratching noise was coming from, a sleek black cat covered in rain water sat on the window sill pawing pitifully at the glass.
I walked over to the window slowly, trying not to scare the poor guy away. It stood there patiently, waiting for me. It was midnight black and soaked from tip to tail. As I got closer I was surprised to see its eyes were silver……. But that must have been because of the moon.
Is lowly slid open the window, leaving a small gap so the cat could crawl in. I am well aware that this was a stupid thing to do; in fact the thing was probably rabid since it didn’t flinch or run away as I neared, but it was those eyes. They looked exactly like the moon, and it just kept staring at me following my movements, daring me to let it inside. So I did.
It jumped smoothly inside landing on the carpet without even a thud, and glided into the shadow. And then it was gone. Now I know that it was dark in my room and that it was a black cat, but tonight was a full moon and I had always had excellent night vision.
I searched for a while, not 100% comfortable with a wild animal hiding somewhere in the stacks of books that littered the floor, but it was past midnight and even as I searched the back of my closet my eyelids began to droop, so I opened the window a bit and crawled into my bed (after first establishing that there was nothing hidden inside the covers) and lay my head against the pillow letting the rain lull me to sleep.
What else could I have done? There was no way in hell that I was waking that woman up from her ‘beauty sleep’.
*****
The next morning I sat in my bed for a long time before finally getting up. Sunlight made me sluggish I always had the hardest time adjusting to it. Something moved on the end of my bed....
I shot up instantly not knowing what to expect only to see the cat from last night staring at me. Its eyes were odd, silver, just like the moon when it’s full.
We continued to stare at each other for another minuet before I finally moved, edging closer to it sticking out my hand, “Her puss, puss, puss. Come here, I’m not going to hurt you.” It continued to stare at me reproachfully, probably questioning my sanity.
Finally I moved in close enough to touch its head; the cat rubbed its jaw along my fingers, purring gently. I smiled, and my cheeks hurt. The cat continued to purr letting me run my fingers through its fur.
The two of us sat there for a moment; suddenly the light streaming in through the window didn’t seem so dark. I looked at the little cat watching it weave between my legs, “I’m gonna call you Artemis” She (I assumed it was a she) looked up at me and I swear I saw her smile.

The day passed by uneventfully She was in the kitchen making breakfast when I came downstairs, it was a Sunday so she didn’t have work, but I was pretty sure that she had plans with friends today or something. I checked the calendar, nodding after seeing the bright blue ring circling today’s date.

“Good Morning sweet heart, I made eggs and toast!” They were set onto the table which had looked as though it could have come out of a pottery barn magazine. There were cloth napkins with matching placemats and fresh flowers carefully arranged in the middle of the table. Dad was rich and when he died all of his money went to Her. She still wears his ring though and She always says that he was a good guy.
I chewed on my breakfast, the toast was burnt and the eggs were runny, but it could have been worse. It could be nothing.

The two of us ate in silence that wasn’t particularly comforting, but blissful compared to having to talk to the woman. I finished long before She did, but waited patiently for her to leave the table and grab her bag before picking up both plates and heading towards the sink. She stopped to say a quick goodbye and give me a hug which I returned mechanically stepping through the door, her high heels clicking on the floor with every step.


I made my way back up to my room after grabbing some leftover fish from yesterday. Artemis met me at the top of the stairs meowing and weaving through my legs. I smiled for the second time that day and leaned down petting her gently while she ate the fish.
The day continued like that, her following me around while I did chores, I’d read somewhere that humans were social creatures, just like monkeys, and that they couldn’t survive without contact to other people. Now obviously Artemis wasn’t human, but it certainly felt that way sometimes, every time I talked she looked at me, almost as though…..as though she could understand what I was saying.
Of course that was a completely ridiculous thought and I shook myself and put all of my concentration back to the task at hand. I hated this particular task, it was the most mundane of them all and I often lost focus and ended up folding the laundry incorrectly and had to do the damn thing all over again. Artemis just watched from the inside of the hamper. Of course all the clothes in there were clean, but they were also all mine so I figured it was okay. There was an open window right above the washing machine and a nice breeze was coming through it keeping me painfully aware of the world outside these walls.
Suddenly Artemis sat up in her basket and hissed her fur standing on end. “What, what is it?” I asked dropping the half folded t-shirt and moving towards her. She continued to hiss at the window until a golden cat dropped through it.