The Cat Who Liked Rain

Seven

The next day, it had finally stopped raining.

Whirlwind was just about to go out with his skateboard when Lukas entered the hall.

‘My cat didn’t come back last night either,’ said Lukas.

‘So I noticed,’ said Whirlwind. ‘But I’ve heard of cats being lost for several years and then suddenly turning up again.’

‘I don’t want to wait for ten years,’ said Lukas.

Then Whirlwind said something that astonished Lukas.

‘I thought we could help you to look for the cat,’ he said.

So Whirlwind had actually been thinking the same thing as Lukas! That he should help to look for Night!

It dawned on Lukas that he hadn’t realised until now that he had the best big brother it’s possible to have. He wasn’t so difficult and troublesome as Lukas had thought after all.

‘Of course we shall look for the cat,’ said Whirlwind again. ‘We’ll start looking this very day.’

‘Who’s we?’ wondered Lukas.

‘My mates,’ said Whirlwind. ‘We’re going to search every single garden, every single place where he might have hidden himself away.’

Whirlwind had four or five friends who all had skateboards. They used to go skateboarding together, practised together, and competed against each other. Whirlwind was the leader because he was the best skateboarder. Lukas could imagine them rushing along on their skateboards, pausing to look for Night, then racing along to the next garden. The thought of Whirlwind and his friends helping Lukas to find his cat filled his heart with warmth. He felt an urge to hug Whirlwind, but he didn’t. Whirlwind didn’t like it when their mother sometimes gave him a hug. He was sure to be angry if Lukas tried to do the same.

‘I’d like to join you in looking,’ said Lukas.

‘You don’t have a skateboard,’ said Whirlwind. ‘But you can be our mechanic.’

Lukas didn’t really know what a mechanic did. And he didn’t want to ask because Whirlwind didn’t like being asked silly questions. He’d have to try to find out by other means.

‘Of course I’ll be your mechanic,’ he said. ‘Shall I start right away?’

‘Fetch a bucket and a rag and some washing powder,’ said Whirlwind. ‘You can clean our skateboards when they get dirty. We’ll be meeting at nine o’clock in the street next to the playground.’

He was in a hurry now. As soon as his mum had left the kitchen, he opened the door of the cleaning cupboard and took out a bucket, a scouring cloth and a packet of washing powder. Then he opened the window and dropped them down onto the ground. He half-filled the bucket from the tap outside the house — it would be too heavy if he put in any more water. Even so, he had trouble in carrying it as far as the playground. He wondered how much washing powder he ought to add. He eventually decided it was better to use too much rather than too little, so he used the whole packet. He stirred it with a piece of wood, and soon the foam had piled up like a steeple on top of the bucket. He was afraid he’d used too much. But the first of Whirlwind’s friends was approaching already. Lukas began cleaning his skateboard with the cloth after dipping it in the frothy water.

‘Have you found Night yet?’ he asked.

‘That kind of thing takes time,’ said Whirlwind’s friend. ‘Hurry up, now!’

When Lukas had finished, Whirlwind’s friend set off again. And then the next skateboard arrived, ready to be cleaned.

And so it went on for several hours. Before long Lukas thought it was all so exciting that he almost forgot what they were actually doing — looking for his missing cat. Twice he had to run back home for some more water. All the time he was afraid the washing powder would run out, or that somebody would complain that he wasn’t cleaning the skateboards well enough. But nobody said anything, and Whirlwind seemed to be pleased. Lukas thought that when he grew up, he might become the world’s best skateboard mechanic. No matter how hard he tried, he would never be as good a skateboarder as Whirlwind was.

But Night was still missing.

When they’d finished searching all the gardens and all the other places where he might be hiding, nobody had seen a black cat with a white tip at the end of its tail.

‘He’s not around here,’ said Whirlwind. ‘He must be somewhere else.’

Lukas felt a lump in his throat. Night mustn’t be a long way away. How would he be able to find his way back home again?

But he didn’t say anything.

‘That cat will never come back,’ said one of Whirlwind’s friends. ‘You can forget that cat.’

‘Hmm,’ said Lukas. ‘I suppose I’ll have to forget about him then.’

It was so very difficult for him to say those words. It was the most difficult thing he’d ever said in the whole of his life. It felt as if Night had heard what he’d said, that Lukas had decided to forget about him. But it wasn’t true, of course! He would never forget Night, and he would never stop looking for him. Never ever!

Whirlwind and his friends went off to compete with one another. They were looking for a place where they could make a skateboard track of their own. Lukas went home with his bucket. It almost felt heavier now that it was empty, and he knew that Night hadn’t been found today either.

He paused by the currant bush, turned the empty bucket upside down, and sat on it.

He felt sad again now. If only he could understand why Night had run away! Why had he disappeared?

It seemed to Lukas that he would have to do what he’d been thinking of doing for several days. He must run away himself, just like Night did, and go looking for him at night. He must live like a cat in order to be able to find him. As he sat there on the bucket, he started miaowing. He tried to make the same sound as a cat. After a while he became quite good at it. But he wasn’t able to purr. The best he could do sounded like Axel when he had a cold and gargled.

Lukas suddenly realised that the next-door neighbour was standing by the fence, staring at him.

‘Have you started miaowing, Lukas?’ he asked.

‘No,’ said Lukas. ‘I’m only gargling.’

Then he went indoors. The kitchen was empty. Beatrice had gone shopping. Lukas put the bucket and the rag back in the cleaning cupboard.

Then he went to his room and lay down on the bed.

He had no option now.

Tonight, he must run away.