The inspiration for this story is 'The little match girl' written by Hans Christian Andersen. With Christmas fast approaching I thought this would be a good idea. I do hope you like it
Finding El-Dara
The blizzard winds howled passed them as the two kittens huddled tight on the pavement. Around them cats walked by on their way home, not one giving the two snow covered kittens a second glance. Their clothes, nothing more than thin brown rags were rapped as tight as could be but still the cold but deep into their skin. They made no effort to brush of the sow, either from lack of energy or from the knowledge that such an effort would be in vain, perhaps it was both. Hunger clenched their bellies tight, it was a hunger that seemed to have no beginning or any end. The two had almost forgotten what food tasted like, not one shop had opened since the winds had begun.
They two had sat there since mid-afternoon, since the owner of the cellar they called home had discovered them, since the owner had called the law and since the law had chased them off. The few precious things they own, junk to any other cat, where lost, left back at the cellar and there was no getting them back. Outrunning the law had left the two devoid of energy, deciding to rest they'd sat down to rest and yet, even as the day got darker and colder, their energy had not returned. It was night now and the city was clocked in darkness, normally street lamps were light to provide the slums with slums measure of light and warmth, but tonight, tonight no one could be bothered.
Even if they could move the two had nowhere to go, they'd been kicked out of almost every own caller and attic in the slums and every unowned one was occupied by a dog or some large cat, at any length no one had any time for two kittens, nor the desire to provide them with shelter or food. The two had imagined things better when they'd first arrived. They'd imagined having money, food and shelter, they hadn't imagined how they'd get them or that they'd find themselves huddled on the pavement being battered down by a blizzard.
The two held each other's eyes, the world was silent now and it seemed they were the only ones in existence; the winds seemed to stop howling as the snow gently melted away. The boy watched some fall down his sister's skirt and gasped at where is landed, the girl's eyes widened as she saw it as well. The pavement, which before had been white with snow and before that grey was now a gleaming colour of gold with the pebbles now seeming to sparkle like diamonds. The two blinked and the pavement was again laden with snow.
A struggling cat, arms full of supplies bumped into the two, frustrated she aimed a kick at the boy before moving off, the two already forgotten. The two hadn't gasped nor cried; in fact they'd barely noticed the women. Likewise they didn't notice the wind strengthened and the snow thickened, all they noticed was the other begun to slowly stop shivering and loosen their grip. Their hold on the other though loose remained strong and tight, the only thing in their world stronger than the snow filled winds.
Their world hazed and the pavements where once again gold and encrusted with diamonds. Around them cats moved slowly, talking and giving each other food. A cat approached the kittens and without another word shoved something in their mouths. It was meat, but not just any meat; it was the best meat the two had ever tasted, the juices ran like a gentle stream down their throat as the meal seemed to melt in their mouths. The two tied to look at the caring man only to find him gone and replaced with a fog of snow and ice, the taste of the meat and the relief it bought seemed to vanish along with him.
They could hardly see or feel each other know but they'd never felt so close. All their lives they'd been inseparable, never leaving the others side. The howling wind, that had in time destroyed armies and toppled kingdoms, had met a bond it was unable to break. Still fearing separation the two used what little energy they still had to pull closer. In their world nothing else mattered more than the other and nothing meant more than being by their side.
They each felt a touch on their shoulder and turned, the kind man was back and, he'd put it in their mouths before they could even notice, more meat. As they ate they noticed that the caring man looked a lot like them and, though their minds where to fogged to place him, they were sure they'd seen him before. The man gripped their shoulders tightly and warmth seemed to flood into their ice filled bodies, they felt light and, the two smiled, happy for the first time in years. "Welcome my kittens," the caring man said, "to El-Dara."
The man looked down at the two frozen forms at his feet, even through the snow, ice and fur he could see the blue tinted skin. "Not one person stopped for them and just let them die on the sidewalk." He thought before, like so many others, moving off with the two instantly forgotten, his companion or pet to anyone else scurried after him. In time the young prince would curse himself for forgetting, not realising that he'd done more than any other. He'd feel sad. Not knowing the wonders the kittens had seen or that they were in a better place now, a place of food and warmth, a place where no pain existed. They were home. They'd finally discovered El-Dara.