Why?
By Wicked Star13
The Other Mother hummed as she washed the dishes. The edges of her lips were curled into a smile. Her fingers tapped the rim of the sink, a steady beat, flowing. She felt so silly and stupid, but she forgave herself. Because today was the day that food arrived. She sniffed the air. She smiled, she could smell it, it smelled like…
Smoke?
She spun to her side, a thin stream of black smoke coiled out of the oven. She wrenched the hatch open and a black sea flew into the air. She coughed and took the chicken out. The Other Mother shook her head and cursed. The skin of the chicken was black and crisp. She dumped the chicken into the bin and looked out the garden. The last thread of night had woven into the sky.
Fina-
She stopped, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, she was being watched.
She turned to the hall, Cat sat in the doorway, watching her. "Oh, it's you." She snapped. Cat didn't even bat an eyelid. "Why?" He said. The Other Mother scowled and turned back to the dishes. "I suppose you mean the children." Cat didn't reply. "You know how good they taste." She said. "I don't know." Cat said coldly. "You're missing out on a lot." Cat was silent. "You're choice." The Other Mother said, shrugging.
"I was her kitten." He said quietly. "And you took her." She shook her head "No no no. She came here of her own accord." Cat glared at her. "Well." She threw in "Partially." A smile creeped into her face. "You're a monster!" He yelled. The Other Mother's smile faded immediately. "Luring them from their family and friends and sewing buttons into their eyes and eating them and leaving their families so guilty that they think it's all their fault!" A look of pure rage was on his face "You soulless old evil hag!" "THAT IS ENOUGH!" she screamed. Tears blurred Cat's vision. "You took her from us and her sister! Her sister cried herself to sleep for years! She thought about just ending it all!"
In the moments of silence that followed, he lived his entire life again.
There was darkness, he felt himself on a pillow of some sort. Suddenly there was light, and he felt himself being lifted up by strong arms "Daddy, this is just what I wanted" He looked around and saw that he was surrounded by a family of four, the one holding him being a girl, she had wide brown eyes and a large grin. He purred.
"Stay here Kitty." The girl whispered, she plopped him down on the carpet and crawled to the door, holding the key in her hand. She popped it into the little door, and twisted it. It clicked. Oh how he wished he could have stopped her.
The man paced up and down the hall, he was sick with worry. Cat looked around to see her sister being comforted by her mother. "Mommy, where is Kate?" she asked. "We don't know where she is, honey, we don't know…"
"Get out of here, you pesky vermin" The Other Mother hissed. There was venom in her voice that stung Cat's ears. He glared at her for a moment, and then turned towards the door. "And what is the new child's name?" Cat glanced behind him. "Her name is Coraline." He muttered. He sauntered through the hall and out of the house, disappearing into the darkness.