Trade
Death looked down at the old man. He'd lived a decent enough life, but his time had finally come. As she reached for him, the cat on his lap awakened and snarled. Cats had a gift for sensing the unseen, and the gods were no exception.
"You know why I'm here," she told the cat.
The feline hissed.
"It's his time. That's all."
But the cat would not be moved. Drawing himself up, the cat bared his teeth and claws.
A ghost of a smile crossed Death's lips. Such a loyal creature. "You do know that you can't stop me."
The cat continued to posture, but much of the fire had left his gaze. Cats knew just as well as any animal that Death could not be conquered. But instead of moving aside, the cat offered her a punch card. It was something all cats had. Due to certain... issues, cats had been given nine lives instead of the usual one. There were nine circles in the card, and four had already been punched out.
"What do you want me to do with this?"
The cat looked between his owner and the punch card and pushed it toward Death.
"You want to trade?" Death's brows furrowed. "But, you know, cats have nine lives. Humans only have one. You can't trade just one of yours for his."
The cat nodded firmly and pushed the punch card to her again.
"All the ones you can spare?" Death looked at the card. "That means you'd be giving up four of the five lives you have left. Are you sure?"
The cat nodded again, and Death reached into the feline's mind. The cat's memories were hazy to begin with. All he could remember was being cold and hungry. He'd been the runt, and his mother had been forced to choose since there were so many mouths to feed and so little food to go around. That had been his first life. His next three had been little better. Life as a stray was cruel and short, full of conflict and desperation.
But on his fifth life, the old man had found him. He'd taken him in, given him a place to stay with plenty of food where the cat never had to worry about shelter. More than that, they had been happy, the two of them, for the old man had needed the cat as much as the cat had needed him. From what the cat had heard, the old man's children had all moved far away, and his wife and most of his friends were dead. But the cat was there, and the cat was enough.
"All right," Death murmured. "Four lives should be enough, but you know what this means, don't you? The next time you die, you die. Understand?"
The cat nodded. One life left wasn't so bad. He just hoped it lasted long enough to see the old man through whatever extra time he'd managed to buy him.
X X X
The old man held his cat close. The past seven years had been some of the best in his life. Two of his children had moved nearby because of their jobs, and he'd gotten to see them and his grandchildren almost every day. His cat had been there too, and for some reason or another, the feline had always seemed incredibly smug about how much things had improved.
But over the past few weeks, something had happened. His cat was getting a bit old, and he'd been taking longer and longer to get up each morning. He wasn't eating as much either. The old man had taken him to the vet, and the diagnosis had been grim. He'd been too shocked by the news to make a decision about what to do. Instead, he'd stumbled into the park near the vet's office and slumped onto a bench.
"You've got a lovely cat."
The old man turned. A woman with silver eyes was sitting on the other side of the bench with an adorable corgi in her lap. "Thank you," he whispered. "I..."
"Did you get some bad news?" the woman asked quietly. Seeing his surprise, she nodded toward the vet's office. "You're not the first person I've seen sit on this bench with that kind of expression."
"Oh." The old man's lips trembled. "My... my cat... the vet says, it's probably best to put him to sleep. He's okay now, but... but he's sick, and it's apparently going to be very painful for him." The old man blinked back tears. "He's been so good to me. I don't want him to suffer."
In his arms, his cat opened his eyes and looked at the woman. For a moment, the feline was still, and then he bared his teeth and snarled.
The old man stared. "I... he's never done that before."
The woman chuckled. "He's got a lot of spirit." She reached out and very, very gently patted the cat's head. "He's a good cat, isn't he?"
"The best cat." The old man thought back to what life had been like before his children had moved closer, of the lonely nights and empty evenings before he'd found the cat. His wife was gone, and most of his friends were gone too, and without his children around... those had been dark times. But then he'd found the cat. He'd been a scruffy, malnourished thing, not much to look at either. But he'd been a fighter, the old man had seen that much right away. And they'd been happy, the two of them, and the cat had gotten him through the tough times.
"I know," the woman said. She got up. "Give him a couple of days," she said. "Pamper him a little, hold him close, and then make your decision."
"I... I think I'll do that."
X X X
Years later...
"That's a nice cat you've got there."
The boy looked up at the woman with silver eyes who was walking a corgi. "Thanks!" he held his cat close. "My parents and I got him from an animal shelter!"
"Did you?"
"It was like he already knew me or something." The boy grinned. "Because he came right up to me and everything!"
"Is that so?" The woman looked around. "Where are you parents?"
The boy pointed to a nearby park bench. "They're just taking a break." He laughed. "They don't enjoy chasing after cats as much as I do."
"Heh." The woman nodded. "Well, have fun, and take good care of your cat. He seems like a keeper."
"I will."
X X X
Author's Notes
Zwei might be best dog, but this cat is definitely best cat. In case it isn't clear, the boy at the end is the next life of the old man while the cat he has is the next life of the cat. This snippet does make me worry, though. So far in this collection of snippets, I'm fairly sure I've killed a cat, a tortoise, a dog, multiple dragons, and I think I might have killed a hydra too at some point.
The cat having a punch card is a reference to the whole cats have nine lives thing. Them having nine lives remains one of the more amusing quirks in Creation to Death since it's not unusual for an ornery cat to brandish its punch card at her. As an aside, the animals that most frequently ask to make trades for their owners are dogs. Zwei has a particularly soft spot for such canines, and he will often personally escort them to their place in the afterlife. Also, if you've enjoyed my fan fiction, you should check out my original fiction. You can find me on Amazon and Audible as L. G. Estrella. I actually have two entire collections of short stories about gods available (Divine Assistance and Divine Interference).
As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.
