It was a warm spring day near a very old and haunted house where ghosts and witches lived.
All the ghosts and witches had lived in the haunted house for three hundred years.
Every year on Halloween, the ghosts would fly out on what they called "a haunt" to scare people out of their pants or dresses.
The witches would also fly out with their cats riding on their brooms.
The cats lived in the pumpkin patch or in the haunted house with the ghosts and witches.
One black female cat named Midnight split her time between living in the pumpkin patch and being at home with her owner.
A male calico cat had noticed Midnight and began to fall in love. Midnight also fell in love with the calico cat.
Every day, both cats would meet in the pumpkin patch, catch mice, and play with other cats. They were very happy with each other.
One ghost, Garfield, was spying on the cats and decided to tell Midnight's owner at the haunted house that the cats were in love.
The witch who owned Midnight was not very pleased because her pet had found love, so she decided to put a curse on the cats.
"If my cat has kittens, then none of those kittens will ever be a witch's cat." said the witch. "And they will never find happiness with a human owner."
Midnight's friend, a ginger cat who lived with another witch, decided to warn her friend about the curse.
"Your mistress has put a curse on your kittens." said the ginger cat.
"What!" said Midnight. She was very unhappy, because she knew her kittens would never be strong enough to break a curse placed upon them.
When the black cat and her calico lover heard about the curse, they were torn on what to do next.
They could either run away to find a new home or stay with all their friends and deal with the curse once they had kittens.
"They may not be able to be witches' cats, but they can be field cats." said the kitten's father. "That would probably be better anyway."
"You will teach them how to hunt for food and how to defend themselves." said Midnight.
"Yes, I will." said the father cat, "and then Fate will take care of our children."
"I agree." said Midnight.
A couple of months later, Midnight had given birth to four little baby kittens. She saw that one of her kittens was a beautiful daughter with calico markings like her father.
The kittens had been born in the witch's house. Midnight was very worried about her owner's reaction, but the witch was currently away from home. So, she decided to wait to see what would happen. In the meantime, she tenderly looked after and loved her kittens.
"I am happy that my little kittens are here." Midnight thought to herself.
The father cat came to see his four little kittens, and he was very happy to meet them.
One day later, the witch came home late at night and saw that her cat had given birth to four little kittens.
The witch gave a very loud shriek when she saw that her cat had kittens. She began thinking ways to get rid of the kittens.
Midnight was terrified because she saw that her owner was very angry.
The witch called out to her favorite ghost living in the house.
"Garfield!" said the witch.
"Yes, Mistress." said Garfield.
"Keep an eye on my cat and her litter of kittens. Make sure no one comes to visit them." said the witch.
The witch went out for a broom ride to calm down from her raging rant.
Midnight had heard them and knew that she was in very serious trouble.
"What am I going do?" Midnight said softy. "Meow!"
Garfield heard Midnight's mournful cry but didn't care.
A few hours later, the witch came back. She had calmed down after flying around the countryside.
"Midnight," said the witch. "I am letting you take care of your litter of kittens."
Midnight was completely grateful to her owner.
"But I want them gone once they've learned how to defend themselves." said the witch.
Midnight nodded.
"Good." said the witch.
With that the witch left and Midnight continued to nurse her kittens.
"I'm happy that my kittens are in my care until they are old enough to hunt mice and birds and defend themselves." Midnight thought to herself.
Three months later, the kittens were beginning to grow up. They loved to play and practice prowling for mice among themselves.
Midnight was watching them very carefully and making sure that they were not in her owner's way.
"In another month or two, they will be under the care of their father, who will teach them to be independent." said Midnight aloud to herself.
"I see," said Garfield the ghost, who had overheard. "Is that so?"
"Yes." answered Midnight.
"Our mistress will be very happy to hear that they will be going to their father." said Garfield.
With that, Garfield flew away. He would tell the witch that the kittens would soon be leaving her house.
Midnight was sad that she wouldn't see her kittens grow into adults.
One of the kittens noticed that her mother was sad.
"Mother?" said the little calico kitten.
Midnight smiled.
"Yes, Pumpkin." said Midnight. She had named all four of her kittens: Thunder, Spring, Rain and Pumpkin. Pumpkin was the calico kitten.
"Why are you sad, Mother?" asked Pumpkin.
Midnight was taken aback by what her daughter had said, so she thought for a moment.
"You and your siblings will be living with your father in a month or two." said Midnight.
"Why?" asked Pumpkin.
"My Mistress doesn't like kittens very much." said Midnight. "There was a curse placed upon you and your siblings before you were born."
Pumpkin was sad to hear that her mother's owner didn't like kittens, but she really didn't understand about the curse.
Midnight purred to her kitten, a way of letting her daughter know that she and her siblings would always be loved, regardless of any curse.
"Don't worry, my daughter." said Midnight. "One day, you and your siblings will be safe."
Pumpkin smiled and ran back to play with her siblings.
One month later, Midnight gathered her kittens and took them to the pumpkin patch where the father cat was waiting for them.
"Midnight, my mate." said the father cat. "you've brought our kittens."
"Don't be afraid, my darlings," said Midnight. "This is your father, and he will be taking care of all four of you from now on."
"Don't go, Mother!" said Thunder, the eldest kitten.
"My Son." said Midnight, with tears forming in her eyes. "I want you stay here with your father and help him to look after your younger siblings."
"Yes, Mother," said Thunder. "I will look after my younger siblings."
"I am proud of you, Thunder." said Midnight.
"Thank you, Mother." said Thunder.
Pumpkin ran towards her mother and purred against her legs.
"I will miss you, Mother." said Pumpkin.
"I will miss you too, my daughter." said Midnight.
Midnight couldn't handle the tearful goodbye, so she started to run back towards the haunted house where her owner was waiting for her to return.
"Don't go, Mother!" cried Spring and Rain, starting to run after their mother, but they were stopped by their father and brother.
The father cat knew this was a very sad and tearful moment for his mate and his kittens.
"We will see your mother again one day." said the father cat.
All four kittens nodded and followed their father towards their new home in the pumpkin patch.
Three months later, one beautiful late autumn day, it was Halloween and the father cat decided it was time to teach his children how to hunt.
"Thunder, Spring, Rain and Pumpkin," said the father cat. "It's time to learn how to catch some mice."
"Yes, Father," said the kittens as they ran toward their father.
The father cat worked very hard to teach them on how to catch mice and birds.
It was not very easy at first. Thunder had a lot of trouble staying quiet enough.
As a result, the mice always ran away from him and his siblings before they could catch them.
The father cat just laughed.
"It's alright, Thunder," said the father cat. "I had more trouble than you when it came to catching my first mouse."
"Thank you, Father." said Thunder.
They continued to watch Spring, Rain and Pumpkin try to catch mice as they were playing around.
Later that day, Pumpkin wandered away from the pumpkin patch and got very close to the witch's house where her mother lived.
Pumpkin suddenly realized that she was heading in a dangerous direction, so she decided to return to the pumpkin patch.
On the way back, she encountered two five-year-old girls walking hand in hand. Jennifer and Kinipela were on a Halloween field trip with their kindergarten class and their teacher, Ms. Ocean.
All the children were in Halloween costumes. Jennifer was dressed as a witch.
"Ms. Ocean!" cried Jennifer. "Look, a kitten!"
"Oh, you are right, Jennifer." said Ms. Ocean.
Jennifer picked up Pumpkin and began to pet her. Kinipela joined her sister and stroked the kitten's fur.
Ms. Ocean loved all her pupils, but she knew that the twins Jennifer and Kinipela were special.
Although the girls were only five and in kindergarten, they were very advanced for their age and were also warriors in training under a special master named Master Soto.
Jennifer and Kinipela were very much a handful in terms of their behaviour. They had not yet learned the discipline that would someday make them great warriors.
Master Soto was their legal guardian, and with their family members he had looked after them for a long time. He knew Ms. Ocean very well and he had volunteered to join the kindergarten class that day on their outing.
"Jennifer and Kinipela," said Master Soto. "Please don't wander off from your classmates."
"I'm sorry," said Jennifer. "I met this kitten as it was running towards the pumpkin patch."
Master Soto sighed.
"You want a kitten," said Master Soto. "Don't you, Jennifer?"
"Oh yes, Master Soto!" said Jennifer.
Master Soto thought for a moment.
"Well," he said. "Do you agree to be fully responsible for the care of your kitten?" he asked.
Jennifer nodded eagerly. Kinipela, standing with them, was listening with interest. She too wished to have a kitten. Master Soto realized that he had to be fair.
"Oh, alright," said Master Soto. "You and Kinipela may have a kitten. We'll need to ask the owner about it."
"YAYY!" shouted Jennifer and Kinipela.
Pumpkin couldn't believe her ears - she was going to be a little girl's pet! She looked up at Jennifer and immediately chose Jennifer to be her new owner.
"Oh, what a beautiful calico kitten!" said Ms. Ocean. "And I believe that kitten has already chosen you, Jennifer!"
Master Soto nodded.
Meanwhile, Pumpkin's siblings had been looking for her and arrived on the scene.
Thunder immediately ran to Jennifer while Spring and Rain ran to Kinipela.
Master Soto was very shocked to see three more kittens arrive. He now saw that Jennifer and Kinipela each had two kittens in their arms.
"I didn't ask for this!" said Master Soto. He now had to help Jennifer and Kinipela manage four kittens instead of just one!
Ms. Ocean laughed at Master Soto.
"You've got your work cut out for you with those kittens!" she said in an amused voice.
Back at the haunted house, the witch immediately sensed that her curse on the kittens was being challenged by unknown and powerful force.
"How can my curse be broken?" the witch thought angrily to herself.
Jumping on her broomstick, she set out to discover what power was behind the reversal of her magic.
The witch flew over the pumpkin field where she saw Jennifer holding Pumpkin and Thunder. Because Jennifer was dressed as a witch, the flying witch thought she was seeing one of her own kind.
"A Child Witch." She said to herself. "And one strong enough to have broken my curse."
The witch decided on the spot to kidnap Jennifer along with her two new kittens.
"Come here, Child." taunted the witch as she flew downward.
Within seconds she had grabbed Jennifer and the kittens by magic and was bearing them away.
Master Soto heard the witch's taunts, but it was already too late to intervene.
"Master Soto, help me!" cried Jennifer, looking back and holding tight to Pumpkin and Thunder.
...
Meanwhile, Survive or Not to Survive Dimension, the Gods Nergal and Draconis were meeting in the throne room.
"Draconis, did you feel that?" asked Nergal.
"I must certainly did, Nergal," said Draconis. "I can sense that the future Chosen One, Jennifer, is in danger."
"Can your son save her?" said Nergal. He was referring to Master Soto.
"No." said Draconis. "You forget that my son cannot use his powers when on planet Earth."
"Then we must intervene." said Nergal.
"So we shall." said Draconis.
With that, Draconis and Nergal departed for Earth to help Jennifer and the kittens.
...
Little did the witch know that two powerful Gods were coming to save Jennifer from her clutches.
"Well, well, well!" said the witch to Jennifer as she landed near the haunted house. "What to do with you?"
Jennifer was too frightened to run away. Looking toward the house, she could see ghosts swirling around, which made her even more afraid.
The witch had landed beside a large cauldron. As soon as they arrived, the witch reached over to clip off a piece of Jennifer's hair, to make a potion with it.
Up to this time, because of Jennifer's costume, the witch had believed that Jennifer also was a witch. As she leaned in to clip Jennifer's hair, she saw that Jennifer was wearing regular clothes under the costume!
"I have taken a Human Child!" shrieked the witch. She began pacing around the cauldron.
"Still, I must find out if this child is magical or not," thought the witch to herself.
"Garfield" shouted the witch. Her ghost servant instantly appeared.
"Yes, Mistress?" said Garfield.
"Keep an eye on the human child and make sure that she does not escape." said the witch.
"Yes, Mistress." said Garfield.
"I'll be taking one of these kittens with me on a broom ride," the witch declared.
Thunder began to hiss at the witch. Small as he was, he was determined to protect his owner and little sister Pumpkin.
Suddenly, Midnight, the mother of the kittens arrived.
"Meow?" said Midnight.
"Two of your kittens are here once again, Midnight." said the witch "Now bring your young daughter to me."
Midnight knew it would be perilous to disobey the witch. Before Jennifer or Thunder could react, she leapt up, took Pumpkin by the scruff of the neck, and brought her back to the witch.
"Thank you, Midnight." And with that the witch took off on her broomstick with Pumpkin along for the ride.
Midnight looked sadly at her son, Thunder. "Meow?" she cried.
Thunder was not happy with his mother. He turned his face away and snuggled close with his new owner.
Midnight was very sad that he did not want to talk with her.
A few seconds later, Draconis and Nergal came rushing through a portal and landed in front of Jennifer, who got even more frightened.
"Who are you?" asked Jennifer, trembling.
Draconis and Nergal said nothing but quickly used a spell to put Jennifer and Thunder to sleep.
"When she awakes, she will remember nothing," said Draconis. "I will take this child and her kitten back to my son, Soto."
Garfield's attention had been elsewhere as the Gods arrived. He was talking with his follow ghosts until he saw Draconis holding Jennifer and Pumpkin in his arms.
"Hold!" said Garfield. "Where are you taking the human child?"
"To safe place." said Draconis. "And you will powerless against the God of Destruction."
Garfield suddenly realized that Nergal was binding him in magical chains.
"My Mistress will stop you!" shouted Garfield.
"We will see who stops who." said Nergal.
...
Meanwhile, the witch was flying into the sunset with Pumpkin.
Even though she was frightened, and wanted to return to her new owner, Pumpkin was enjoying the sensation of flying on a broomstick.
"Meow." cried Pumpkin. She missed Jennifer and Thunder and wanted to go back to them.
The witch ignored the kitten's cries and continued flying.
Suddenly she saw Draconis speed past with Jennifer and Thunder in his arms.
"What is this?!" thought the witch. She realized that Garfield had failed in his duty.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?!" shouted the witch, chasing after Draconis.
Draconis heard her behind him and quickly put up a magical defence barrier to keep her away. He knew that Nergal would soon arrive to help with the rescue.
The witch fired spell after spell against Draconis's barrier, but it was too powerful for her to break.
Pumpkin continued to cry mournfully.
"If you want the child then come and get her!" mocked Draconis.
The witch had laughed and started to fly faster towards Draconis.
Suddenly, Nergal came up behind her and grabbed Pumpkin off the broomstick, tucking the kitten safely under his arm.
"What are you waiting for, Draconis?" shouted Nergal. "I've got the other kitten!"
"Thank you, Brother." Draconis answered.
The witch was terrified. She was fighting against two powerful gods and feared what might happen.
"Please don't punish me!" the witch begged Draconis and Nergal.
Suddenly, a third rescuer appeared through a portal. It was Destiny, who had been called forth by the Gods.
"No, they will not punish you," said Destiny." but I will!"
Destiny forced the witch to land her broom. The witch realized that she had lost.
Destiny was deciding on what the witch's punishments would be, both for putting a curse on the kittens and kidnapping Jennifer.
"Do you have anything to say in your defence?" scowled Destiny.
"No, I do not!" said the witch angrily.
"Very well," said Destiny. "You and your ghosts are to be sent to a new and different haunted house. You will always live far away from people and cats. You will never be allowed to have pets again."
"Yes, Ma'am." said the witch, looking at her feet.
She was grateful that Destiny had showed some mercy, but she also knew that there would be absolutely no mercy the next time they crossed paths.
Using her powers, Destiny immediately dispatched the witch and her ghosts to their new house.
Draconis then arrived, followed shortly by Nergal who carried Pumpkin in his arms.
"Thank you for your help, Destiny." said Draconis. "I will not forget this."
"You are most welcome, Draconis." said Destiny. She waved and smiled before vanishing into a portal.
"Well, Draconis, it's about time to return home." said Nergal.
"Yes Nergal." said Draconis. "First, I will return this child and these kittens to my son."
"Of course." said Nergal.
Back near the witch's previous home, Master Soto had directed Ms. Ocean to take Kinipela and the other children back to the kindergarten.
"This is not the way the day that was supposed to play out." thought Master Soto.
Suddenly he heard a familiar voice.
"Soto?"
Master Soto turned around and saw his father holding Jennifer, Thunder and Pumpkin. Jennifer and the kittens were all still asleep.
"Father!" said Master Soto. "You saved them!"
"I did indeed," said Draconis. "But I had some help from your uncle Nergal and Destiny."
Master Soto was very relieved.
"It's best that the children and kittens forget what has happened." said Draconis.
"Why?" asked Master Soto.
"It's for this one's best sake." said Draconis, looking down fondly at Jennifer.
"Of course, father." said Master Soto.
Draconis gently put Jennifer and the kittens down. Master Soto gathered them in his arms.
"Take care of the Dimensions' best hope." said Draconis.
"I will, father." said Master Soto.
Draconis and Nergal then returned to the home of the Gods.
"Time for us to go home." said Master Soto to Jennifer and the kittens.
At that moment, Jennifer and the kittens woke up.
"Where did these kittens come from?" Jennifer asked. She had forgotten everything that had happened but was delighted to find herself holding two adorable kittens in her arms.
"Meow, meow!" said Pumpkin and Thunder.
"It's a long story," smiled Master Soto, "For another time."
They returned to the kindergarten, where they picked up Kinipela. She too was holding two sweet kittens, Spring and Rain, and was wondering where they had come from.
It was the best Halloween present either girl could have asked for.
Midnight and her mate were very happy that their kittens were no longer under a curse and had found wonderful owners.
Many years later, Master Soto would tell Jennifer and Kinipela the story of how they came to be the owners of four delightful kittens, Pumpkin, Thunder, Spring and Rain, and how the Gods had intervened to protect them all.
(Story started in Started by Jennifer in 2022, continued in the Sept 30, 2023 meeting and finished by Mary Pat Oct 15, 2023. Edited by Mary Pat with some additions.)
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