Oneshots I guess

The Neighbor

They moved in a while back. Two very different people, and a cat. I could appreciate that. The cat, I mean. Not all people had the reverence for cats as I did. 

They were... strange, to say the least. Only one of them went out. The cheerful one, probably in her early twenties. The other almost never left the house for reasons other than to go to work, I presumed. If they did, I never saw them, as the closest I have ever observed to them stepping off their property was going outside in the rain, looking up at the sky as if they had never seen falling water in their life. 

Quite strange indeed. 

I got the feeling that perhaps that one wasn't human after all, but who was I to make assumptions? Besides, that would just be preposterous. 

I met their partner a handful of times at the local supermarket. Aurora, I think was her name. She worked at MIRA in their science division, which was a career that I could appreciate. The only other thing I could remember about her were her eyes, filled with endless amounts of kindness and compassion. And that their cat's name was Grudge, and he was an emotional support animal for her partner. 

I assumed PTSD, but I didn't ask.

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When Halloween came around and the kids came out in their costumes, that's when I noticed that maybe my initial suspicions were correct. 

The first year, the trick-or-treaters would knock on the door and Aurora would answer. Through the door I observed that besides the ones in the front room, all of the other lights were out. Strange, but I shrugged it off.

The second year and the years after that they simply put a bowl of candy out in front. 

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I invited them over for dinner a couple of times, but each time they politely refused my offer. For which, I couldn't blame them, as their lives no doubt were busy, but to me it seemed as if they barely got any breaks at all, going into work during the winter holidays and new years as well. 

Perhaps it wasn't work, though, as whenever they came home, Aurora's partner always had a medical bracelet on their wrist. 

... I wondered if they would like apple pie or peach cobbler.

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I decided on apple pie. And I brought a tub of homemade ice cream for good measure. 

Aurora answered the door and invited me in. I was very surprised with how clean their house was, everything neatly organized and arranged as if someone had just done spring cleaning that morning. 

We chatted for a while over tea before their cat came out. 

Looking closer, Grudge only had one ear and a large scar over its eye, but it looked up at Aurora and meowed with purpose. How a cat could do such a thing, I had no clue, but this one managed to do it.

Aurora immediately excused herself and followed the cat down the hall. I glanced after her as she opened a door, and caught a glimpse of tens of maybe hundreds of paintings, some scenes gorily unsettling and others simply unnerving. 

I still get shivers when I think of that. 

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My grandchildren got me a kitten for Christmas. An energetic thing that would zoom around the house at the most unholiest of hours before pestering me to pet it and then ignoring me for the rest of the night. 

I found the behavior strangely likable. 

There came a day when somehow, the little kit managed to escape the house without my knowledge, and run amok in the neighborhood. I didn't notice it for the first few hours, but I became increasingly worried until I heard a knock at my door.

I was surprised when I opened it to find Aurora's partner. Hair grown to cover their eyes, baggy clothes and my kitten in hand, they awkwardly held the kit out towards me, murmuring something that I couldn't quite catch. 

I thanked them nevertheless and asked for their name. They seemed slightly taken aback by the question before answering. 

"It's... Rebel."

I thought Rebel was a very nice name.