The Land of Miu (Land of Miu, #1, 2nd ed.)

Chapter 2

Kate awoke with a start. It was still dark outside, but the red digits on her clock radio told her that the sun would soon be rising.

Something had woken her, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Then she heard a noise and she knew it wasn’t the first time she’d heard that sound that morning.

It was the yowl and screech of a cat. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Yowwwl.

They had to be right outside her bedroom window. Kate turned over. A dark shadow of a person stood beside her bed. Kate’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart pounded. She sprang into a sitting position.

A whimper.

“Emma?”

Silence.

Kate reached towards her lamp, the dim glow shone on Emma’s tears. Two large eyes stared at her.

“What’s wrong?” asked Kate. “Why are you crying?”

“The kitties need our help,” said Emma, wiping the tears from her face with both hands. “I told you Min was after them.”

Kate threw the blankets back. “It’s all right, Emma. All cats fight with other cats.” She grabbed a tissue and wiped her little sister’s face. “Cats hunt at night and get themselves into all sorts of trouble. Did you know that? That’s why Mum likes them to come inside at night.”

Emma shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. You heard them. Min’s here. I know it.”

Breathing a soft sigh, Kate left the bed and took hold of Emma’s hand. They walked across to the window and Kate flung back the curtains. “Here. Kneel on the table so you can see,” she said to Emma, lifting her up.

It was dark outside, but the bright moon gave off enough light to see by. Everywhere was quiet and still. Everyone was asleep. Below the window, standing in the shrubs, was a black kitten with gold eyes. Opposite it stood a small, shaggy white cat. They couldn’t see its eyes because it had its back to them.

The black cat’s head was low to the ground. It looked like it was about to attack the white cat, but then it saw the girls and looked up.

The white cat leapt through a gap in the shrubs and ran away.

Gold eyes stared up at the girls. Emma moved closer to Kate, who quickly put her arm around the little girl’s shoulders.

“See, it’s not the kittens,” said Kate in a whisper. “It’s two strays.”

“I don’t like that black cat. It looks mean,” said Emma in a quiet voice.

The cat turned, ran through the shrubs and disappeared over the fence.

Kate pulled the curtains closed, blocking out the world. “Well, it’s gone,” she said. “We can go back to bed now.”

She lifted Emma off the table and put her down on the carpet.

“I can’t sleep.” Fresh tears spilled down Emma’s face. “I want Sophie and Jasper to come home.”

Kate looked around the room. What was she going to do? How could she get Emma back to bed? Then she had an idea.

“Why don’t you climb into my bed,” she announced. “We can pretend we’re having a slumber party. You will enjoy that.”

The tears stopped. “What about the kitties?”

“After breakfast I’ll help you find them,” said Kate. “We’ll bring them home and make sure they eat well, and then we’ll play with them so they know we still love them. How does that sound?”