One More Song

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty….”

Out from behind the table, sauntered the sleek Siamese cat. He moved slowly towards the sound of his name being called. He knew the only reason he was being summoned was to eat. The girl in the house would bring out his little dish full of tuna bits and set a small bowl of water nearby. He must not have moved fast enough because before he knew it, the calls had become more pronounced.

“Here kitty, Ebenezer, where are you? Come here now!” Molly shrieked.

He wasn’t going to be hurried by some loud mouthed little girl. Ebenezer took his time. The bowl was waiting right where he knew it would be. He didn’t want to appear too eager. No way, would he show the little brat that he was starving. He would not lower himself to the level of that big brute, Sunny, who used to salivate every time his name was called out. That large dog had no dignity whatsoever. Where had his lack of breeding gotten him? He was no longer to be seen. Ebenezer would show Molly that he had class.

“Come on Ebenezer, just eat! Would you stop dilly dallying?! Just eat the food.”

Her voice sounded like a whining siren. Ebenezer nibbled a bit at the food. He moved back towards Molly. Keeping his eyes straight ahead, he looped his body around her legs. In and out he went. His tail slithered its way up to the lower part of her thigh. He knew that always irritated her. Sure enough, she jerked backwards and almost fell over the chair behind her.

“Ebenezer, I’m going to get you for that.”

Molly reached into the kitchen drawer and grabbed the wooden spoon.

“You know what naughty little boys get, don’t you? You know I told you to eat your food and you are being downright naughty, so now you are going to get what you deserve!” The glint in Molly’s eye was unmistakable. She was enjoying this bit of fun. Ebenezer had learnt to be quick on his paws. He leapt up onto the chair before the spoon could touch him. His narrow escape only made Molly all the more determined.

“Trying to escape, are you? Now you are really gonna get it! You just wait, I’m going to give it to you this time you naughty cat.”

Ebenezer looked back at the tempting bowl of tuna bits. He decided that no food was worth the torture he would have to endure if he lingered around to eat it. He darted towards the back door but before he could make it through he felt a sharp pain in his skull. The wooden spoon had landed perfectly on the back of his tiny little skull. The impact was deadly. Ebenezer didn’t have a chance. His paws slid outward as he slumped forward and collapsed face down on the floor. He was gone. Molly didn’t know he was already dead when she came up on him. She picked up the wooden spoon to continue the discipline of her bad kitty. The wooden spoon came down on Ebenezer’s body over and over again. If it hadn’t been for Molly’s mom entering the kitchen, Molly would not have stopped pulverizing the dead cat.

“Molly, no, stop right now! Ebenezer is dead.”

“I need to teach Ebenezer a lesson, he is just playing dead.”

“Ebenezer is dead! He isn’t playing dead. He is a cat not a dog. He doesn’t know how to play dead.” Molly’s mother shifted Molly’s baby sister, Angela, in her arms as she tried to pull Molly away from the dead cat.

“But Momma, I want him to get up now!” Molly whined. “He has to eat his dinner!”

“Molly, he isn’t getting up. He isn’t eating dinner. He is dead.”

“What is dead?”

“I’ve told you before what dead is. You know what dead is! Dead is when someone or something can’t breathe anymore. You killed him, Molly.”

“I killed him.” She said. Her little hands clamped over her mouth and nose in an attempt to stop herself from breathing.

“Molly, stop that now!!”

Molly stared straight ahead. Her eyes began to bulge and her face looked reddish and odd.

“Stop that right now!”

Molly kept her hands clamped over her mouth and nose. Her eyes got bigger.

“Molly, I said you had better stop this nonsense right now young lady!” After a brief wrestling match with Molly’s hands, her mom was able to pull them away from her mouth. Molly still refused to breathe.

“Molly, I said breathe now!”

Suddenly, Molly let out what little air was still in her lungs and then breathed in deeply.

“Was I almost dead?”

“You stop this nonsense, Molly Anne! Now let’s go and call Daddy so that he can bury Ebenezer.”

Molly’s dad led the way to the backyard. Molly’s mom followed behind carrying baby Angela in her arms. Molly skipped alongside her mom.

The burial was done in silence. Molly’s dad dug a small grave out in the backyard and lowered Ebenezer’s body inside.

“Can we sing now, daddy?”

“No, Molly we can’t sing, not this time.” Her father sighed as he started scooping the sand on top of Ebenezer.

“But it’s a funeral and we sang for all the other funerals!”

“No more songs, Molly, this has got to stop.” Molly’s dad lifted the shovel up with the last bit of dirt. Straightening up, he frowned as he looked at the tiny mounds that lined the backside of his garden.

“But I want to sing!” Molly stomped her foot.

Molly’s mom looked wearily at her and said, “Okay, sing a song for Ebenezer.”

Molly’s eyes crinkled with glee as she smiled widely. “I know exactly what I want to sing for Ebenezer. I want to sing the same song I sang for Sunny and Ginger and Rover and Miki and Boots and Tiger and Cookie. Oh, I loved singing for their funerals. Singing is the best part of all….you know mommy, I already know what song I will sing for baby Angela’s funeral…”



Word count: 1,023