Midnight

Flash Fiction

Midnight

I heard a noise in the kitchen. I was finally falling asleep, about midnight, after a nasty work day, so I just laid there listening. I assumed it was Ginger, my cat, though she didn’t usually peruse the kitchen. She’s picky about food, and she’d already been fed.

Suddenly I felt her pop up from the end of my bed. It obviously wasn’t her in the kitchen, she must have heard the noise too.

The moon was bright enough that I could see in the dark. I could see her looking at the door. I didn’t want her to go out there when I didn’t know what it was. So finally, I had to get up and find out.

Getting out of the bedroom door without Ginger was a challenge. I knew she would run as soon as I opened it, so I ended up putting her in my closet. She was not happy! She immediately started meowing and scratching at the door!

I rushed to the kitchen, quietly… closing my bedroom door again to keep down the meowing from the closet.

As I got to the kitchen, I heard noise again. And, I noticed I’d forgotten to shut the window, obviously how something got in… I grabbed the broom and then flipped on the light ready to chase something out!

There, on the floor, trying to get crumbs off Ginger’s dirty dish, was a small, skinny, white kitten! It must have come in the window! I went back and let Ginger out.

It took about one minute for Ginger to take control of the kitten. She immediately started licking it! I grabbed cat food and refilled the dish and watched Ginger clean the little tyke up.

We’ve been together for six years now. We named her Midnight.