New England Cats

Like cats, we have a curious nature my sister and I.

And so it wasn't long before we were off scouring our old neighbourhood for tidbits of our past; fragments of our childhood that were borne on the air in scents and were lurking in the old, evergreen lane.

It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was lowering in the inky blue sky. We cast a glance over to our old house, which is now occupied by a married couple without children. I mention their childlessness because it lent a feeling of unfamiliarity to the house, even though it looked more or less the same. No children? Who would leave jelly worms out for the birds as we used to? Or climb to the tops of the trees and howl into the skies?
Nevermind, I thought as the house became a small dot in the distance and we walked away.

My feet were very pleased to tread the old paths.

We looked for secrets in the fallen trees that we used to climb and looked up into the leaves to say hello to the birds and the sunshine.

The light was slowly fading as we ventured further into the beating heart of the woods, with the sounds of our feet crushing the fallen leaves beneath us.

There were moments where the sun kept trying to reach out to us through the thick branches, dancing on the vivid, autumnal colours and creating kaleidoscopes of light around us; warming the Earth in rich, inviting splendour.

Scattered amongst the blanket of the woods, there were red toadstools where my little fairy friends live. I called to them quietly and they didn't come out to greet me, I was too old now, but I knew they were there. Marvelling at the great height of me, I imagine after all these years.

As the evening drew closer, a wise owl spoke to us and told us that it would soon be time to head home. The coyote, whilst not a particularly dangerous animal, were rousing and they didn't want to share the woods with us. We could feel them watching us as we neared the end of our journey. Eyeing us suspiciously...

And so we slowly made our way home, enjoying the magic of our old lane and I swear, for just a moment, I could see our old house, just as it was all those 19 years ago, with three little children, a father and a wonderful Grandma standing behind them. She waved to me as I passed. I thought about telling my sister, but she wouldn't believe me (so serious she is sometimes) and so I simply waved back and smiled as I shut the door behind me.