Blue moon was visible through the window of the dark room. Beside the window was a table with a laptop on it, A cartoon of a cat and a mouse was playing. I loved tom and jerry from when I was a child, even though I am in the age of a teenager, the habit has never left me it seems. Tom and jerry were famous for its comedy aspect, but I wasn't laughing, it wasn't because the scene right now isn't funny, it was because something sadder has clouded my mind. I was like this the whole weekend; at school my friends and teachers would frequently check up on me to make sure I was okay. I was depressed, Garfield my cat has vanished for these couple of days.
Garfield is the cat father brought for me when I was 10, from that day onward we have become inseparable. I named him Garfield because it was my favorite cartoon, and I loved how much similar Garfield looked to the cartoon character. One time I even fought ben my younger brother when he tried to hurt him. Garfield was a very important figure in my life, and he is now gone. I don't want to imagine how exactly it played out.
While I was deep in thought, reminiscing about the old days while staring into the colorful screen, the doorbell rang.
"I am home."
Father's voice followed. A couple of days ago father made a promise to me that he would bring Garfield home. First, I thought it was possible given that he is a cop but after countless days of disappointment my hope has diminished. Suddenly another toned sound rang, the moment I heard it my heart started to beat faster.
"Meow"
I flied out of the chair, without even thinking of turning off the laptop, then I rushed downstairs at lightning speed, the sound of my footsteps could be heard from downstairs. When I got to the front door scene my eyes were subjected to froze me on the spot.
Father was back from work, he was wearing the black uniform and holding a pizza box from his right hand. What caught my attention was the thing he was holding in his right hand; its fur was orange while white strips were all over the orange surface. Its black beady eyes looked backed at me causing me to feel affection and sadness at the same time. No second guessing It was Garfield.
"Daddy, you brought him back."
I said as I took the cat from his hands and patted his head a little. A familiar sensation of care formed in my heart, while a couple of tears fell from my eyes. I was grateful, sad, happy at once.
"Where did you find him?"
"You remember the grandpa that works in the cemetery, apparently, he has found Garfield couple of days ago wondering nearby. When he saw it, he fed it and from that day, it has stayed there. When I saw it following him, I said that it was ours, he gave it to me without any question."
While this was happening mom came from the living room after helping ben with his homework.
"Honey is that, Garfield? where did you find him?" She asked while giving a peck on his lips, she was wearing a red blouse and white skirt.
"The uncle that works in the cemetery had it." She looked thoughtful for a second and changed the topic. "Honey, you go and wash yourself, I will prepare the table." She said while taking the pizza off from daddy's hand. "And you, Amanda, put down the cat and come eat."
"Okay mom" I said while walking toward the kitchen while holding Garfield. Strangely, Garfield was very cold and stared at me with its black eyes without breaking focus. Before when he seems, me he will jump around, climb up, always nag me to pet him but now his enthusiasm has died down. Only a rare meow could be heard. I don't know what it was but something about him feels off.
Mom and I went towards the dining room. Most of the space downstairs was taken by the dining room while kitchen and bathroom only took up very little space. The kitchen was combined with dining room while bathroom was near the basement door. Near the front were the stairs that led to the upper floor. When we got into the dining room ben was studying with a bored expression painted on his face. When he saw us coming inside and Garfield that was in my hands, he got up ran toward us screaming.
"GARFIELD"
He took the Garfield out of my hands and started petting him aggressively. I immediately took him back with force with force and hit ben's head one time right in front of mom. With a painful expression he covered his head and complained to his "favorite mommy" like usual.
"Oweeee, mommy the bitch hit me." Mom looked at me with indifference and started yelling at me. "Amanda how many times I have tell you not to hit your brother?"
"Mom, He tried to hurt Garfield."
Mom looked at me with anger this time. "I don't care, no matter what you don't hit your younger brother and look at him, because of you he has even learned to swear."
'Huh, now it is my fault too, good job mom, spoil him more. Next time he will be swearing at you, not me.'
I tried to go sit down at the table , but ben started to throw a tantrum. "Mommy, tell her to give me Garfield, I want to pet him." The little devil said. As expected, mom took ben's side, and I had to give Garfield to him for the time being.
"You never take my side, it is the first time I had seen him, and you give Garfield to ben, who didn't even care when he disappeared." After hearing that and seeing my almost crying face she loosened up a little bit.
"Ben go and sit beside her so that she can pat him too." Ben sat beside me without a question. Getting to touch the furball seems to have calmed him down a little, like what happened to everybody. He put Garfield on his lap while patting him with the same aggressiveness as before. I was patting Garfield while glaring at ben when father came from his shower. When I saw dad, my mood instantly lit up. He was wearing a white shirt and black short, after kissing mom again he came over and sat Infront of me.
"Has he fed Garfield these days." I asked first after noticing that Garfield has become thinner. "He said that he gave it cat food 2 times a day. When I went there it was sleeping in the couch, so I don't think the grandpa has treated it bad."
"So, how was school?" Dad asked, changing the topic. "It was…Okay, I got a high score on the test, and the teacher praised me in front of the class."
I lied, I was the lowest in the class and the teacher told me to write an essay for tomorrow. I wasn't exactly bad at school, I was bad at Spanish, no matter how much I try I don't seem to get better. A couple of Seconds passed with nonchalantly, and Mom brought the pizza slices on four plates. Then she put the pizza on the glass of the table. Everybody received three pieces.
It was the usual pepperoni pizza, but I love any kind of pizza, so me and ben were done with the three slices in a couple of minutes. While I was eating it, I tossed a crust toward Garfield who was now lying on the floor. It was bizarre, he didn't even look at the crust, he was just staring at me without even flinching, with its dark eyes. I wondered why the cat who can't stop eating before, doesn't have any interest in even looking at the delicious pizza crust. He was just staring at me, without even a little movement, sound or anything. After a couple of seconds, I shrugged the thought as overthinking and got up, so I could go to my room and write the damn essay. While I was going, I took Garfield with me as well.
***
Clicks from constant typing on the keyboard could be inside my well-lit room, next room ben was soundly sleeping. After a good dinner he always sleeps like a dead boar. Currently I am writing an essay for tomorrow because if I don't the teacher will definitely call mom tomorrow, and I never want that to happen.
Suddenly I heard footsteps from the stairs coming upstairs in a hurried manner, I hurriedly switched off the light bulb and laptop and got into bed. I was making sure I don't have to find reasons to tell mom why I was writing an essay in Spanish in night. After a couple of agonizing seconds when I was pretending to sleep, my room door slightly opened, with it a ray of light landed on the wall, mom peeked through the door trying to see if I was sleeping or not. I looked at her in the corner of my half-shut eyes while pretending, her gaze lingered on me for a couple of seconds, then the laptop, after that she silently shut the door. Then she went to ben's room and after that she left.
I sighed while getting up from my bed and sneakily went toward the door, then opened it slowly while peeking through the door. Darkness has taken over the house, no sign of mom or dad could be seen from the observable sight. I slowly closed the door and got up, then I went to the table and opened the laptop. I returned to typing the essay without help from light bulb. While I was typing I could see from my periphery that Garfield was again staring at me with deep dark ice, in the pitch-black darkness he looked like a predator who was stalking his prey before the hunt.
'Garfield is starting to give me the creeps, I shouldn't think like this, but I can't from thinking like this' I returned to my task while gaze still lingered on me, I tried to work while ignoring but it still bugged me a little.
***
It was midnight when I was finished with the essay, I wrote it as best as I could, like the teacher wanted me to but I don't if it is good enough. I am bad at Spanish, very bad. While fighting with the thoughts in my head, I felt dryness in my throat, making me uncomfortable.
'There was some milk in the fridge, I should go and get some' I got up from the chair and when I was trying to go toward the kitchen, I noticed that Garfield wasn't nowhere to be seen. 'Where is he?'
I wanted to be near him while sleeping like we always did but he was nowhere to be seen. 'I should find him…after I drank the milk.' I closed the laptop and opened the door. Then I slowly went downstairs without making any sound. Only mine and ben's rooms were upstairs while father and mother slept downstairs, so the sound of opening door will go unnoticed. I made sure to walk on my tip toes, so the possibility of getting caught will be even lower. In the pitch-black darkness, on my tiptoes, sneakily I approached the kitchen like a thief. Only the filtered moonlight was my guide who made sure I wouldn't stumble on anything.
I opened the fridge. 'Food, water, pizza, more food, vegetable…. Where is the fucking milk?' I looked around in a couple of cupboards as well, when I was searching, I saw the milk bottle on the dining table. I sighed and went toward it, then I grabbed it and opened the light, then I drank it in big gulps. After a couple seconds I put the bottle down again and when I was just about to drink another gulp, I noticed something under the table. I frowned my eyes again and looked back.
From under the chair a very small, bloody human face could be seen, its two eyes were mutilated while smiling from ear to ear.
I froze for a couple of seconds while looking at the terrifying scene, I couldn't even stop the scream that came from my mouth. I turned around and ran searching for my parents' room, not for a minute did I look back. But suddenly my foot slipped as I fell toward my back with a thud, I looked in front and a dead bloody bird could be seen. Shivers ran up my body as I looked back, the smiling face carried by orange colored cat body ran toward me with quickness.
"Aaaaahhh"
I got up and ran toward the parent's room as fast as I could. Then when I got there, I looked back again to see whether the horrifying thing was following me or not. It was running toward me and its smile had grown even more terrifying. My trembling hand fiddled with the door handle trying to open it, but anxiety had gotten to me, I failed a couple of times while the head got even closer. There was only a couple of minutes until the smiley face would come and kill me. Suddenly the door opened, I ran as fast as I could and jumped toward the bed. I landed on the bed with a thud while the person that was beneath me let out a grunt. Then the bed sheet that was covering the face came off. "Dad, there is a monster, help me."
I shouted as fear took over my body. "Woah, calm down honey, tell me what happened?" Dad comforted me as he asked. After taking a couple of deep breaths, I told father everything that happened until I went down, while I was telling him that mom woke up as well. When I finished both were staring at me like they were looking at a drunk guy.
"Honey it must be a nightmare, go to sleep and it will all be alright." Mom said while dad got out of bed.
"No mom, why don't believe me, it's like this every time, you never take my time."
"Both of you stay here." Dad said as he took the gun from the wardrobe and darted toward the kitchen after turning on the light. Me and mom stayed in the bedroom without moving an inch. Seconds passed, minutes passed in silence, and after a while dad came back with Garfield in his hand. There was no human head attached to him now and he was meowing constantly. I took a couple of steps back out of fear as dad came near me.
"Look, here is Garfield, there is nothing wrong with it." I looked at the cat while squinting my eyes, it's true there was nothing abnormal about him, he was even more energetic than he was at the dining room. Then dead suddenly look at me, his face darkened.
"Amanda why are you?" filled with anxiety I darted out even not letting him finish the question. "What?" dad looked at my face again and asked.
"Why are you smiling?"