Meow?  No, I’m not determined to get us killed.  Maybe I should have left you at home.  Meow, meow.  What do you mean, you would have liked that?  Where’s your courage?  Meow.  It burned in the car?  Well, where’s your sense of adventure?  Meow.  It died in the coffin?  Sigh.  Hmm, there’s another narrow stairway going back upstairs.  Let’s go Muffin.  Meow. (okay).

Muffin jumped up on my shoulder and we started up the stairs.  We had just gotten a few steps up when the door slammed shut behind us…and locked!  That was enough for Muffin and she ran up to the top of the stairs so fast…and let loose with a loud piercing shriek!!  Muffin!  I ran up the stairs as fast as I could, but she was gone.  My candle had gone out again, so I had to relight it once more.  Hmm, nearly out of matches now.  I knelt down and looked along the bottom of the wall for evidence of a door.  I felt a hard thump, then…

I woke up with Muffin slapping my face again.  How did I get on this bed?  Meow, meow!  Oh, the ghost dragged me over here and put me on the bed?  What?  Meow.  Really?  She did?  And stop calling her a ghost!  If she was a ghost she wouldn’t be able to lift me onto the bed.  Why did you shriek like that anyway?  Meow!  Oh, the ghost scared you by standing right beside you.  But what happened to you?  Meow, meow.  You were on the ceiling hiding from the ghost?  And she’s not a ghost!  Meow?  No, I can’t walk through walls.  Meow.  No, that does not make her a ghost, you have a wild imagination.  And stop sighing like that.

We have to find that woman Muffin.  Meow!  What do you mean, you don’t want to find her?  Surely you’re not scared, are you?  Remember you’re a cat, not a mouse!  And stop squeaking like that.  It’s important to find her so we can solve this mystery.  Meow?  I’m not sure how, she is hard to track down.  Hey, we haven’t checked the top floor yet!  Let’s go!  And stop sighing like that.  The stairs were narrow and steep going up to the top floor.  There was only 3 rooms, the first was quite large, kind of an old style library that homes had at one time. 

There were shelves of books from floor to ceiling, lining every wall.  A nice old rocking chair was located by a large bay window.  Thick dust covered everything here too, except the floor and the rocking chair.  There were two big armchairs as well, but they were covered with dust.  Too bad, they looked comfortable.  There was also a kerosene lamp on a table in the middle of the room so I lit that.  Nice to have a bit more light than my lone candle which was getting a bit small now.

Muffin was sniffing at the door to one of the other rooms, according to the floor plan that’s a bedroom.  The other room only had a doorway leading into it.  I cautiously open the door while Muffin decided to check out the other room.  As the door opens there was an ear piercing shriek from the other room!  That wasn’t Muffin’s terrified shriek, this time she was hurt!  Muffin!

To be continued.

Steve and Muffin.

© 2020 Steve McLeod.