Mums Heart
“Mum, whos Phyllis? Is she our owner? Then why does she feed us so poorly?” Little curious eyes stared up at Sienna, waiting for an answer. “No, my love, shes not our owner. Shes just an old, sick woman. She doesnt know what shes doing…” “Mum, will the big cats eat me like they did my sister?” whispered Rusty, trembling with fear. Sienna sighed heavily. “No, my darling, they wont eat you! I promise!” She began to lick her belovednow her onlychild, and Rusty slowly calmed down, drifting into a soft, sweet sleep.
Sienna had been born in the basement of a block of flats. There had been four kittens. Her mother had been very youngit was her first litter. As soon as another tomcat appeared on the scene, she forgot all about her kittens and ran off. But Sienna still remembered her with gratitude. Despite her flightiness, her mother had given her children tenderness, nursed them, and taught them to eat on their own. After she vanished, the kittens had to leave the basement for the streets. At first, they stuck together in the courtyard where kind souls sometimes fed them. Time passed… Her grey brother was hit by a car, her sister Tiger was torn apart by dogs. Sienna saw them off to the rainbow bridge, her tears falling on their cold little bodies. She stayed beside them until the caretaker chased her away. She watched as he scooped their stiff little forms onto his shovel and tossed them into the bin. She never knew what became of her other sister. Growing up, Sienna learned the laws of street life. She lived quietly, keeping to herself, mastering the art of staying unseen.
Then Sienna entered hell… Phyllis. She met her by the rubbish bins where the old woman rummaged eagerly, stuffing things into her enormous bag. Phyllis fixed her with a wild stare and slurred, “Puss-puss, come here, come to me!” No one had ever taught Sienna to fear toothless old women, so she went closer, hoping for food. Suddenly, Phyllis snatched her up under her arm, grabbed her bag, and scuttled toward the building.
She flung Sienna onto the floor inside the flat. “Youll be Sienna.” Then she forgot about her entirely. Dozens of hungry eyes turned toward her… “Puss-puss-puss!” Phyllis called from the kitchen, sorting through her “treasures,” and the cats, losing interest in Sienna, rushed to her. Sienna looked around in horror. She hadnt imagined two-legged creatures could live like thispiles of filthy, stinking rubbish, mountains of unwashed dishes, animal waste everywhere, swarms of flies and cockroaches. And cats. So many cats. Most were beaten-down, starved, sick, their eyes haunted. But some were strong, aggressive, confidentPhylliss favourites. Why she kept the others, even she didnt know.
So began Siennas hellish lifea life of hunger, constant fear, where sickness and death were normal, where starving toms devoured newborn kittens before Phyllis could drown them in a bucket. Slowly, Sienna adapted. She found a hidden corner and stayed there.
A month later, she realised with dread that she was going to be a mother. Shed had a sweetheart on the streetshed courted her beautifully, but not for long. Now, in this hell, her babies would be born.
She gave birth quietly. The kittens were perfecta black girl, just like her father, and a ginger boy, the image of Sienna. Pebble and Rusty…
How she protected them… But the circle tightened. The starving toms drew nearer as the kittens grew bolder, their eyes open, always trying to slip out.
The memory of that terrible day still hurt. She had guarded them day and night but dozed off for just a momentthen heard Pebbles tiny squeak, the crunch of little bones… Naïve little Pebble had wandered out… Sienna snarled, her fur on end, ready to leap at the toms throatuntil she heard Rustys voice. “Mum… did they eat Pebble?” She turned and saw his huge, terrified eyes. What would happen to him if she died now? She halted, shielding him, whispering through her grief, “Well escape. Ill save you!” And she waited for her chance…
“Open up, police!” A loud knock at the door. Phyllis scrambled about frantically. “Open upneighbours have complained!” They werent leaving. With a sigh, Phyllis unlatched the doorjust as a ginger cat shot past, a kitten in her teeth, streaking down the stairs…
Boris looked into her pain-clouded eyes, tears on his cheeks. He understood her. “Dont worry, Ill take care of him. Hell be safe.” Beside her sat Rustyunusually quiet, purring, licking her face. Sienna was dying… Her little heart couldnt bear losing her daughter… She dreamed of her, calling her to the rainbow bridge… And Sienna let go… Her battered heart stopped forever.
The day she died, rain fell. Boris buried her in a birch grove, then stood with Rusty by her grave for a long time… He remembered how theyd come into his life. It had been a dark timehed just buried his parents, lost in a car crash… But duty called. He recalled the mad old woman, the neighbours complaints, the stinking flat… and the ginger cat with a kitten in her teeth, pawing at the door, pleading with her eyes. Yes, he had been the officer whod helped them escape… Hed crouched beside them. “Ran away? I get it… I would too. Come live with me. Im so alone… Ill be good to you, I promise.” He opened the car door, and the cat followed.
He called her “my beauty.” Rusty stayed Rusty. His wounded heart had embraced these poor souls. He bought them a towering cat tree, the best food, every luxury. He tried so hard to make them forget their horror… When “his beauty” fell ill, he took her to the best vets, carried her, begged her to stay… But she… her eyes grew distant, as if saying, “Let me go…”
Sienna ran across the rainbow… Beside her, little black Pebble trotted on tiny paws. She felt peace. No more pain. “Mum, what about Rusty? Hes all alone!” Pebble asked. Sienna smiled. “Hes not alone. He has a friend now. Look…”
The rain stopped, and a rainbow arched over the birch grove… Boris sighed, lifting Rusty, meeting his honey-coloured, tearful eyes. He kissed his wet nose. “Well be alright, little one…” And they walked to the car. Two wounded hearts, but not alonea big, strong man and a tiny ginger kitten… Rusty.
