Sweet the Rain's New Fall [Open]

[Astrit Zupan]

Mine is the singing, mine is the morning
The scruffy ginger tabby cat that lived under the stairs had decided that Astrit belonged to it, and the feeling was sufficiently mutual for any ordinary purposes. It had started off with a sort of hostility, the cat being unsure of whether Astrit was going to hurt it and Astrit having the same uncertainty about the cat. However, they saw each other every day and no harm ever came of it, and so after a while they started to get curious about each other, until one day Astrit was sitting on the steps outside the housing complex where he lived mostly because he didn't have anything better to do, and the cat came to sniff him. He offered it his fingers, and it seemed to approve of how they smelled. After that, Astrit was often seen doing his homework outside with the cat. He sometimes improvised a toy, perhaps of string or leaves, and they played together. Other times, if he had enough, he would share a bit of food with the cat. They got along all right, until eventually Astrit found himself letting the cat into his home, and by various means acquiring things like a litterbox and a scratching post. He discovered that living with a cat in a rundown place like this was an advantage to both parties, since the rodents and insects that got in were certainly not very useful to a human but could feed a cat pretty well. Astrit's cat was afforded quite a bit of freedom to come and go from the flat as it pleased, which he estimated was only fair since it had come to him willingly and of its own choosing. After some thought and consulting a book from the library, he was able to determine that the cat was a half-grown tom. Some of the neighbors made comments to the effect that cat and human resembled each other remarkably well--both half-grown males with red hair and brown eyes, though when confronted on the matter, Astrit cheerfully pointed out that he did not have stripes--and they certainly shared certain aspects of personality. Today was cold and foggy, but not so much of either that Astrit and his cat (dubbed Morning for reasons that Astrit chose not to share with others beyond "It sounded like a good name" on account of their being too poetic) could be driven off of the steps in front of the Winterbush Complex. While the boy worked on his homework, Morning played at hunting damp leaves. All was cool and calm, as the two of them attended to their ordinary lives and waited for something to happen.
Open	441 words

[Katyusha Chernenko]

велике спасибі She was pretty sure the patient didn't 'mysteriously disappeared' from her house. He left a long trail of dripping blood and a bits of bandages here and there. Being exhausted from her job at the hospital, Katyusha didn't check if the other room was occupied by the time she arrived at home. It was the red spots on the floor that caught her attention in the morning. She was used to her patients being left abruptly without notice, but usually they didn't leave blood on her carpet. Worried that the person might had passed out somewhere, Katyusha set her thoughts of making breakfast aside and went outside. The trail was getting smaller the further she went. Finally it stopped in a corner. There was nobody around the area, so Katyusha assumed that someone picked the poor guy up. He was no longer her concern, but that didn't stop her to feel worry about him. Yet there was nothing she could do, so the Ukrainian nurse turned around and started walking back. And that was when she saw the cat crossing the street when a particularly loud motorcycle was speeding up. The rider didn't even slow down, but thankfully, the orange cat seemed alright. He was frightened, though. Katyusha crouched down and gently touched his back, murmuring soft soothing words. One glance at the feline told her that he was kept as someone's pet. "Come let's find your home, shall we?" She stood up slowly, taking the cat in her arms. They arrived at Katyusha's old apartment, Winterbush Complex. Perhaps one of its residents recognize this cat? But once Katyusha stepped further into the yard, suddenly the cat jumped from her arms. He ran to the benches, where there was a skinny boy with a book in his hands. She approached them, wasn't surprised when the cat purred gently at the boy. "Is that yours?" she asked, "I found him nearby."

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Astrit Zupan]

Mine is the singing, mine is the morning
Astrit had been thoroughly absorbed in his homework when a voice intruded into his thoughts to say, “Is that yours? I found him nearby.” The boy looked up to see a plump, blonde woman approaching him with Morning held in her arms. “He's mine if he's anyone's,” he confirmed mildly. The young cat's normally short and sleek fur looked unusually puffy, like Morning had been scared by something. “What happened?” As he waited for her to answer, Astrit took the opportunity to look in more detail at the woman. She was tall compared to him, naturally, but not particularly tall for an adult woman. Her soft-featured face looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before but never known her particularly well. That face was framed by short blonde hair, cut in what looked to him like a very practical style. There was a pleasant, rather motherly quality to her which made him feel like it was safe to talk to her. That encouraged him to comment: “Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar.” He wondered if he had seen her during his daily routine at some point; perhaps she was one of the people he passed on his way to school. It was obvious that no more homework would be accomplished until the conversation concluded, so Astrit put his work aside, tucking his pencil carefully into a book so that he could find it again. Having done that, he looked up to focus his full attention on the unexpected newcomer. Morning seemed to be pretty comfortable being held by this woman, which Astrit found interesting. Like most strays—like most animals in general, even—his cat wasn't inclined to trust just anyone. That Morning wasn't protesting being held reinforced Astrit's sense that there was something reasonably trustworthy about this woman. He liked that. He liked thinking that people might be trustworthy.
Katyusha Chernenko	314 words

[Katyusha Chernenko]

велике спасибі “He's mine if he's anyone's.” Katyusha didn't expect she would find the cat's owner this soon, but she was glad. The boy, albeit skinny and slightly unhealthy, had a kind expression on him. Strangely, she couldn't help but feeling that she had met him before. A soft purring near her shoes told her that the cat had returned, interrupting her thoughts. The nurse crouched down and picked it up again, smoothing the furs. It seems the cat felt comfortable in her arms. She absentmindedly scratched its chin, smiling. “What happened?” the boy asked, apparently realizing that there was something happened with his cat. "Ah, I was walking near here..." the woman started, recalling all the details. "Your cat was crossing the street when a large motorcycle passed by. This poor kitty seemed frightened, but unharmed. So I hoped I could find the owner. Looks like you've been treating the cat well..." The cat was particularly interested with one of her shirt's buttons. Katyusha kept an eye of it, just in case its claw stuck on the button. The paws left some dust prints on her clothes. Oh well, she could wash it later. “Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar.” The woman glanced up, looking at the building behind the boy. "I used to live here several years ago. Do you live around here? If yes, maybe we have crossed path once or twice." She approached closer to put the cat beside the boy. "My name is Katyusha. Also known as Katya." He was young, probably still in early years of secondary school. "I moved away about six years ago, so I'm not sure if you do remember me. My new home is not far, though." The cat meows aloud, asking for their attention. "And what's this cat's name?"

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Astrit Zupan]

Mine is the singing, mine is the morning
The lady's explanation of what had happened to Morning worried Astrit a bit, for all it was normal enough. Cats and motorcycles tended to get along very badly, but Morning had been a stray for long enough that he should have been able to handle matters. Then again, maybe not; stray cats did get hit by cars. Perhaps Astrit needed to start paying a little more attention to his feline flatmate's comings and goings. Though the woman had mentioned that he seemed to have been treating the cat well, so he couldn't have done too badly, could he? The boy couldn't help but smile at the sight of his cat playing with the buttons on the lady's shirt. It was just such a cute thing, though he did feel a bit bad about the dirty pawprints that seemed to have resulted from Morning's wanderings. In response to his question about whether they had met before, the lady introduced herself as Katyusha and explained that she had lived in this building some years prior and still lived fairly nearby. That would explain it, then. The boy grinned, appreciating the connection. “For sure I've seen you before, then, though I don't think we've spoken. I've lived here all my life, but I would have been only seven or so when you moved away. My name's Astrit.” A loud meow informed him that his cat wanted to be part of the conversation, too. Katyusha looked down and asked, “And what's this cat's name?” “I call him Morning,” Astrit replied, “and he seems to like it.” Morning purred, as if to confirm his human's words. The cat looked decidedly happy to have found a new friend; his fur was no longer puffed out and the other signs of fright had faded. Astrit smiled.
Katyusha Chernenko	300 words

[Katyusha Chernenko]

велике спасибі The Ukrainian nurse let out a soft chuckle as the cat began to play with her shirt. Her precious, mischievous buttons to be precise. Dark grey paw prints decorated the light blue fabric as the feline kept trying to snag the button off its threads. Gently Katyusha laid it on her lap and petted the fur, smoothing it. "Don't touch it," scolded her; her tone was nowhere near angry or upset -- merely like a mother preventing her child from knocking a porcelain plate down. “For sure I've seen you before, then, though I don't think we've spoken. I've lived here all my life, but I would have been only seven or so when you moved away. My name's Astrit.” The boy's gaze directed at his furry companion who meowed at them both. “I call him Morning,” Astrit continued, “and he seems to like it.” Bright blue irises looked at the boy, examining him from top to toe. His face had features Katyusha recognized; ones she saw quite often around her childhood home in the cold east. What a rare, yet nice familiar face. "Astrit," she repeated, edges of her lips pulled upwards as the syllables rolling smoothly from her tongue. "And Morning. Nice to meet you both." If he was seven when Katyusha left, that would make him thirteen years old today. Suddenly remembered at what he had been doing before Katyusha came here, she asked, "I noticed that you were busy with your book; what were you doing?" The cat -- Morning -- laid on its back, paws facing Katyusha's face. Tentatively she put an arm on the side of the cat's body, preventing her from rolling to the ground. "Did you run away from Astrit, hmm?" again the nurse petted Morning. "Remember not to do that again; you're going to get hurt." But Morning, being a cat it was, gave its answer in the form of loud purr.

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Astrit Zupan]

Astrit saw how gentle Katyusha was being with his cat, and it only made him like her all the more. He knew from experience how many people wouldn't be nearly so patient with cats--or, for that matter, little boys--that were getting too curious, and he very much appreciated those rare exceptions. Gentleness and kindness, these were things that put Astrit at ease.

The polite acknowledgment of the names belonging to both boy and cat was another good thing, he thought. Her attitude didn't even strike him as condescending; Astrit knew from condescending, and this was nothing like it. It was just... nice.

"I noticed you were busy with your book," Katya commented suddenly. "What were you doing?"

The boy glanced down at his book, which was still sitting on his lap right where he had left it, pencil inside. "Oh, this? I was just doing some schoolwork." He doubted that Katyusha would be interested in the content of his homework; she must have already been through this stage of life and study, and why would an adult care to look back on a time like this? Astrit was considered odd among his classmates for caring much about what they were studying now when it was their present-day occupation; it would surely be even stranger to want to think about it after completing the course of study.

Of course, there was something else odd about Astrit and schoolwork, and that was the school he attended. He was the only student there who came from this part of London, meaning that he stuck out like a sore thumb in his secondhand (or, more often, thirdhand) clothes there, and that his lessons differed somewhat from the ones other children around here would be getting. He had long since lost track of what was different, but he often felt strange knowing that he no longer could be considered "normal" anywhere.

Morning, begging to be petted, was an entertaining distraction from such uncomfortable thoughts. The ginger cat really had taken to Katya, just as his owner had, and Astrit noticed that Katya talked to the cat much the same way he did--as if Morning could understand.

[Katyusha Chernenko]

велике спасибі "Oh, this? I was just doing some schoolwork." Whether the boy did working on his schoolwork or doing another thing, Katyusha could not guess. In this part of the town, honesty was a rare thing to see. Herself too; although her lies were harmless towards the innocents and far more serious compared to a boy's lie. In the meantime, the nurse would get along with Astrit's words. "So how's your homework going? I can help you if you need it. Unless it's mathematics; my numerical skill is a bit rusty." She laughed. As the cat in her lap demanded more attention, the Ukrainian realized she still had house chores to do. There was a mess left by her last -- runaway -- patient, unprepared lunch and dinner, and this morning the woman had planned to finish a knitting. Must not dilly dallying here, then. Gently lifting Morning, Katyusha rose to her full height. "I am sorry I have to leave you so soon, but I have a house to tend to," she placed the feline near Astrit. "You are free to come by whenever you please. I usually am home by the evening. Maybe we can have a dinner together sometimes, if you are allowed to do so." Katyusha deliberately implied he needed his guardian's permit to visit her. Some children in Aylesbury were orphans, and Astrit might be one. Besides, whoever his guardian was, she felt they would not let him go to a stranger's house just after one meeting. Katyusha posed no danger to civilians, but in this area it's better safe than sorry. After giving him a general direction to her house and what her place looked like, Katyusha bid him goodbye. "Keep an eye on Morning. And don't forget to play with your cat once your homework is over. I bet Morning is lonely while you're busy studying."

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Astrit Zupan]

Honesty was rare, in this part of town, and yet Astrit would never have even considered lying about what he was doing. Withholding the specifics, sure, but lying just wasn't part of how he approached life.

Still, it surprised him that Katya noticed what he said and actually responded, asking him how it was going. He hadn't really expected her to care at all, though admittedly her interest did match up with everything else about her behavior. "It's going fine," he commented casually. "I'm nearly done with this assignment." After this, he would only have one more little thing to do, before he

It wasn't long after that that the woman rose, put Morning down nearby, and apologized for having to leave. Astrit had expected something like this sooner or later. What he hadn't expected was that she would extend an invitation to dinner some evening, should that be permitted to him. That was the sort of offer that he found genuinely tempting, and he surely didn't have to worry about permission...

"There's nobody left to say it isn't allowed, since it's just me and Morning now," he explained that last detail aloud, albeit more quietly than his normal speaking voice. The story of how that happened was a long one that he doubted he needed to explain; there were enough orphans around here that he was sure Katyusha would be able to fill in the blanks as far as was necessary. She didn't need to know that he had been orphaned thrice now; nobody really needed to know exactly how bad his luck had gotten as far as guardians went. He figured he was old enough to look after himself by now, and not risk losing another one. After all, he had now passed the age his sister had been when she had become responsible for herself and him...

Astrit now made a mental note of the directions Katya gave him to her house, and returned her goodbye with a polite one of his own. As for her parting advice, he accepted it with a cheerful smile. "I'll definitely take the time for that," he assured her. "I suppose I'll see you around sometime!"