THEY WILL LEAVE
COMMUNITY
Dear friends! Hear is my short story
He opened the door. They stood on the threshold, shyly shuffling their feet. “We came to your celebration, Sasha.” And they darted into the house. One was bigger, the other smaller. He could barely contain himself. He trailed behind them. They were already sitting at the table, politely munching on cookies. He jumped up, slapped his palm down on the outstretched hand reaching for the plate. On the silky paw. “That hurts, Sasha!” He was boiling. “You came to my celebration, huh? Who invited you?” “But we love you, Sasha.” “Why the hell do I need your love! You’re only bringing me losses! Do you have any idea how much I’ve paid in fines because of you? Now I only have these cookies for the celebration. The table should be set; I wanted to invite normal guests! Normal ones! And now I’m stuck here all alone because of you.” “Forgive us, Sasha.” She looked at him with sorrowful reproach, holding the cat close to her chest. “And we thought you’d be happy to see us, Sasha, when we came to your celebration.” Once again, the silky paw reached for the plate of cookies, followed by the second one. “I said – don’t take it! This is my last one! I warned you: you can’t approach children. And you? Why did you go to the playground?” “They called us to play, Sasha. We were just playing.” “And I got a fine! All because of you. Why are you clinging to me, huh? Why do you keep coming around?” “Because you’re nice, Sasha. You never sent us away before. Should we leave, Sasha?” “Get out! Scram! And I don’t want to see you again!” They looked at the floor guiltily. One was bigger, the other smaller. “Okay, Sasha, as you wish. We will leave, Sasha. And we won’t come back. We promise you.” In frustration, he went to the kitchen. He heard a woman’s voice behind him: “Let’s go, kitty. See? They’re driving us away.” He shouted: “Yeah, sure, you’ll leave! You can’t be gotten rid of; you’re stuck like glue!” The day they first showed up, he was grilling barbecue in the garden with his wife. He leaned over the grill, and suddenly, his wife called out excitedly: “Look, look, what a delegation is coming to you!” He turned around. They silently approached the garden table and started on the meat. The cat was huge, with matted fur and a mangled eye. And his friend was a slender, slightly pink cat. Something shifted in him, and he couldn’t chase them away… He returned from the kitchen to the room. No one was there. Could it be that they really left? Yes, they had left! He cried briefly. He rushed to the porch, flung the door open. There was no one in the yard. He had to catch up, persuade them to come back! Otherwise, they would never come again! The street in the settlement was deserted. He ran to the playground. Drops from the recent rain adorned the metal structures of the swings. They weren’t there. He threw his head back and yelled loudly, at the top of his lungs: “Where are you? Stop! Come back!” He didn’t know where to look for them now. And they didn’t know of his regret. They thought he was happy that they had left forever. And how would he manage without them now, huh? “A-a-a!” – he groaned in despair, gazing at the yellow patch of the sunset sky. He saw them at the end of the street, they were leaving – one bigger, the other smaller. Thank you, thank you, Lord! “Wait!” – he shouted as he ran. They stopped, turned around. A wave of relief washed over him. “Forgive me,” he panted. “Come back to my celebration! Please, I beg you.” “And can we eat cookies?” – the smaller one asked timidly. “Of course, as many cookies as you want! Come on, come on to my celebration!” He hurriedly let them through the gate, and the three of them climbed onto the porch. “See, kitty, everything is fine; we’re back at Sasha’s celebration,” – she said, stroking the cat. “Let’s go to the table,” – he said to the bigger one and the smaller one. “I’ll bring another bunch of cookies now!” “You're very nice, Sasha,” – said the bigger one. And the smaller one looked innocently, slightly pouting his lips. He walked into the kitchen. On the refrigerator again, for the umpteenth time, he caught a glimpse of a piece of paper with a brown tea ring in the middle. A note. “I told you many times that I would leave. You didn’t believe me. Today I left you forever.”
Writer: A.Alexander