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Spring - The last Snow - 2 (Violent Sneezes)
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The soft murmur of rain filled Josie's attic as the wintry mix continued to shower down on to the roof.
Fairy lights added to the cosy atmosphere, and the girl sat cuddled into cushions under a plush blanket. This evening's choice of reading material was science fiction rather than fantasy, a genre she had just come to appreciate. While Josie didn't always understand every term or word, she still enjoyed learning, but also the idea of travelling the stars. On occasions like this, she had her phone at hand to google unfamiliar words - and a well-used, battered dictionary as a backup. At home, Josie tended to just lose her phone around the house, putting it down somewhere and then forgetting about it. The thing was almost useless here, anyway, because an unfortunate facet of living at Veilwood was the abysmal network coverage in and around the house. It was wonky at best and non-existent at the worst, and, for reasons Josie didn't understand, somehow dependent on the weather. This also meant, that in order to make or take a halfway decent phone call, one had to rely on the old landline. Even the internet connection via cable was unstable and couldn't be trusted, which was one of the reasons why she didn't play online games on her PC. There were quite a few that had piqued her interest and she would have loved to try them out.
Ah, well…
Right now, Josie was on the hunt for inspiration - and browsing through her book collection always helped. Because she had given Danny her picture, she needed to draw another one to adorn her school folder with. Reusing her ideas for other projects was out of the question, her pride demanded a new creation.
Dinner hadn't been as lavish as yesterday, but it had still been amazing. Some leftover Knödel had been used to make Gröstl. Nan's variation of the dish consisted of Knödel cut into slices and roasted golden brown in butter, then mixed with scrambled eggs and topped off with herbs. Josie knew that one could also prepare Gröstl with potato slices instead, but they would always use up leftovers before preparing something new. She was fine with that, seeing as those leftover dishes were equally delicious. Also, how could one resist a dish with a tongue twisting name like that? Not to forget, it also came with a beautiful “ö” which was referred to as an “Umlaut” just as “ä” and “ü” according to Nan.
Josie had, as anticipated, reached Veilwood just as the early spring dusk had set in. Dinner and the conversation at the table had been as nice as they were at most times, but Josie's thoughts kept flitting back to her encounters of the day. Danny and Caleb didn't seem so bad, after all, and she found herself thinking about everything that had been said. What absorbed her most, of course, were the impressions of her time with the cat. The familiar contentment she felt on Fridays, with the school-free weekend to look forward to, was a bit dimmed by the fact that she couldn't go to the park for two days either. Josie would have endured school for the opportunities to spend time with the cat.
Shaking her head, Josie tried to focus on the story - but her mind kept drifting. With a sigh, she closed the book, put it down on her boot table, and leant back into the fluffy embrace of her cushions. She pulled her blanket a bit higher up and trailed her hands over the plush fabric. Letting her eyes drift along the ceiling and all the adornments she had added to it, she let her thoughts wander also. Sometimes one couldn't help but give in to them.
So, Caleb and Danny. What to make of them? She still wasn't sure why Caleb had been so set on talking to her this morning, and the memory about their interaction left her wondering. Before yesterday, they had never even talked to each other. So what was the reason for the boy's unexpected drive to talk to her? Not just in the park, but afterwards, during detention, as well. She had been very surprised by their apologies, to say the least. Josie knew nothing beyond the shenanigans of the Stefnies, as she had no regular interactions with others her age. Any and all conversations with peers were always very trivial, and always very brief. Now that she thought back to it, Caleb hadn't been unfriendly or impolite, not even in the morning. With confusion, she realized, that his interest in her had disturbed her with its unfamiliarity, and that not the boy himself had been the problem. Well, this would stay a mystery for a while longer, she guessed.
And Danny… he was Mrs. Wolfe's grandson, which Josie found interesting. His last name was Faulkner, though; no wonder Josie hadn't made the connection. She had also never met him at the store before, but this was unsurprising, too. Nan got most of their groceries by way of delivery, so Josie didn't visit there that often. She still wondered about the meaning of the birthday sandwich and would have liked to ask him about it, but she was sure he had looked uncomfortable before when the topic came up.
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Josie really hoped that he liked her picture, though.
After recess, they hadn't had any more opportunities to talk again, and while Josie had gone to the park, the boys had gone to soccer practice. Well, maybe she'd go buy sweets tomorrow in Brigspeel - or better yet, some more kibble, and maybe they would see each other there. Listening to the constant murmur of the falling rain, she wondered if the cat's root cave would stay dry. Either way, it had been the best place to leave food. The ground under the evergreen bushes had been way too moist even before the rain. Despite the unease she felt about the weather, the food she had left there, and the cat in general, she had to smile when she thought about him and his amazing frog eyes. This strange cat grunt of his was also something else, she thought, and grinned. Josie could almost hear it, so clear was the memory.
Wait. No. She could hear it!
Josie got up with a start and looked around. Of course, there was no cat. She rolled her eyes. While shaking her head about her own foolishness, she noticed a subtle motion at one of the dormer windows out of the corner of her eye.
What?! She craned her head to get a better look, the lights of her room making the window glass too bright with reflection to properly see. But there was no doubt. How in the world…? She sprang to her feet and ran to the dormer window - and sure enough, the cat was sitting on the roof shingles in front of it, his eyes wide and reflecting back the light of the room.
A few violent sneezes shook his entire body.
Her fingers clumsy in the haste to open the window, Josie almost ripped off her already short fingernails. The pain a harsh reminder for more caution, she managed to unhitch the clasps without hurting herself further. As soon as it could squeeze through, the little animal jumped inside and shook itself with vigor. Droplets of rainwater sprinkled on to the surroundings, but all the fur still stood up in little spikes because of the moisture. Josie couldn't even begin to imagine how he had got here - but, here he was, nonetheless. He must have been out in the cold and wet for hours!
image [https://i.imgur.com/0HvmjUv.png] she heard, but didn't register it in the overall confusion.
Her brain kicking into gear, she turned around and trampled down the stairs. Not thinking about anything else, Josie ripped the door to the bathroom open and marched inside. She stopped at one of the closets and grabbed a big and fluffy towel. This in hand, she raced back up the stairs and went to the cat, who was still sitting where Josie had left him, and tried to clean himself. Regular sneezes interrupted his task. In her agitated state of sorrow, she didn't think about whether the cat wanted to be touched or not. Without hesitation, she just wrapped his entire body in the towel and started to rub him dry - and to her relief, he let her. He grunted the entire time and sneezed some more, but Josie didn't pay attention to that right now.
If he had been out in the cold and wet for as long as she thought he had, he could face a serious illness. Nan had taught her about this. Once, Josie herself had remained out in the rain too long and come home soaking wet and shivering. She had experienced first hand why this was - unwise, to say the least. On the other hand, she knew now what to do, and to get him dry and warm as fast as possible. While Josie held him tight with one arm, still wrapped in the towel, she grabbed the blanket from her sitting circle with her free hand and hurried downstairs.
They needed the warmth of the fire.
Because Josie was so shaken and was moving in a rather jerky fashion due to her loaded arms, she didn't notice the slight rumble that shook Veilwood House's foundations. The motion was so modest and subtle that she might not have noticed it even while sitting still. It was over in a heartbeat.
When Josie reached the ground floor, she turned left to the library door under the staircase and crossed through to the kitchen with swift strides. Nan was sitting at the table with a book and looked up with surprise, her eyes darting from Josie's face to the bundle in her arm.
“Nan,” the girl gasped. “I need your help.”
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