oooooohhhh, spooky!

OK, it COULD be simple coincidence (see xxxx here) BUT it is All Soul’s Eve…….

This morning, around 11, I took Krissie (recently returned from mountains far) through the forest to see the Fairy Ring in the neighbouring meadow.

No ordinary Fairy Ring this, but one that is perfect in every detail; bathed in almost -full moon the last few nights, deer standing in the middle and so certainly-circular that some of the mushrooms are growing directly in a pile of jumbled, fallen wood.

Spooky, unique among our 6 cats, decided to follow us.

Now Spooky is the youngest we have, a mere adolescent - he actually CHOOSES to sleep amongst the unbelievable mess of my teenage son’s bedroom – and he is not known for intrepid adventurism, preferring the comfort of home to exercise, the great outdoors and fresh air. (hmm another similarity with…)

He dealt with the heavy dew in the first meadow, started to loose confidence in the middle of the forest and almost refused to enter the neighbour’s meadow when another startled deer leapt and bounded away from us.

Now, the first thing - when we eventually arrived at the Fairy Ring, Spooky, sensibly in my opinion, stayed on the outside - preferring to struggle through the jumbled, fallen wood as he completed the circuit.

I know you should NEVER step into a Fairy Ring without express permission, and even then hesitatingly, but how did Spooky know this?

We continued to walk, looking for mushrooms the fairies had left for us mortal folk and Spooky was clearly ill at ease, plaintively crying.

Krissie picked him up, reassured him and put him down and as we climbed the hill he fell further and further back until we decided to stride ahead to search the far corner. The last we saw of him he was standing on the edge of the tangled growth at the back of the Ring.

When we returned from the far corner, there was no sign of him. No sound of him either, which considering the racket earlier was significant, even if ignored as we returned home to omelette toast and coffee.

2 hours later (yep BIG omelette, buckets of coffee) still no Spooky.

We had to go to town for dance and bike ride and as we left Krissie started a penetrating cry of “Spoooooooky”, and boy can she penetrate, I had forgotten.

The reply? A craven of Rooks unnoticed in the forest cackled back, then silence. She tried again – cackling again. Weird.

Town, dance, bike, back.

Now it’s 4pm and this is a cat that NEVER leaves the garden so I decide to go looking and head back through forest and meadow anew, calling all the way.

It was only at the back of the Fairy Ring that I heard him, meow, meow, meow.

I called, I circled I could see nothing but only hear him. In the end I started to tunnel on all fours through the smallest of openings between bramble and briar, and then I saw him, his eyes like saucers.

I reassured him picked him up and tried to head for home, he screamed, thrashed bit and clawed. I dropped him and he ran back into the bushes.

I sat down, confused and called again. He returned. I picked him up and held him like a vice and strode off, never a backward glance (I read that somewhere).

He needs to read “advice if you are caught in a fairy tale”.

Ok, I hear you scoffing but you know what, I would too but Spooky is our only BLACK Cat.

The Witches would have kept him.