Woman’s Weekly UK – 27 August 2019

womansweekly.com 41

SHORT STORY

I

woketohearpiano

musicin the flat above.

It wasa beautiful

melody– butboundto keep

meawake.I couldhave

rung the doorbellof the flat

upstairs,askingtheoccupant

to keepthevolumedown.

ButI’donlymovedhere

a monthagoandit wasn’t

a stranger’sfaultthatI was

in bedeachnightby8pm.

I’ddevelopeda routine–

earlyto bedandearlyto rise.

Herein thebasement,my

worldhadcontractedto a

patchof sky,glimpsedthrough

theironstepsandrailings.

Andit wassittingontopof

oneof thestepsthefollowing

morningthatI discovered

a blue-greycat.

‘He’wasn’twearinga collar

andlookedbedraggled.Cats

aregoodat puttingona front,

I remembered.Better than

people,usually.

I arrivedbackfrommy

early-morningtripto the

shopswitha tinof catfood,

only to find my visitorgone.I

decantedthefoodintoa dish

andleftit ontopof thebin.

Thepianomusicwas

louderthatevening.Sibelius,

I thought.It wasa tunemy

granddadusedto play on

histurntable.

Inthemorning,the

blue-greycatwasback

andthefoodgone.A pattern

formedbetweenusand

a bondgrew.Gradually,

I thoughtof tryingto find his

owner– startingwithmy

upstairsneighbour.

‘Twobirdswithonestone,’

I toldkittyonemorning.‘I’ll

mention the piano music at

allhourswhileI’mat it.’

Thecatraised an eyebrow

anda paw.

‘Well,maybe“atall

hours”is pushingit a bit.’

I climbedthebasement

stepsandrangthebellof 1B.

A grumpyvoiceonthe

intercomsaid,‘You’dbetter

notbesellinganything.’

‘Not...exactly.’

Themanwhoopenedthe

doorwasonlyslightlyless

rumpledthanthecat.

‘Isthiscatyours?’I asked.

‘There’sotherflats in this

building.Youtriedthem?’

‘Helookslikea cat

whoappreciatestheclassics.

I hearenoughof them

throughmyceiling!’

Themanstared.Justwhen

I thoughthe’dshutthedoor

inmyface,heinvitedmein.

I gawped

at thepiano

inhisroom.

‘I thought

youwere

playing

CDs,’I said.

‘Doesthat

makea differenceto your

objections?’heasked,the

blue-greycatjumpingonto

thepianostool.‘I only

playforanhourorsoin the

evening.No-oneelse

hascomplained.’

‘I’mnotcomplaining,

I’m...makingyouaware

of mypresence.’

‘Missionaccomplished.’

He’dstartedstrokingthe cat.

‘What’shecalled?’

‘I don’tknow,seeingas

I’m tryingto find his owner

• Sibelius,’I decidedon
  the spur of the moment, my

cheeks

flushing.

‘Wasn’tthat

a pieceyou

playedthe

othernight?’

They

lookedat

me,man

andcat.

‘Myname’s

Marcus,’said

theman.

Marcus

andI begana friendship.We

tookit slowly,aswaryascats

circlingeachother’sterritory.

Hetoldmeaboutlosing

hiswifeandhiseventual

returnto themusicalpieces

they’dsharedandloved,

findingsolace,ratherthan

heartbreakin thememories.

Eventually,hereturnedto

hisjob

asa music

teacher.

Then

therecame

a timewhen

I recounted

mydivorce

froma husbandI’dnever

suspectedwascheating.

Meanwhile,weshared

a loveof Sibelius(catand

composer),theformer

discoveringa fire escape

connectingour flats.

AndthenSibelius(thecat)

vanished.Wesearchedand

worriedforhimfordays,

untilMarcusshowedme

a printof a paintinghe’d

foundin a localgallery.

It showeda woman,

cradlinga blue-greycat.

‘LadyCecilyWithers.

I looked her up online,’

explainedMarcus.‘Shelived

in thisstreetin the1800s.

Thisblue-greybreedis

calledChartreux.Whenher

husbanddied,shefounda

strayoneoutsideherhouse.

Shecreditedthecatwith

helpingherto overcomeher

griefandto rejointheworld.’

I lookedat thepainting,

and‘Sibelius’lookedback

at me.I’dberejoiningthe

worldsoon,too.I was about

to starta newjob.

Weputtheprintovermy

mantelpieceandI toldMarcus

I wasreadyforthenextstep

in mypersonallife,too.

Helookedat mewith

anxiouskindness.‘Wouldn’t

wantto rushyou.’

‘It’s fine.’I’d cometo enjoy

hiseveningsonatas,curled

uponhissofa,coffeein my

lapwhereI’dlikeanother

catto nestleoneday.‘I’dlove

to goto therecitalat your

schoolnextweek.Andfor

a biteto eatafterwards.’

Mypatchof skywas

wideningto a broadervista,

sometimesgrey– butmore

often, adeepeningblue.

THEEND

Gabrielle Mullarkey, 2019

BLUE & GREY

No-onehadclaimedhimastheirown,

butthisloveableoutsiderseemedto

know exactly what she needed

JustwhenI thought

he’dshutthedoor

inmyface,he

invited me in

TI MEDIA LIMITED, 2019. PHOTO: GETTY