Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't Chapter Two

Just at dawn...

The scene grew swiftly dim and faded quickly before Sailor's startled eyes as the blue haze of the forest with the sunlit field just beyond came into sharp focus. Was he still trapped in the strange woods? He knew the town had been real, just as he now understood that the fishing village just down the hill from the ruined castle was, in fact at one time, the medieval village he was just in. As he blinked, the sunlight seemed to move towards him as it overtook the woods. The night and the blue haze vanished amongst the chatter of leaves in the cool wind coming off the ocean below. Sailor looked to the sky and beheld trees that were once again resplendent with autumn foliage. Realization was now breaking and trying to make its way into his balking mind but would he accept it? Was he starting to perceive the truth and the reality of his existence? Sailor wasn't sure of anything he had just experienced. He was content to let it go for now and explore it no further. Right at the moment all he wanted was to go back to the fishing village, back to what was familiar to him. The fish mongers and the wharf, to spend his days watching the fishing boats go out and come back in with their catches. Sailor suddenly longed to sit in his favorite places and to sleep in his chosen niches and eat out of the fish bucket again. This was the comfort he sought now.

Now, at dusk.

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

In mere seconds Sailor's paws would reach the sunlight at the edge of the blue woods and he would feel again the warmth of an autumn day caress his body. He knew the woods ended, he could see the end but he could not reach the end. The more he gained the edge, the more the strange woods seem to extend outwards preventing his taking leave of them. Sailor stopped running and crouched on his hunches as his lungs drew in ragged breaths. What he could see he could no longer attain for himself. Instead he lay in the cool, dry earth with night resounding in his ears, gazing at the warm sunny day just beyond his reach. Confused and exhausted sleep descended on Sailor in among the leaves of the forest he was now trapped in. This time he opened his eyes to an altogether different village. 

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

 

In the distance lay the town he had tried to integrate into and make his home. But it was daytime! Blue sky held a radiant sun; the day was aglow with warmth and light. Not unlike the environment of his dreams. Sounds of people shouting and the noise of a busy village reached his ears; if he listened closely enough he could hear the sound of the ocean waves. He pictured the harbour and the bustle of activity that was now occurring on the wharf and it was with a fervent longing to be there, among the fishing boats and the tide he so loved... Sailor leapt down from the tree branch and tore through the woods that enclosed him. He knew where he wanted to be and it was no longer in this blue, night-shrouded forest. 

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't Chapter 2

Peculiar sensations sweep over him as he infiltrated the wood. There was an instantaneous sense that he was somehow removed from where he had been; that he was somewhere in-between. The woods were enveloped by a blue haze not unlike the fog that overtook the town. It seemed to be nighttime in the woods; there was a full, glowing moon riding high in the sky above him. Sailor crouched low to the dry ground and listened to the sounds of evening approaching him. A chill breeze was the first thing he felt, then an owl hooted overhead and he could follow the soft sound of wings on the air, a bird reaching its nest perhaps. In the rustling sounds of leaves scraping dry earth he spotted a mouse coming out of hiding to forage. All around him Sailor could hear the familiar sounds of night creatures emerging at their usual and correct time at dusk. Yet the town he'd just left was in daylight; the beginning of the day not the end of one. Up on his paws he gained a high tree branch and gazed out past the tree line. What he beheld next both shocked and terrified him!

Catspaw

Reminder About My ``Sailor`` Story

Just a quick note to let you know that if you are following Sailor`s story or if you want to follow it, I began the story on February 26th and you can go back to that blog and read his story from that date, forward. 


As of this Thursday, Chapter Two will begin.


Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't (Tuesdays & Thursdays)

Sailor began to feel somewhat better. Almost immediately the bitter cold was relinquishing its hold on his body and he was beginning to feel warm again. He felt like he could now move without fear of bodily harm and tentatively peeked his head around the corner of the soggy opening, into the street. His eyes followed the cobblestone road that lead through town, out up the hill and away, to the peaks of the castle so far in the distance where they could hardly be seen. A weird bluish haze appeared in among the trees leading there yet they called to Sailor and he was compelled to follow! Voices from within the house behind told him the denizens of the village would be out and about soon. Sailor had to move! Out from the recess he trotted on the rain slick road, he kept his pace until he was clear then ran toward the trees where the blue light emanated. He was indescribably unafraid of the the light. It held the promise of answers for him and the hope of finally learning where his home truly lay. Sailor's paws fairly flew beneath him as they carried him forward to his fate. It would be the end of secrets. A final resolution to the mystery surrounding his life and a settlement of this disorienting sense of non-belonging anywhere. 

Catspaw

This ends Chapter One.

 

Saturday Post

I will be posting my Sailor story twice a week from now on so those of my readers and visitors who are following it will not have such a long wait before the next episode.

I apologize to those of you who are following it and promise you will not be disappointed by the rest of the story.

Look for it on my Tuesday and Thursday blogs from now on.

Still thinking of a theme for this week ~ maybe, anything goes!!

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

How Extraordinary! Once Sailor made his decision to return to the castle his mind suddenly perceived a clarity which had, before now, eluded him and the peculiar dank vapor over the town seemed to unexpectedly lift, while the rain began receding back into the dark clouds above. The day cleared as they broke and scudded across the sky; driven by the wind. It was so sudden, as if on cue and was it triggered by Sailor's decision? Sailor thought to himself 'So. It was true.' The apprehension he'd been experiencing for a week now, the vague feelings of unwanted and unlooked for change... all leading to this decisive moment in his life. The fog indeed, had come for him. It had found him and it was driving him, inexorably, towards the ruined castle on the hill above the village. Now, to find out why!

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

As he leaned, a growing awareness of where he needed to be was breaking through the cloudiness of his mind and with it an imperative to reach the ruined castle. Sailor abruptly remembered the 'something' that lived in that place and a possible reason why no one ever passed that way. Though he still couldn't reason it out he knew instinctively that the answers were to be found inside those crumbling walls. Sailor needed to know what was happening to him and the reason for it; the ruined castle had always seemed to be the focal point for his life ~ he was born there, the place called to him, it was familiar and had always conveyed the feeling of a much missed and much sought after home to him. Why? What was it about that castle that compelled him to stay near it? Sailor simply had to find out. To the castle he would go, his exhausted mind told him. 

Catspaw 

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

Sailor awoke to a harsh reality. His mind was fogged by the unconsciousness he'd lapsed into while his body throbbed with cold and pain, he could not seem to clear his head. With great effort he pulled himself to his feet and leaned against the door-frame not having the strength to hold himself forward. Sailor felt confused, his mind was fuzzy and strange images merged with familiar ones in his clouded brain; but he couldn't sort them out into what was real and what was not. Questions, always questions. Sailor tried to shake his head - The castle. It held the answers and he had to reach it. Although Sailor had tried to settle in this village and call it home, in fact it was the castle that was most familiar to him and it was in its presence that he really felt like he was home. If he could only muster enough fortitude, he would take to his paws again and revisit the castle. A powerful sense of urgency now washed over Sailor forcing him to move toward the entrance of the alcove and out into the rain and fog. He advanced stiffly forward, willing his legs to move; his body was so unyielding that he feared trying to walk lest his legs broke! A cry of agonizing pain escaped his throat as his legs buckled and he collapsed forward; his head hitting the rough cobblestone while shooting pain raced up his legs and reverberated through his already wracked body. Utterly exhausted and crippled with affliction, Sailor braced himself against the wall and struggled to stand again. He waited until he could sense his paws under him, then gingerly shook himself. The heaviness of the rain weighing down his fur fell away. Feeling lighter and a little more mobile with constant forced movement Sailor stared out into the rain sodden village. Everything was saturated and the intense cold was returning to his body.

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

Sailor could not remember being a 'bad' cat. That's what the human population of this village called cats when they were misbehaving by human standards. This was the second day of a torrential rainstorm sucked in from the ocean; the fog had not receded but had instead, grown denser and colder as it sank to the cobblestones. Sailor lay unconscious in the splintering doorway of a house, dreaming once again of another village. This one always felt more familiar to him. The last time he had found himself here, Sailor had followed his feelings towards a castle high atop the hill. He had turned in the direction of one of the castle gateways and... if he remembered correctly, had heard something; the sound of trumpets and cheering people and now, the sense that he would truly be welcomed here; petted, played with and fed as a 'good' cat. Was this feeling to be trusted?

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

Could this cat be walking down your street or path today?

 

This could not be a normal 'cold' that he was feeling in his bones! Why would the fog affect him so? Morning found Sailor still taking shelter in the wooden doorway as the rain continued to pour from a leaden, unrelenting sky. There would be no fishing today and no child would wander without. Sailor had been so cold all night that he couldn't sleep and he was exhausted now. All he could think about was the ruined castle that stood away on the hill. The last time he had visited it, it was bathed in warm autumn sunshine that made the brown walls glow and radiate a sweet sense of home. He fervently wished he was there now in the enclosure of his birth with his mother and his siblings to break the extreme loneliness he felt. It wasn't fair that no human noticed him when they helped other stray cats. And it was not fair that children gave food to the homeless of the feline population in the village, yet paid no heed to Sailor when he was in gravest need of it. It was as if he were, to all intents and purposes, invisible to them all. And he was lonely. Never once in the years of trying to belong to this village had he felt a kind, human hand touch him or a gentle voice greet him. Now, crouching in this narrow, rain-filled doorway with water blanketing his fur, soaking his paws and with a stiff coldness in his bones, he silently mourned the abject loneliness and cruelty of his existence as the rain hitting cobblestones pounded in his ears.

Will you be the one to turn the other way and deny medical care, food, shelter and compassion?

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

The day became indistinct and bleak as the fog sank over the village. Everywhere a single activity was being practiced by the residents who hastened to street shops that were being secured. Doors to houses were closing and windows banged shut. In the space of an hour the beautiful little fishing village became unrecognizable as a ghost town. The fog was accompanied with the dampness of the ocean and not long after its descent, everything was wet and cold. Sailor crouched as far inside the alcove of a doorway as he could manage, his fur was damp and he was chilled to the bone. He squatted there in misery. A sudden, loud crack of thunder burst above the town, so close that it made the quaint little buildings shake. Sailor instinctively jumped at the piercing noise and pressed himself further into the unyielding wooden door-frame for what little shelter it offered him. Excited voices could be heard from within as children were admonished to be silent and go to their school studies while the evening meal was prepared. Since he had come to this village, looking for belonging, Sailor had known little kindness from its occupants. Other cats were noticed, even fed sometimes or taken in on nights like this, but Sailor never was. He had come to expect harsh treatment from humans and he usually received it. In fact, now that he thought on it, had the skipper of the fishing boat really welcomed him on board or had he nodded to his deckhand? The fish monger had never really noticed him either, he just finished gutting the fish and put the slop bucket down. Strange that he should consider this at such a time.

Abandoned Cat existing in the streets of people-filled cities around the globe. No one to care. No one to help.

 Catspaw

Sailor Story In Chapter Two Phase

This is to let my readers and guests who have been faithfully following Sailor through his adventures know, that the story I began on February 24th, 2012 is now in the Chapter Two phase and events in the story are speeding toward some very interesting turns which will begin leading to a bizarre twist.

I had begun this story as a short term project but now the story is developing in a different direction then anticipated and taking on a life of its own. I am just following it but to what conclusion, I don't know. Nor do I know whether the story will end with the second chapter. There are still a few paragraphs in Chapter One that I will publish in the coming days while I begin developing Chapter Two.

I hope you will become a fan of Sailor and read all of his adventures. Turns out, he's not the cat you, or I, thought he was!!

In the meantime...  I will work on continuing his story and he will let me know what will come next. For those interested in reading his story from the beginning, it starts in my February 26th post. 

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

One autumn evening found Sailor sleeping on the dock, watching the fishing boats start to come in and be moored, then unloaded of the days catch. With the boats also came a very real fog that was steadily blanketing the wharf. It had the immediate effect of making the pleasant, warm evening suddenly chilly and damp. The fog seemed oppressive and heavy, like a hand coming out of nowhere to snatch all things in its path. Sailor abandoned the small enclosure he was resting in and headed towards the town square, he desperately wanted to find a safe place that would shelter him from the cold and penetrating fingers of the white/grey cloud that had descended over the harbour; it now threatened to engulf the village as well. It felt like his paws were made of lead and couldn't move fast enough over the breakaway and down the wet cobblestone road into town. Had the fog found him at last? Was it chasing him! Driving him toward some unknown destination Sailor had no intention of going? That's exactly what it felt like.

  

Catspaw