Cat on ice.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived in the world... A cat.  

Dark beige color, paws were lighter than normal beige. Dark thial color and eyes of the same color. Little wavy bangs...  

And loved this kitty to be outside. She loved that place, those games, those feelings. They inspired and made stronger, freer.  

Such love appeared literally a month after she was taken from the shelter. The owner of her was a small family: father, mother, and son Charlie. they gave the cat a name... Seiva.  

But now winter has come.  

The streets were covered with snow, there were gamblers at every turn. The dim lights had not helped since four in the evening. And the blizzard kept raging outside... People only went out to work and school. There was no talk of free exits.  

Charlie was sick. His parents were all fussing next to him, forgetting about Seiva. She fetched her own food, drank from the sink... More often, she was with Charlie, trying to help. Charlie gave strict orders not to go out on any account.  

But one day, Seiva didn't listen to the owner.  

The storm was raging outside. On this day, all water bodies completely froze over. Workers were left at home. schoolchildren didn't go to school by order of the director. A fierce wind whistled noisily outside the window. A terrible frost made its way into the smallest cracks in the house, no one opened the windows. It's dark outside now. The lanterns were extinguished because they were useless... No one went out and didn't need light. Clouds covered the sky. You can't see anything... The blizzard outside doesn't allow you to see even the slightest silhouette of a spruce.  

And in such a terrible cold, Seiva's desire to go outside overcame her.  

Slipping into the basement, she came out through a small gap, in which a kitten like her fit quite well. And she ran. Ran away from the rules. From prohibitions. Ran to freedom...  

Charlie's family lived near the lake. The lake was the very first to be covered with thick ice.  

This is where Seiva came in.  

The wind blows Seiva off her paws. But she holds on and takes a step onto the ice. And then another step. And more... And suddenly, she slips and falls on her stomach. But that doesn't stop the brave cat. She rises and proudly walks on the ice. At times she slips clumsily, nearly losing her balance. And suddenly, at the other end of the lake, where the forest begins, a fierce and unusually terrible howl is heard. Seiva freezes. She pressed her ears to her head and her tail to her body. The fur stood on end. Pupils decreased several times. Seiva is wary. She wants to run away, but... Something keeps her in place. Seiva sees a pair of bright, white eyes in the darkness of a deep forest. That's why Charlie's parents forbade him to come here alone... But it's too late. Even the desperate cry of Seyva, who didn't even have time to understand what had just happened to her, didn't reach Charlie's window. And no one knew about it, except for that terrible creature that she saw...  

The cat has since disappeared.  

The first news of the loss was reported about Charlie only when he became healthy. Parents noticed that the pet was nowhere to be found. All this time, Charlie thought that Seiva was warming up in the basement or sleeping under his bed, quietly leaving for meals and returning to sleep. But his guesses were wrong. Only regret.  

With the first signs of spring, the whole family began to actively put up notices about the missing cat in the village. But no one found her missing...  

Charlie couldn't forget his loss. He couldn't forgive himself for the mistake. For carelessness...  

When it became significantly warmer, Charlie heard a strange howl at night. This howl came from the lake. The windows of Charlie's room overlooked on this lake. The ice had already broken there, but the fragments were still floating in the water. A terrible howl gave the boy goosebumps. But when he told his parents about everything, they didn't believe him. Others said it was the wolves that came out to hunt the hares...  

But Charlie thought otherwise. He thought of Seiva, calling for help. Maybe she found herself a friend, and asked him to call for help?  

But the parents didn't allow Charlie to check, and they themselves didn't want to go anywhere.  

Summer has come. The howl didn't stop at night. But Charlie got used to it... And no longer complained to his parents about the noises.  

In the middle of summer, grandparents asked mom and dad to come urgently: the well broke and the fence fell down. No way... Charlie was left alone at home. There is food in the refrigerator, the water in the kitchen flows regularly, the boy is ten years old, and he can handle it himrself... They left him only for a couple of days.  

But Charlie seized the moment. He kept wanting to know who was howling from the lake at night. But it was scary to go alone... Then Charlie just left the house and looked at the lake, it immediately became scary. And getting closer and going into the forest would be even scarier...  

So he called his friend Alex. Alex is fourteen years old, he isn't afraid of anything...  

They arranged it all under the guise of a harmless overnight stay. Alex took everything he needed with him and came out.  

The boys waited for the night. They packed their backpacks, took a baseball bats and a bag of rocks, and then left the house. They came to the lake. Pure water reflects everything exactly like a mirror. Bright moon, numerous stars... Charlie and Alex stare at the lake for a long time without looking up. And suddenly there is a silhouette of a cat in the reflection... The boys raise their heads. There is nothing and no one upstairs...  

— It's just a dream... — said Charlie  

— Did we both think the same thing?  

— So you saw it too?  

— Yes, I saw! Monster disguised as a cat!  

— Maybe this is my Seiva… she got lost in the winter! Let's go Alex!!  

Charlie leads Alex into the woods. So fearlessly, as if he had never been afraid even to be at a distance of it...  

The boys go into the forest. they plunge into darkness. No one has ever been here. If they were, they didn't come back alive... Maybe it was a bad idea to go with just the two of them. But going out to the lake in a terrible frost, as Seiva once decided, was also a bad idea. It's already late. They won't turn around. Dry branches crack under the feet of passing boys. Maybe now leaves could grow on these branches, some other greenery... But it's not meant to be. Surprising that these branches are broken. Does anyone break them? Nature doesn't do this!  

But the boys are coming. They fight their fears. Creepy dark forest unknown to anyone. No one survived. Charlie and Alex go further and further. The moon rises higher and higher above them. And the forest is still getting scarier and scarier.  

The boys reach a small clearing. But they didn't come out. In the very center of the clearing stood a small stump. And over this stump hung a large black creature... It seemed that he was wearing some kind of strange coat. Huge ram's horns made it clear that it wasn't a man. Who sits on a stump before creation – not to make out. Far, and the monster closes the animal from prying eyes.  

Friends are silent. Fear held them in place, so they didn't run. They sat in the bushes and watched.  

The creature spoke to the animal about something. And then it unfolded. Hearing the rustling from the bushes, the creature caught every sound and smell. Every movement and fear. Not noticing anything suspicious, it imparated in the air.  

The animal on the stump could now be seen. This is a small cat. Only its color is incomprehensible... The moon seems to have deliberately stopped illuminating the territory, giving the cat a dark color. But the luminous white eyes were perfectly visible.  

The cat remained on the stump. She was aware of the presence of the boys. She began meowing loudly to get their attention. A hoarse voice echoed throughout the clearing.  

Charlie couldn't resist and came out of hiding. He walked over to the cat. Now it was visible in all its glory. This is Seiva... Once lost in the snow. Only her eyes aren't native... They are still the same white.  

Seiva purrs curiously. Alex approaches Charlie, looking around.  

— Is this a trap?  

— Nope! This is my Seiva! She was found, she was found!  

— I’m not sure... What if that creature comes back?  

— It's gone!  

But the boys heard an aggressive howl. So ferocious and scary... Seiva walked away. Alex grabbed Charlie's hand and ran back from the edge of the forest. The boys ran out of the forest and quickly returned home, closing all the doors with locks. They began to look out the window.  

There was such a chance to bring Seiva home... But she is lost. The cat stayed in the forest. A distorted Seiva that succumbed to the darkness...  

Since then, attempts to visit the forest have ceased. The boys decided not to go looking for Seiva anymore.  

The months went by very quickly. Charlie didn't even have time to come to his senses, as winter began again...  

By that time a new cat had been adopted for him, hoping to console his heart. But that didn't help. The new cat's name was Crispy. But she was not the same... Quite different...  

At the beginning of winter, the howling of the night ceased. Charlie was surprised by this. No creation was heard for most of the winter...  

But the creation isn't gone. It was just waiting for the moment when it would get warmer... Waiting for the boy to check out the forest again...  

Then Charlie was already eleven years old. He was afraid to let Crispy go outside, afraid that she too would be taken away, like Seiva. Luckily, Crispy didn't have a craving for walks... She liked being at home more.  

Towards the end of winter, while the ice was still on the reservoirs, in the night Charlie heard the howl again. Not so scary and penetrating anymore... A dull and bored howl.  

Charlie looked out the window. The lake is clearly visible... Some small silhouette is fiddling on the ice...  

The parents are fast asleep. And Charlie decided to go outside. He dressed warmly and took a bat with him. The boy went to the lake.  

There weren't even the slightest cracks in the thick ice... Light snow falls from the sky onto Charlie's jacket. on the ice he sees... A cat.  

Dark beige color, paws were lighter than normal beige. Dark thial color and eyes of the same color. Little wavy bangs... Her name was Seiva.  

But now her eyes were not glowing and white. They were the same color...  

The cat carefully paws on the ice, trying not to fall. But she fell again and again.  

Watching his pet, Charlie smiled calmly.  

The bright moon illuminates them. Seiva still resembles Charlie's former pet. Always playful, misunderstood...  

Out of the pines came a huge creature. The same one that Charlie and Alex saw once in a clearing... He has no face. Only a pair of white glowing eyes...  

It slowly moved out onto the lake. Seiva didn't seem to notice him, continuing to frolic on the ice...  

Charlie fell into the snow in fear. He didn't know what to do... He wants to go home. He wants to live.  

— Don’t touch me!.. — Charlie shouted desperately. Fear filled his mind and body.  

— Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you, — the creature soothed. — You were braver than all those whose loved ones or pets came here. You dared to go into the forest, even if not alone... Two boys who aren't even fifteen years old went into the damned forest alone, when even adults didn't dare to do this. I return her to you. This little cat on the ice will still live a long and happy life.  

The Seiva stopped abruptly, as if freeing itself from iron chains.  

The creature vanished into thin air.  

The cat approached Charlie, ready to go home. He stroked her head and took her in his arms. Going home, the boy once again turned to the lake, then looked at the forest. Only then, making sure that it was not a trap from a terrible creature, he calmly went home with Seiva.  

In the morning, when the parents woke up, Charlie was awake. He was sitting in the kitchen, waiting. Seiva was sitting on his lap.  

Parents went into the kitchen and saw their son with a long-familiar cat. Crispy was sleeping on the table.  

— Mother, father! I found her!  

— Where was she? — the father immediately asked.  

— It's a very long story... Sit down, and I'll tell you everything!  

Since then, the howling from the forest has finally ceased. No creature wanted to steal Seiva again... Charlie knew he had become the chosen one for that creature. And he didn't even know his name...  

A cat on ice gives fun.  

But not always...  

There are big exceptions.