Truffles' Halloween Tail: Part 2

Hey everybody, it's Truffles! As promised, today we're excited to present part 2 of our Halloween story. I really hope you're liking it so far. This is the first fictional story of any length that Mommy has ever written and she had a lot of fun with it. If you missed part 1, you can read it here. When you finish the story please let us know what you think!

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The boys told me that Mrs. Witchfield lived on the street that ran parallel to my own, and the quickest way to get there would be through the woods that ran between our homes. I took off running, and as my fear turned more and more to anger, I was completely oblivious to the fact that tree branches were slapping me on my face, arms and legs. As I finally came to a clearing I saw the house: a large Victorian much like mine, but it was clearly crumbling away and the large yard was overgrown with weeds and brush. I also saw several cats looking out the window.

I ran up the decaying steps and started pounding on the door and screaming, "Hello?? Hello? Is anybody in there???" After what seemed like several minutes the door finally started to open.

The door had a chain lock on it and only opened a few inches, but it was enough to see an old woman of at least 90. I yanked my iPhone out of my pocket and thrust it through the door. "I live on the other side of the woods and my cat is missing. Have you seen her?"

The old lady looked at the picture on the screen and said, "Well kitty, looks like we found your Mommy!" As she undid the chain she said, "We haven't met before. I'm Henrietta Witchfield. Please come in, dear."

She stepped back so I could enter and as I looked into the front hall THERE WAS TRUFFLES!!!

"Truffles, baby, I was worried sick about you!" I squatted down as she came running to me and climbed right up into my arms. She started licking my face and purring up a storm. Mrs. Witchfield stood there watching us and smiling. "How did you find her?" I asked.

"I was out in my garden when she came out of the woods. She came right to me, so sweet and friendly and delicate. She looked so well-cared for that I knew she was somebody's beloved pet so I brought her right in before something happened to her."

I took a moment to glance around and said, "You have a lot of cats here."

"Oh, not that many. They're my friends. I can't tell you how happy I am to see the bond and love that you two have for each other. All of the cats you see around here found me after being dumped in the woods when their owners didn't want them anymore. This time of year seems to be the worst, just as the cold is settling in. It hurts my heart the way people treat these precious creatures."

My feelings started to soften towards the old woman. I could tell she would never do these cats any harm. "I volunteer for the local animal shelter. We can take some of these cats off your hands if you would like."

"No thank you, dear. We're doing just fine. Truth is, I don't know what I'd do without them. I'm pretty much housebound nowadays and these cats are all I have. I could never give any of them up."

Truffles started to get restless in my arms and with no way to restrain her, I knew we had to get home quickly. I thanked Mrs. Witchfield for rescuing my wayward kitty and promised to come back some afternoon for tea.

I hurried back through the woods more careful this time than before. I was holding precious cargo. When I finally got back home I put Truffles down and realized my phone was ringing. Still out of breath I grabbed the receiver.

"Where the heck have you been? You haven't answered your home or cell phone for the last 2 hours." It was my friend and fellow shelter volunteer Fiona.

"You wouldn't believe what I've been through tonight. I got home to find that Truffles had escaped from a broken window. A couple of boys suggested that Mrs. Witchfield had stolen her. Turns out she had found Truffles in her yard and brought her in to safety. She's pretty overwhelmed with cats but seems like a really nice old lady. I wish she would let us help her."

Fiona didn't say anything for a few moments, but then said, "You spoke to Mrs. Witchfield?"

"Yes."

"You saw Mrs. Henrietta Witchfield?"

"Yes, what's the big deal?"

"Sweetie, that story the boys told you was just to scare you because they know you're new around here. Mrs. Witchfield died at least 10 years ago!"

Don't forget, tomorrow we're co-hosting a Halloween Day Blog Hop with Barking from the Bayou and Oz the Terrier! Link your Halloween post with us if you dare!