The Last House on Needless Street

by Catriona Ward

Slowly I add another name to the list. Ted Bannerman. You never know.

I judge people two ways – on how they treat animals, and on what they like to eat. If their favourite food is some kind of salad, they are definitely a bad person. Anything with cheese, they are probably OK.

judge people two ways – on how they treat animals, and on what they like to eat. If their favourite food is some kind of salad, they are definitely a bad person. Anything with cheese, they are probably OK.

What we want isn’t always what’s best for us. If the cat can learn that, Lauren can, too. I hope.

The gods are closer than you would think. They live among the trees, behind a skin so thin you could scratch it open with a fingernail.

I rubbed his face with mine. His feelings flooded into me. It was painful but I could take it. Cats don’t hold onto things.

That is when it happened. A soft white glow gathered on his chest, over the place where his heart must be. The glow became a cord, reaching out through the air. The cord approached me. I rowed and struggled. But I was held fast. I felt the light encircle my neck, link me to his heart. It didn’t hurt. It bound us together. I don’t know if he felt it too – I like to think he did.

Anyway the trick to life is, if you don’t like what is happening, go back to sleep until it stops.

Everything in life is a rehearsal for loss. Only the smart people know it.’

‘I want you to feel the power of it,’ she said. ‘Of walking away from something you love. Doesn’t it make you feel strong?’