Frank thought the kitten belonged to one of the nearby houses. He went door to door to check that someone wasn’t missing their pet, but I knew the truth. The cat hadn’t said more than mew to me, but I was positive that this was the younger version of the cat, Willow, from my dreams.
Working with Old Mother had taught me that in the witch world, there were always going to be things we didn’t understand. Everyone admits to that, but those of us who walk moments in alternate worlds, feeding on the magic, absorbing it into our systems so we can utilize it for good, we know in a deeper sense that there are elements to life that can’t be examined too closely. Sometimes, the phantoms of reality have no explanations.
With Willow, how she’d entered my dreams before she was even born, that was, perhaps, one of the biggest questions of my twenty years of life, but I sensed that Frank and I would find no answers. Magic drifted in time. It had no anchors. Willow was vividly alive back in that creek bed dream and during the dreams I’d encountered in my chamber here, and yet she wasn’t. But now, without question, she’d entered my daytime life to become the familiar she’d promised to become. I just needed to let her grow up a bit.
As I’d predicted, Frank couldn’t find anyone missing a grey kitten. He couldn’t find a mother cat who’d delivered kittens about her age either. So, for him, I know that the mystery of Willow’s presence vaguely annoyed him. The officer was a person firmly entrenched in certainty. For him, reality held reason and stability. Of course, I didn’t disillusion him. The Fates, also known as Gaia, sent each of us an individual cup of life. As we drink of it, we take in what we are meant to have. Frank was perfect just the way he was.
And so was Willow. She quickly adapted to the household, being playful for the boys, following strings and absorbing pets and lap holdings as any normal kitten would, but she made it clear from the start that I was her special one. She’d often spend time with one of the boys until he fell asleep, but then she’d always accompany me to bed, where she’d crawl under the blankets and make herself a sprawling bundle of slightly scratchy claws and fur. But I never woke to find her with me. I think she spent the majority of her night outside with Frey. They became almost as close as the kitten was with me.