Granny’s eyes

Alarm system shouted, like old teacher shouting on young student, who forgot to do his homework again. I opened my eyes and took my body from my bed. I don’t like to awake earlier, then 8 o’clock. I looked at my clock – 3:45. Too early for global incidents, but enough for local crisis. I put my pans on and run out of my room. I just opened the door and I saw my Granny on a wheelchair, who was standing in front of my door. Her eyes were dark, as she was looking deep inside black hole.

-       Granny, can you hear that alarm? – I asked her.

She didn’t respond. Just took her eyes from the bottom of my body to the top, she was watching right in to my eyes. I smell something. Definitely, something was burning. I ran down the stairs to see what was going on. Kitchen was on fire. And a silly cat was sitting on a window and she was watching out of the window. Never thought, that I could see, like to God’s creature will be in the same way indifferent to fire.

My mom and dad came down too.

-       What is going on? – asked my mom.

-       There is a fire in the kitchen. You see? – I put my finger in kitchen direction.

My mom went in to the kitchen and wanted to save a cat. But the fire was around and she couldn’t reach him.

-       We need to call 911, - I said to my father.

-       Yeap, - he said. – Take all necessary and go out. I will call them.

He left me. I was looking how my mom desperately was trying to reach the cat. She repeated cat’s name about 20 times. But cat was sitting and not even once took a glance on my mom. Fire was increasing.

-       Mom, we have to go, - I shouted to my mom.

She came to me without a cat.

-       This stupid cat will burn! Why didn’t she come, when I called her? – she asked me.

-       I don’t know. Maybe, she does not want to, - the only answer, I found appropriate.

My mom when to another room. I heard like she was looking something. I new that she was hiding money under the floor. I still was watching on a cat. She didn’t move. Fire was growing swiftly. I understood, that kitchen was lost. Suddenly, I started to feel something to that cat. I didn’t like her and she didn’t like me. In this house we were like to God’s creature, who were living separately and both just been waiting to leave this house someday. I never thought, that Wednesday – it’s a good day. Neither cat do.

Cat turned her face for the first time, since alarm started. She was looking right into my eyes. It was deep, deep gaze. No words. We were just looking on each other for thirty seconds. I felt like for the firs time in my life and in cat’s life, we understood each other. If someone would ask me, what was the reason of this fire, fire in the kitchen, I would say, that it was cat. No, I would say. I just knew, that it was she. I think we both understood that.

I looked up on a second floor, where was my room. I saw my Granny. She was sitting in her wheelchair. She was watching on me in the same was, as she was watching, when I left my room.

-       Granny, we need to go. House is on fire, - I told her.

But she just turned right and rolled her wheelchair in to her room.

What is going on here? Cat doesn’t want to leave. Granny doesn’t want to live. They’re both prefer to die here or what?

-       Mom, Granny doesn’t want to leave the house? – I shouted to my mom.

But she was gone. I saw her and my father outside the house. They were screaming on each other, as they’re usually did. Fire was growing from kitchen to the rest of the house. I couldn’t see cat anymore. She was hidden behind wall of fire. I went up on the stairs. I wanted to see my Granny and help her get out from burning house. When I was on the second floor, I saw like Granny’s wheelchair was moving in to her room. I ran there and when I reached her room, I saw her sitting near the window and she was watching outside of the window. Just like cat did few moments before.

-       Granny, - I whispered. – All house is on fire. Why don’t you go outside?

She didn’t say a word. She was watching through the window. I came closer to her. I put my hand on her shoulder. She wasn’t moving. I tried to figure out where she was looking. Suddenly, I saw some light behind the window. Poor light. I took a closer look. There was a man outside. Just like my grandpa, before he died. Grey hair, brown striped shirt, jeans. He was just standing and not moving.

I’ve heard like peace of house burned down and collapsed. If I want to live, I must leave this house now.

-       Granny, we have to go, - I said one more time to her.

She didn’t respond. I started backing away. Her hand grabbed mine. I stopped. She looked at me one more time with here empty eyes. There was more death, then live.

-       This house belongs to him. Cat belongs to him. And I belong to him. We are ready to reunite with him again. You see? He came after me. Not you! Just me, - was her last words.

She released my hand and turned her gaze to the window. I looked at her for the last time and ran away. I went out of the burning house. Just O left it, wall fell down. My parents still were shouting on each other. I heard the sirens of a fire truck in the distance. I wanted to see that place, where my Grandpa was standing, when I sat him through the window. I went around the burning house on the other side.  When I reached that place, no one was there. Just empty street.

I though, my grandad felt that I, cat and Granny, we don’t belong to this place. It was his house, which he builds by his own hands. He knew, that it was house, were my parent’s problems started. Before we moved in, we were just a regular family, who loved and respect each other. But since we become what we become. And that cat, she was grandpa cat. If she made all this by his will, then I was wrong, when I said, that this cat was useless for humanity. She was useful for me and for my family. Now we don’t have any chance to say, that this house is the only roof that we have. We don’t have it anymore. And we don’t have Granny. But as I see, I am the only one, who noticed it. She made her choice and gave us our choice. I hated this house. But no more. No more!