Running barefooted down the dusty track, X held onto a bemused looking Bertie as tight as she could. He was trying to meow his secrets to her but was far too tired after his long trip from the apartment block where they lived. It was okay though, for all about them the other cats were making as much noise as possible. Their meows floated for miles around, as did the strange sounds X was making, for the more she looked at the distant Ferris wheel, the closer she felt herself moving to a future that had long been waiting for her. Kicking up a tiny, weaving trail of dust, Herbie led the way. From green fields to sandy wilderness, the outskirts of the city were soon upon them, and although she was sure he couldn’t possibly know where he was going, the brilliant, speeding ball of fluff took every corner as if the layout of the streets was ingrained into his DNA. People pointed. They gasped and shouted, but to X it meant nothing. The only thing that did was the sight of the Ferris wheel, and how it grew in size on the horizon the same as the stitch in her stomach. As the sun shimmered above the tallest of the towering buildings, the stars behind them began to twinkle. Squeezing Bertie, he twisted his head and focused his cloudy eyes in the direction of the spinning wheel. He couldn’t see it, but he felt its pull and could taste the electricity as it buzzed in the air like an approaching thunderstorm. The other cats tasted it too, and as they trailed a delirious X like a billowing, magic cape, they cried out in anticipation at the wonders that surely awaited them.

A Journal for Damned Lovers UK

A Journal for Damned Lovers US

Anthology UK / Anthology US