They Kicked Out Little Tommy… Again… For the Third Time in His Short Life… Somehow, Luck Was Never on His Side… And This Time, It Changed His Life Forever…

Tommy got kicked out Again Third time in his short cat life. Luck just never seemed to fancy him.

Hed only just turned one, and already three families had shown him the door. Well, strictly speaking, hed been passed from house to house at first. And then

Then someone just put him outside, walked a little down the street, plopped him in the giant green wheelie bin and scarpered off. So he couldnt toddle back home. Not that he bothered to try.

Hed understood everything. Right away. He saw it in the mans face. The wife had been utterly distraught when Tommy had left a long, debonair scratch on the new leather settee.

Very expensive, that sofa. Shed passed the sentence. And the husband? Well, he agreed with everything, as always.

Tucked a one-year-old ginger tom under his arm and strolled off to the wheelie bins by the next block. Tommy didnt even try to follow. Hed seen his fate; no illusions. To thinka proper farewell wouldnt have gone amiss. A gentle stroke, an apology. But no.

Instead, it was all rather inhumanlike chucking out a sack of potato peelings and last week’s curry.

Tommy sighed and rooted for edibles in the rubbish, nibbling on some delightfully ancient chicken nuggets. Then he hopped out and settled by the big, green bin. Stared up at the sun.

He squinted, refusing to turn away. That brilliant circle of light felt lovelysoothing, even. Hed take what he could get.

It would be the last sunshine for quite some time. The last rays of summer, autumn, and winter. A brief heatwave. The thin ice on the pavement melted.

But inside Tommy, a sheet of ice began to form.

Evening and night were bitter. The moment the sun dipped, so did the temperature. The wind and frost got right to work.

The ginger tom was freezing. He hadnt a clue where to go or how to hide, so he bundled into a hefty pile of dry, crispy leavesorange as he was. Curled into a perfect ball. First, he shivered from the cold, but then

After a while, when the wind blasted his damp, frozen coat and hed gone all stiff, he suddenly felt warmer, and stopped shivering. Somewhere deep inside, a voice whispered kind words.

Words that lulled him, promising that if he just closed his eyes, he could forget all the rubbish and hurt.

Curl up now, and sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep, they said. Tommy felt the warmth fill him.

It was tempting. All he needed to do was give in, and all the worry would pass. Then, peace and quiet forever. Goodbye, grievances and hungry nights.

Tommy sighed one last time. Why keep fighting? What for?

Tomorrow had only cold and hunger waiting. And a deep wish to close his eyes, never to open them again.

Streetlights flickered on, far away at first. Tommy looked at them for the last time. Hed watched them so often through a window, once. One last gulp of light lit his eyes in the growing gloom.

And that last flicker caught someones attentiona little ginger-haired girl on her way home with her dad. She tugged his sleeve.

Over there, she said. Theres something in those leaves.

Theres nothing there, Dad shivered, eager to get home for a cuppa. Lets be quick; Im freezing.

He tried to steer her away from the leaf pile as if this was a matter of life and frozen toes. The little girl shook him off.

I saw it! There was a light.

A light? In a bunch of soggy old leaves? Dad frowned. Dont be daft.

But the girl was already over there, rummaging through the crumpled leaves, and found himthe ginger cat.

Dad! she yelled, triumphant.

I told you! Look, its him!

Him who? Dad was baffled, joining her.

Here! Look. She tried to lift his ice-cold, limp little body.

Leave him, love, Dad said gently. Hes gone, sweetheart. We cant take home a dead cat.

Hes not! Hes NOT, the girl insisted, sure. Hes alive. I know itI saw a light in his eyes.

A light, in a cats eyes? Dad shrugged.

Still, he came closer, laying a careful hand on Tommy, listening, feeling.

And how Tommy wanted to sleep. So desperately. His eyelids were glued shut with sleep, warmth trickling through him, that voice still murmuring inside.

Sleep, sleep, sleep dont open your eyes.

But outside, that persistent little girls voice kept calling calmly:

Theres a light in his eyes.

What do they want from me now? Tommy thought. Why wont they let me drift off at last?

He forced his eyes open, just to check who was bothering him.

There! the girl shrieked. There! I told youdid you see? There it was again, the light!

What light? Dad was sceptical, but he slid off his coat and wrapped Tommy in it, heading quickly for home.

His daughter scampered beside him, worry all over her anxious face.

Dad, pleaselets hurry. Hes freezing.

They vanished into the block and, soon after, a glowing window appeared on the fifth floor.

Tommy got a warm bath and a dish of gently warmed milk. And the girl?

She sat by him, pleading.

Please, dont die. Oh please, dont.

The ice in his fur melted, and in his heart as well.

The big ginger tom watched in amazement as Dad and daughter fussed over him. He was awake now, and hed never felt such comfort before.

It filled him up. Not the heat from radiators, but something from the little girls heart.

Outside, someoneor maybe somethingstood on the pavement, watching the golden window glow.

As much as I can do. As much as I can, he murmured.

He lingered a moment longer and added, more quietly:

That lightnot everyone can see it. And even fewer can keep it once they do.

But Tommy, gazing at the small ginger-haired girl, thought nothing about the vastness of the human spiritthose are peoples worries. He had his own thoughts.

He saw the light. The light in her eyes.

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