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It was that melancholic hour when dusk receded to night. Snowflakes were falling into the yellow light of the flickering lamps, circling lazily in the air like down. The townsfolk had gradually filtered out of the square, returning to hearth and home for dinner with their loved ones, and now there was only Eddy and his violin. He drew his bow gracefully in the air and smiled as last note faded.
After, he strolled leisurely to his case lying a few feet away and was on the threshold of packing away his violin when he suddenly paused, surprised. There were a few coins gleaming in the dark--the fruits of his labor for the day. But there was something else too, unexpected and curious: a ball of fur, black as midnight, huddled just inside.
“What’s this?” he murmured.
Hearing his voice, the creature uncurled just slightly to reveal a pair of shiny eyes that slanted downwards at the corners. They stared at Eddy with startling pathos, beseeching in their silence. Eddy reached hesitantly for its head and gave it a gentle pat behind the ears. It mewed weakly.
“And where did you come from?” he asked.
The little black cat opened its mouth as if it might answer, but all that came out was another soft mew.
A snowflake landed on its little pink nose, and it sneezed.
Eddy chuckled. Slowly, so as to not startle to cat, he scooped it into his arms and held it close. He felt the cat shiver and snuggle to his chest for warmth, burrowing its furry little head inside Eddy’s coat.
“I guess you’re coming with me.”
Eddy had taken a small room on top of the bakery. He walked there now, through the mazelike streets of the old city, past the sweets shop and the milliner’s and the apothecary, over the bridge that arched over the gushing river, and down the quay lined with chestnut trees …. His steps were quick and light, cognizant as he was that he held a cat in his coat. A sweet little cat that stayed quiet and still.
The bakery had just closed but was still lit with a warm yellow light and still wafting the scent of fresh baked goods. On this night, as on every night, the baker’s kind wife greeted him at the foot of the stairs with a loaf of leftover bread.
“Thanks so much,” he said.
She smiled affably and patted him on the shoulder. “You take care of yourself now. The weather’s getting colder, so I can’t imagine it’s easy for you.”
“That’s all right,” said Eddy with great cheer. He was doing what he loved and that kept him warm enough.
“You young people,” chided the lady with a shake of her head. “But what are you hiding there?”
It was the cat, which had grown impatient or curious. It peeked out of Eddy’s coat and blinked blearily at the baker’s wife. Startled, she reeled back with a gasp.
Eddy smiled sheepishly. “Found this little thing in my case just now.”
“A black cat,” she exclaimed. She tsked in disapproval and said, “I wouldn’t hold it, if I were you.”
“Why not?”
“It’s bad luck, isn’t it? In this city, at least, black cats are bad luck. You know, just the other week, when the prince disappeared, people say they saw a black cat running out of his room”—the cat yowled ferociously here, cutting the lady off. She took another step back and stared at the cat fearfully. “You’d best get rid of it, Eddy. Bad luck, it is.”
Eddy shushed the cat with another pat on its head. “It’s all right. It’s too cold for him to wander about now. I’ll keep him for the night, and then we’ll see. Thanks for the bread. Good night.” He bounded up the stairs before the lady could say anything more.
Eddy’s room was small and old, filled with shabby furniture and creaking floorboards. Eddy set the cat on the ground, where it stood still for a second, then wandered slowly around the room as Eddy put away his things away and started the fire. Its pudgy paws left a trail of tiny prints in the dust.
“Sorry, I haven’t gotten around to cleaning it lately,” Eddy blurted when he saw the cat shoot him a reproachful glare. But why am I apologizing to a cat, he wondered. That’s silly.
The realization that it was silly didn’t stop him from offering the cat a thin slice of ham. “It’s all I’ve got, unless you want bread.”
The cat tread back to him and leapt onto table. It perched there elegantly now, appearing almost regal in form, and took a sniff of the ham. There was a look of skepticism—or disdain—in its dark eyes. Still, pride was no match for hunger and in the end, it condescended to nibble daintily at the meat, its small pink tongue darting in and out.
Eddy smiled in delight and gave the cat another light pat on the head. The cat meowed indignantly his time, pawing his hand away. Eddy laughed and finally turned to his own dinner.
Later that evening, after Eddy had reviewed his music for the next day and put out the fire and slid into bed, the cat was sitting on the dining room chair, watching Eddy with its shiny black eyes.
“You don’t want to come sleep here?” Eddy asked, lifting a corner of his blanket.
The cat didn’t move. Eddy somehow got the sense that the cat found it quite improper, or otherwise beneath him, to share a bed with Eddy. But again, that was just silly.
“Really, come here, it’s warmer.”
The cat hesitated, its eyes wary. The standoff lasted for another few moments before the cat jumped from the chair and padded slowly over to Eddy.
“I wonder if you have a name,” Eddy murmured as the cat curled up under his covers. The cat said nothing.
Outside the windows, the snow whirled densely from the skies, forming a creamy layer of white on the red-tiled roofs.
Inside, a small black cat nuzzled against his young violinist and together, they surrendered to a serene slumber.
*
Eddy garnered the biggest audience around midday, when the bell struck twelve and the people ceased their toil for an hour or two, pausing for a spot of lunch or a nap or a stroll around the town square. It was colder now, but nonetheless, a small crowd gathered to listen to the charming young violinist who had appeared from nowhere late last autumn.
The prince though, was not there. The prince was not anywhere. The prince was still missing.
Eddy opened his eyes after he finished his etude, combing his audience for a shadow of that man, the small prince with the black locks that had a habit of sticking out every which way. Nothing. A small sigh escaped him. He had hoped…and yet, why did he hope? If the prince had really disappeared, there was no reason he’d seek out Eddy.
They hardly knew each other......
In the afternoon, there were even fewer people. Palace guards marched through the square, eyes alert and watchful, as if their prince might be hidden among the cabbages lining the farmers’ stall. Eddy stared at them warily and waited for them pass. One of the guards, the one closest to the prince, shot him a dark look, which Eddy chose to ignore. He knew nothing.
All he knew was that the prince liked music. His music.
It happened like this.
On a different day, months before this one, when the leaves still shined red and orange, Eddy had opened his eyes after finishing a piece and there he was.
Eddy could tell at a glance that he wasn’t a commoner. His silver tunic was richly embroidered and laced with gold, and his thick cloak carried a coat of arms. More than that though, there was his fair, smooth skin, his rosy cheeks, his graceful posture—all of that announced his status as much as anything.
A golden leaf descended upon his soft, raven hair, like a crown. Eddy had stared, mesmerized.
The guard following him glared at Eddy. “Peasant, kneel before your prince, and beg mercy!” he cried. “Your ruckus has caused a public disturbance—”
“Enough,” the prince said gently with a light wave of his hand. He turned to Eddy and studied him for a few moments, head tilted in perplexity. “Why do you play here?” he asked.
“Pardon? I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was forbidden,” Eddy stammered nervously, wondering whether he should kneel after all. “I thought it was an open square for all, so I—”
“But why do you play here?” the prince insisted. “I have the grandest orchestra in all the known kingdoms. You could play in that orchestra, you are good enough. Or you could play for my rivals’ orchestras, or you could even tutor the Duke’s little brat and that would earn you more than pittance you earn here, playing on the streets. So why?”
“Oh. I…I can’t say, really. It’s … liberating, I suppose. And I’d like to play for the people. The common folk, like me. That’s all.” Eddy glanced at the prince uncertainly, wondering if the next moment, the prince would yell, off with your head.
But the prince merely offered a noncommittal hum, and one corner of his lips lifted into a small smile. “And what is your name?”
“Eddy.”
“Very well. Good day…Eddy.”
“G-good day, Your Highness!”
And that was that.
When Eddy opened the door, there was the cat.
It was a cat unlike other cats. It didn’t meow hungrily, nor did it rub itself against Eddy’s legs to show affection. It merely sat, quiet as a statue. And yet, Eddy thought, perhaps the cat was waiting for him. A smile broke across his face.
“Hi there,” he said, bending down to stroke the cat lightly under the chin. The cat leaned into his touch and purred, which Eddy viewed as a victory.
“The farmers came into town today and gifted me some fresh cream. Would you like to try?”
The cat tilted its head and watched him as he poured the cream into the bowl. As if it wished to maintain its dignity, it waited for a few moments after Eddy set the bowl down before bending forward to lap up the cream.
Eddy had learned to leave the cat alone while it ate and did his own things, except he peered at it once in awhile with an affectionate smile.
When the cat finished and lifted its head, there was a dollop of cream left on its nose. Eddy chuckled and gently swiped it off with his finger. “Silly cat.”
The cat meowed in protest and turned its back on Eddy, which only made Eddy laugh harder.
In the wintertime, the days were short and the nights long. Eddy spent the long, dark evenings nestled by the fire, reading books or studying music, and the cat, which used to sit warily some feet away, now liked to curl up in his lap and doze.
Today though, Eddy found it hard to focus. He stared absently into the flickering flames, book long forgotten, thoughts faraway.
He was thinking about those pretty autumn days, when the bountiful harvest had just come in. He was thinking about how the cool breeze brought down showers of golden leaves, and how the town square smelled like fresh apple cider and hot, sugared doughnuts. He was thinking about the little girls who played hopscotch to his jaunty tunes on the fiddle …
He was thinking about the prince, who came to watch him, dressed as a commoner.
“You have the best orchestra in all the known kingdoms, Your Highness. Why do you come to watch me?” he finally ventured to ask one day.
“You said you wished to play for the people. I’m a person, aren’t I?”
The prince stepped closer to Eddy and peered up at him, his pink lips forming a small, dissatisfied pout. “And I’m allowed to like you, aren’t I? Your music, that is…”
Eddy was sure the prince blushed as he said this, and suddenly, Eddy felt less nervous.
“It is my honor, Your Highness…”
The prince smiled, sweet as nectar, and Eddy’s heart sang with joy.
The cat seemed to have noticed Eddy’s inattentiveness. It pressed lightly on Eddy’s belly with its paw and meowed.
“Sorry. I’m just thinking about the prince…I wonder if you’ve ever seen him?”
Eddy felt the cat tense. He ran his fingers through its soft fur until it relaxed against him again. “He’s kind…and beautiful. And I miss him. I want to go look for him, but I hardly know where to start. And then sometimes I think, if I continue playing in the square, then at least he’ll know where to find me if he should wish to see me again someday,” Eddy said sadly.
The cat mewed softly and butted its head against Eddy’s chest. “Are you trying to comfort me?” Eddy asked with a chuckle. He hugged the cat closer and said, “It’s working, if you are. Thank you.”
*
Spring announced itself with crimson poppies and yellow daffodils. The trees along the riverbank glowed emerald and chartreuse with its new formed leaves, and the tulips lining the town square finally revealed their bulbs.
The cat pawed at Eddy’s legs before he went out the door.
“You’re tired of being cooped inside, I suppose? Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take you out for the day. But you have to be good. The people here don’t like black cats, and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
The cat bowed its head meekly, then leapt up into his arms.
“You still have that cat?” cried the baker’s wife as Eddy passed the storefront. “You be careful now! Bad luck!”
Eddy laughed and told her not to worry. The cat hadn’t brought him any harm.
To the contrary, it had provided him with steady companionship all through the lonely, winter months. The cat was someone he went home to, someone to snuggle with at night, someone he now loved dearly…
Accompanied by the singing of birds, Eddy played with eyes open that day. He wanted to drink in the sights of spring: the blue skies dotted with wispy puffs of clouds, the children playing on the cobblestone, his cat lying in his violin case, basking under the golden sun. Indeed, the very air was laced with the fragrance of blossoms, and the feeling of joy.
The only downer was the daily march of the imperial guards through the square in the lazy afternoon. Back in the day, when the kind prince was still around, the people didn’t mind as much. Now, though, when it was just the guards alone, there rose a feeling of tension and the people felt wary. The joyous sounds of the square quieted as the guards made their appearance.
As always, Eddy paused in his playing and waited nervously for them to pass.
Today though, he wasn't so lucky. Today, the guards did more than shoot him dirty looks.
Today, one of them marched up to him and solemnly declared, “The laws of this city forbid you from performing in the town square without license. It is a public nuisance. As punishment, we shall confiscate your instrument.”
“What?” Eddy felt a surge of fear and hugged his violin close to his chest. “But the prince—”
“The prince has been missing for three months now. No one has been able to find him. Accordingly, the crown has officially passed to his brother.” The guard smirked. More harshly, he said, “Every day since autumn, I’ve had to put up with your infernal noise. You think you can flout the rules just because the prince bestowed you a favor. Well, no longer. Hand over your instrument.”
He pressed close to Eddy with a look of menace and made to grab the violin. But before he could do so, a loud howl rang in the air, and black figure sprang forth and latched onto the guard’s leg, where it sank its sharp teeth into warm flesh. A screech of pain tore from the guard.
“What in god’s name—” he cried.
Recovering his bearings, he kicked the cat away harshly, flinging it against the hard ground with a loud thump. “Dear God, now you’ve got a black cat too? The devil incarnate. I shall kill it now, and then deal with you!”
“No—no! Don’t hurt him!”
Eddy grabbed the guard by the arm and surprised him by thrusting his violin at him, his one prized possession, the only thing that had ever mattered to him before.
“Take this then,” he cried, “and leave the cat alone.”
Eddy’s unexpected capitulation stunned the guard, and he froze in place for a split second. That was enough. Eddy had grabbed his cat and sprinted away, leaving everything else behind.
“You silly thing,” Eddy murmured. “Did you think you could protect me?”
He had made it safely to his room, and he cradled his cat gently as he sat down on his bed. The cat let out a small meow. It rubbed its head against Eddy’s arm, as if to say that it was all right. Eddy stroked it gently and said, “You’re a very brave cat, you know.” His voice wavered here, and a tear rolled down his cheek, splashing onto the cat’s black fur. “The violin is just an object, though. I can replace it. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you were badly hurt…So don’t do that again.”
The cat stood onto its hind legs and stretched upwards. Tentatively, it leaned forward and licked Eddy on the cheek.
Eddy laughed and held the cat up to his face. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. Then he brought the cat closer, and kissed it lightly on its little pink nose.
Eddy felt a sudden puff of warm air. He closed his eyes reflexively.
When he opened them again, the cat was gone, and in his arms he held a boy.
Eddy blinked in surprise.
The boy blinked too, his long black lashes sweeping up and down as he stared at Eddy with those familiar dark eyes, one dotted beguilingly with a speck of black.
Surely it couldn’t be…
But then, there was that same raven black hair, the same rosy cheeks, the same pouty pink lips, and the alabaster skin that extended down the delicate neck to the rounded shoulders then the smooth chest —
“Ah! Your—Your Highness!” Eddy yelped. He would’ve jumped away, but the fact that the prince was still sitting in his lap. Quickly, he yanked the blanket from his bed and covered the body of the boy in his arms, then covered his eyes with his hands. “Sorry—I didn’t mean to—I didn’t see anything—what are you doing here—what happened—”
The prince laughed softly in his pleasant, low voice.
“Took you long enough, Eddy …”
* Epilogue *
The summer mornings were hot and humid, so maybe it was best that Eddy now slept alone. That’s what he told himself anyway, when he awakened without his cat. The cat wouldn’t like to be held by an Eddy that was damp with sweat, probably. The cat was better off at the palace, where he had been restored to the throne as the rightful prince.
Eddy trudged to the town square through the heat and found himself a shady spot under a leafy chestnut tree before he took out his violin. It was a new—a gift from the prince, to replace the one smashed by the guard. It was made by the best luthier in the kingdom and emitted beautiful sounds that seemed almost unearthly.
And yet…if Eddy were really honest, he would’ve preferred to have his cat back.
*
It was that enchanting hour when dusk gave way to a sultry, summer night. The square was lit by the light of a thousand lanterns as the townspeople gathered for the midsummer festival. A little girl hopped up to Eddy and asked if he wouldn’t stay to play a tune for the dance.
“Not me,” said Eddy, with a tired smile. It felt too lonely for him to stay and watch the festivities.
He trudged home slowly, past the sweets shop and the milliner’s and the apothecary…
But just before he crossed the bridge, someone grabbed his hand and tugged him into a quiet alley.
“Hello, Eddy.”
It was the prince.
His sudden appearance bewildered Eddy, whose mouth opened and closed a few times, like a fish. Subconsciously, he wrapped his large hand around the prince’s small hand, as if to assure himself that the prince was real.
The prince, who looked so beautiful under the moonlight.
He gave Eddy a shy smile and, without extracting his hand from Eddy’s, said softly, “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve sought you out..."
Mind? How could Eddy possibly mind? Didn't he know how much Eddy missed him?
But the prince continued, "I have a problem, you see.”
“A problem?”
Slowly, the prince removed the hat on his head and revealed…
A pair of cat ears.
Eddy stared breathlessly.
“You see,” the prince said, clearing his throat delicately. “I was to marry a princess from a neighboring kingdom, but I could not, because my heart belonged to another. In her ire, she cast a spell upon me, turning me into an unlucky, black cat. I would not revert, unless he that I loved learned to love me back and bestowed a kiss upon me…”
None of that made any sense, Eddy thought. Besides, he was too distracted by the ears that twitched bewitchingly atop the prince’s head. As if he were the one under a spell, he reached over and pet them, reveling in the familiar feel of the soft fur.
The prince closed his eyes and leaned into his touch for a moment, then remembered himself and told Eddy to stop it.
“Which is to say, I thought your kiss reversed the spell, but these ears grew back, so it occured to me that maybe…maybe the spell is a continuing one. So maybe you have to…have to kiss me again…?” the prince suggested, his eyes dancing with uncertainty and hope. “In fact, maybe you need to stay with me and kiss me every so often…? That’s why I came…”
“You came all this way to seek a kiss from me?”
“…You could put it that way…” the prince murmured, face burning. "Or...or more than one kiss, potentially..."
There was a sensuous heat to the dark, summer night. A smile spread across Eddy’s face. He placed his hand on the small of the Prince’s back and drew him close.
“Your wish is my command, Your Highness.”