I am 20 years old, but I was adopted in the 1950’s.
No this isnt a diary, or a letter. I’m writing this on the 11th of September 2022. The Queen of England Died 3 Days ago.
I was adopted on June 22nd of 1951, I dont remember the home I was in before they adopted me. I just remember the house, it was like one of those big spooky mansions you would hear of in those old horror stories, everything was broken, creaky and bleak. A cobweb in every corner of every room, but it was a place to call home.
My Mother was a cold women- like a witch, but with rules. Lots of rules, but they were strange. I never truly realised why there was so many, or why they were so strange until I ran away. She had cats, we never met them. Just heard them scuttering around at night and during the day, their soft meows echoing through the cracks in the walls. She told us all they were what she called ‘scaredy cats’ and would run away at the sight of humans.
Rule 1.
Never leave your bedroom door unlocked past 11pm, it’s an invitation.
I never knew what she meant by invitation. I never unlocked my door unless it was meal time or TV time. Each night between 11:30pm-12am we would hear 3 knocks.
Rule 2.
When you hear the 3 knocks, dont answer. Just turn out the light.
I’d turn out the lights, and each time a little ‘huff’ would come from outside the door and the sound of what I thought were footsteps would move away. Although some nights, there would be a single knock.
Rule 3.
If you hear only 1 knock, you have 10 seconds. Hide under the bed or in the closet. Keep your eyes closed. Once you hear the door lock, you’re safe.
A single knock, I swiftly sprung out of bed and made my way under the bed, closing my eyes and holding my breath. Until it struck me, why couldnt we look? What was it? Curiosity struck me and I slowly opened my right eye, and then my left. My hand smacked over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.
Rule 4.
Do not go outside.
All the windows were boarded up, doors locked- there was no way we could look outside apart from whatever they put on the TV or the papers. Only person allowed outside was Mother. We would be locked inside the TV room, one time little brother Timmy wandered off and never came back.
Rule 5.
Do not wander off.
Bedtime. It takes us all a long time to get to bed, we cant leave Mothers side. We all walk behind her as we crouch, tiptoe and shuffle through the narrow hallways as quiet as mice. She told us it was so we wouldnt scare the cats, cats attack when they are scared. They dont act like the cats we see during TV time.
Rule 6.
Dont unlock the doors during TV time.
Felix the cat was on, it was our favourite as kids. It would drown out the constant scratching at the doors when we all sat down to watch.
Rule 7.
If you see one of the cats, run and hide. Dont tell the others what you saw.
I quivered underneath my bed at the sight of the ‘cat’. It was unlike any cat I had seen before, it was large. 6ft tall and crawled on all fours. I couldn’t see its face but I could see the drool pool on the wooden floor beneath it’s long boney legs. It began to walk, or should I say crawl away towards the door. I closed my eyes and sighed in relief. That was until I opened my eyes again, then all I felt was fear.
Rule 8.
No food in bedrooms, food must be eaten and finished at the table. The smell will attract them.
I came down early one day for breakfast. I saw Mother pouring milk into a glass bottle, I was confused. The milk she was pouring looked new, it was in a plastic sort of jug with a green lid with the expiry date ‘5th November 2012’ this new milk sure did last long! Maybe the glass bottles made them last longer.
Rule 9.
Put leftover food in the cat bowls.
Whenever we couldnt finish food we would always put them in the cat bowls as a little treat for the cats. They never ate it. They didnt like it. They didnt like anything we gave them. They were never happy. They wanted more. They wanted flesh.
Rule 10.
Run.
Its yellow beady eyes stared back at me, a blue collar dangling from its neck. I froze in fear. I had to run. I managed to get out and run past it, it screeched behind me and I heard its feet tapping rapidly as it chased after me. I ran as fast as I could away from the cat and through the hallways, until I finally lost it. It wasn’t safe here. I needed to run.
I began to look around for an exit, the doors and windows were boarded up with wood and nails. There was no way I could get it open. I looked around panicked for a way out, that was when I saw it. A vent. It was small, but big enough for me to squeeze through. The chair scraped noisily against the ground as I pulled it across the kitchen floor and lined it up under the vent. I climbed ontop of it and grabbed onto the edge of the vent and attempted to pull myself up, falling down a couple of times back onto the chair. I was about to attempt again, until I heard a soft meow and the jangle of a bell behind me. I slowly turned my head towards the dark hallways behind me and I saw two yellow beady eyes looking towards me in the darkness of the hallway. It continued to meow, scratching at the walls either side of it- each meow a different pitch and tone as if it were multiple cats at once. I swung my leg up into the vent, pulling myself up, its footsteps rapidly coming towards me and along with a loud screech. I clambered into the vent and began to crawl through the maze of vents, trying to find a way out.
I could hear cars. Cars like the ones on TV, breeze hit me and goosebumps grew like little mounds on my skin because of the cold breeze- or so I thought. I look behind me and there it is, running up behind me with a ear piercing screech. It was hunched in order to fit in the narrow vent which only made it look more terrifying. I crawled as quick as I could towards the noise, the sound of cars growing closer but so did the quick taps of the cats feet.
I could see it. The vent. I crawled towards it, my knees red and torn apart from the friction between my skin and the vent floor. I began to kick at the vent, sweat dripping down my face- I looked backwards towards the creature who was closing in on me. With all my might I gave it one final kick and it fell off its hinges, hitting on the concrete ground with a thump. I slid out and landed on the pavement with a crack, excruciating pain shot through my right arm but I didnt care. I scrambled to my feet and looked at the vent, it stared at me with its devious yellow eyes and backed away slowly with a soft growl and a soft jingle from the bell that hung from its collar. I looked at the house from afar and saw my siblings and mother looking out the large living room window- they all grinned at me as their eyes flashed yellow for a mere second before they backed off into the darkness.
I faced towards the street, everything was colourful, vibrant. The cars were… odd. They were fast, they didnt look anything like the black and white ones I saw on the television. There was pictures that moved along big signs and buildings and people wore nice clothes, short skirts and nothing like the rags I had to wear. Food smelt and looked good, it wasnt like the thick grey stuff I always had to eat just so I wouldnt starve. I ran around like a headless chicken, dirt coated face and clothing ragged. I bumped into a strange women with a friendly face, squinting as the sun beamed towards me from behind her as I asked. “Excuse me miss, I’m lost.” She let out a small laugh. “You certainly are! You look like something right out of the 50’s!” I looked confused at her. “But… its 1953?” Her face fell and her brows furrowed, a concerned look plastered on her face. “1953? Darling, it hasnt been 1953 in 60 years. Its 2012.” My eyes bulged and I looked around, bewildered. I saw a stray news paper on the ground and took it in my hands, looking at the front page my eyes landed on the date. November 5th, 2012. I pulled it away from my face and looked towards the house in which I escaped, but it wasnt there. It was a pile of wooden planks, I walk towards it- kneeling down in the rubble and running my hands through it. My hands hit a hard object, it made a sound similar to a worn out bell- I pull on the object and with a yank out it came.
A blue collar.