finncullen | Shadow of the Past - a True Finn Story (Reply)

This is a true story, and it took place in the past, in Finn’s house. And this is how it began.

Finn returned home to his house one evening and opened the door as normal, and the inner door as normal and then he noticed something was wrong. At the time this story took place, Finn had three cats and they usually came to harass him at the door, wanting to be fed.

Shadow was the eldest, a proud and dignified matriarch who ruled over the other two cats with a paw of iron, and a glare that could cut through steel (Finn learned his glare from Shadow).

Smudge was the next youngest, and by far the biggest. He was a bold tom-cat who feared nothing except for the sky (he had once argued with the thunder and lost) and Shadow (but all creatures feared Shadow, so that was nothing for him to be ashamed of).

Smoke was the youngest of all, and the smallest. A creature of fluff and persistence. She fought with Smudge constantly, though he would hurl her gently around when she came close - but she would always win by simply coming back and back and back until Smudge let her grapple his throat and then walk away with her still clinging on.

And all three of them would only ever come together for one purpose. To wait at the door for Finn to return, and to demand to be fed. Smoke would wait at the door till he entered, and then she would race for the stairs down to the kitchen. Shadow would sit a little way off, but still close enough, and look Finn in the eyes to ensure he knew what was required of him. And Smudge would rub against his feet, deferring the demands for food until he had welcomed his friend home.

But on this particular night, there were no cats at the door. No demands. And this instantly made Finn uneasy.

So Finn stepped in through his two doors and locked them behind him. He opened the door into his study, wondering if the cats had been accidentally locked in there. They had not. He hung up the jacket of his suit and returned to the living room and there.. there he saw Smudge’s bold black and white head peering nervously out from behind a chair. And then it darted back out of sight again. Finn was alarmed at this and knelt by the chair, looking behind it. There was Smudge, crouching low to the ground and trembling, trembling. Finn gently lifted him out and held him a little, as though he were a kitten again, and Finn wondered…

You see, a few months before some dreadful person had broken into Finn’s house and stolen some of his things. The things were easily enough replaced of course, but the sense of unease had never left him — the idea that someone could enter his house and Finn could not stop them. And now, seeing mighty Smudge so anxious, Finn wondered if someone had been in the house once more. He looked around, Finn did, and he saw no signs of things missing. So Finn looked up the stairs and there he saw tiny Smoke peering round the bannister on the landing - and then running away.

Now Finn was sure something was amiss. He placed bold Smudge carefully down upon his chair, kissing his head to reassure him that all was well, and then Finn walked upstairs to retrieve poor Smoke from a corner of the spare bedroom where she had hidden. Trembling and fearful, no persistence now, just a quivering and an anxiousness that was so unlike her. Finn was now sure that someone must have entered his house.. entered his house and scared his three cats. And that made an unpleasant anger grow in his stomach, and a desire to do dreadful things to whoever had frightened those much loved animals.

And then Finn heard footsteps from the floor above. Bumping and thumping, and things being moved. A sound as though someone was lifting and shifting furniture or boxes.

They were still there, he realised. Whoever had entered into Finn’s house was still there and had not yet had time to steal his things away. A sensible person here would sneak quietly downstairs and call the police, who would arrive in a matter of hours with paperwork to complete. But Finn did not feel sensible, and so he crept with alarming stealth (he had learned from Shadow this thing also, to move slowly and silently) into the other room on that floor, which was used to store old and forgotten things. And he took up from that room a souvenir that his father had given him some time ago.. something with an edge and a point that Finn should not and will not admit to having.. and then he crept to the bottom of the next stairs and looked up the stairs to where he saw the door to Finn’s bedroom standing open. And beyond the door - THUMP- CRASH -BUMP -

Oh Finn would give them a shock, he decided, as he crept up the stairs (he knew which ones creaked and where, and carefully stepped around the tell-tale boards as he moved). With his hand on the door he realised he may have to be involved in an unpleasant scene when he confronted the burglar

or burglars - that thought now occurred to him. Oh dear -

but he was annoyed enough not to care, and he flung back the door and saw

and saw Shadow. Dignified and grand Shadow, the dowager Duchess of Finn’s house. Fur on end, and tail like a brush. And her head was through the handle of a plastic carrier bag, and the carrier bag was full of rubbish. Empty cans, paper, small boxes.

You see Finn was in the habit in those days, instead of purchasing liners for his small waste-paper basket in his living room, of simply putting a carrier bag in there and using that. And Shadow, like all Duchesses was eccentric. And her eccentricity was that she liked licking carrier bags. Finn guessed that she had been licking the carrier bag in the waste paper basket.. and her head had gone through the handle… and as she walked away the plastic bag followed her.

And as he watched, Finn saw her glance back… and she saw the carrier bag.. and she started to run. But it chased her! So she ran faster! So it chased faster and filled up with air, growing larger as she ran! Clank, bang, bump as she ran around the room with the bag knocking into things.

No burglars, no intruders.

Finn laughed and carefully placed the thing he should not have against the wall, point gently resting on the carpet, and he caught Shadow and removed the carrier bag carefully, holding her until enough dignity returned to her that she objected to being carried and spiked him until he let her go.

How long she had been chased by the plastic monster, Finn does not know. Long enough to make her way all the way upstairs of course. Long enough that the other cats were in terror. Not scared of the noise (though that was fearsome enough) but Finn believed then, as he believes to this day, that Smudge and Smoke were scared of the mood that Shadow would be in if they ever mentioned that they had seen her look so foolish.

To the best of Finn’s knowledge though, they never said a word about it.