Original fic - The Little Brown Cat Ornament (gen)
Title: The Little Brown Cat Ornament
Author: Dimity Blue
Rating: All
Genre: gen
Word Count: 1,401 words
Summary:It was just a sad looking cat ornament in a shop. Who'd ever buy it?
Read under the cut or on AO3.
The Little Brown Cat Ornament
By Dimity Blue
The little brown cat ornament sat in a dusty corner of a shop on a busy road. From where it was, it could see a little bit of grey - or sometimes blue - sky. Occasionally, a beam of sunlight fell across the floor, though it struggled to find its way between the signs in the window that were meant to entice unwary shoppers in.
Red and gold signs were on display in December. They would, sooner or later, be changed to pink and blue birthday signs, then Easter signs of a similar hue. The summer signs showed a lot of green, while the Hallowe'en ones featured cobwebs on an orange background. Whatever the colour, the signs had two things in common: They attempted to lure shoppers in, and they assured passersby of the high quality of the gifts sold by the shop.
This was a lie. The gifts were made in various factories that specialised in churning out as many items in a week as was possible, and the lack of artistry and care showed. The shop was mostly frequented by young children who were looking for a gift for a much older (usually female) relative, who would profess delight at the unrealistic-looking cat/dog/donkey they'd been given.
The little brown cat ornament, though, was never one of them. It was not because it was an improbable shade of tan, for all the animal ornaments bore little resemblance to their real-life counterparts. No, it was because the little brown cat ornament was a very sad looking cat. No glint of happiness or quirk of humour brightened its face. Its little round eyes appeared to gaze upon a world that had never, and would never, give it any pleasure.
This, however, was not quite true. For the little brown cat ornament loved, with all its non-existent heart, to see the sunshine that occasionally darted between the signs in the window and showed dust-motes dancing in the air. The little brown cat ornament thought it would be a fine thing to sit in the window and gaze out onto the street outside. Once the Closed sign was showing on the door, and the metal shutters were down, the other ornaments talked about the view and the people they saw passing by outside, and the little brown cat ornament always listened hard with its little pottery ears.
"Here they come!" the donkey in the window cried.
"Right on time," the rearing horses said in unison. Their front hooves supported a clock, so they were considered to be the experts on time.
People rushed past in ones and twos, and the little brown cat ornament caught glimpses of different colours through the gaps in the shutters as comments flew back and forth between the ornaments in the window.
"She still hasn't got that rip in her sleeve fixed!" the iron doorstop dog exclaimed.
"She's probably been too busy," the white cat said. "She's been working every day this week."
"They say they'll be closing the supermarket soon," the trumpet playing mouse put in. "Just as soon as they open the big one near the town centre."
"We won't get to see the workers anymore," the ladybird egg timer said sadly. "They'll be closer to the train station then."
"We'll see other workers," the rearing horses said. "The supermarket isn't the only shop. Stop talking now, you lot. It's getting dark, and we want to sleep."
Silence fell as the daylight faded. The little brown cat ornament craned its neck and watched as the grey outside turned to black, then it sighed. One day it would have a clear view from the window, it promised itself. One day, it would see blue skies during the day, and the stars in the night sky. One day.
~'~
Morning came. So did the shop owners as they dusted and rearranged the ornaments in the window. Marian started on the shelves near the door, while John began dusting further back. He picked up the little brown cat ornament and a disapproving look came over his face.
"When did you last dust over here? I could write my name in this!"
"Oh, I don't bother over there. No one looks!"
"I'm not surprised. Is this all you've got for this corner? It's a bit boring." Despite his words, his hands were gentle as he dusted the ornament.
Marian peeked over John's shoulder. "It's sad looking, isn't it? I don't know why I bought it."
"It was cheap, that's why. I doubt anyone will buy it."
Rough fingers caught around the little brown cat ornament's neck. "It can go into the bargain bucket. There. Let's put those pink llamas on that shelf; they might get some attention."
The little brown cat ornament stared up at the white ceiling tiles. It had even less of a view now. It listened to the sounds of the pink llamas being moved, then the chatter as some customers came in. Finally, it slept, awoke, and slept again. The day had never seemed so long.
Suddenly, it was awoken by warm fingers curling around its base and lifting it. "I like this one!" a young voice piped.
"Umm... I'm not sure your auntie will like that one, sweetie."
"But it's a cat."
There was a pause, then the woman agreed. "Well, it is that. All right, if that's the one you want."
"I think she'll love it!" the girl declared, confidently.
The little brown cat ornament suspected the woman was right, but no one asked its opinion as it was briskly wrapped in tissue paper, tucked into a bag, and carried away. Once outside the shop, the sounds of the outside world were far louder than it expected. The rumble of traffic and voices - young and older - merged together into a sea of sound, and the little brown cat ornament couldn't make head nor tail of anything. Finally - after what seemed like hours - there came the noise of a door shutting, and the rumble stopped.
"I brought you a present!"
That was a familiar voice. It seemed the moment of truth had arrived. The bag and warm wrappings were removed, and the little brown cat ornament gazed up into a face that supported a mass of grey-flecked brown hair.
"Oh! It looks so sad!"
"Don't you like it?"
"I love it, thank you! I think he just needs a little bit of cheering up. Here, he can sit in the window."
To the little brown cat ornament's astonishment, it was put on a windowsill. In front of it was a garden with flowers of all colours dancing in the breeze. There was a hedge and a little wooden gate, and the little brown cat ornament could see a path with people walking by. Behind them was a row of houses, and towering over all was a wide blue sky with clouds and sunshine. If it had been at all possible for the little brown cat ornament to look astonished, it was sure it would have been the most surprised looking ornament that had ever been created.
Days passed and the little brown cat ornament got used to spending its time watching flowers and sunshine, rain and umbrellas, the stars and a big silver moon. Days and nights passed, and the little brown cat ornament was happy.
"What's this?"
A large hand lifted the little brown cat ornament from its spot on the windowsill, and it found itself being inspected by a man with a round face and blue-edged spectacles.
"Jan got him for me."
"You and your cats! You could open a shop with all your cat stuff. At least this one's a cute little thing."
"It's just a shame he's such a sad cat."
"Sad? I wouldn't call it sad. It looks quite happy to me."
"Happy? Even Jan admitted he looked sad, and she..." The woman's voice trailed off. "Well, I'll be. He does look happy. I could have sworn... Maybe he likes looking out of the window."
"'Maybe he likes looking out of the window'," the man repeated. "It's not real, you know! I'm only surprised you haven't given it a name."
The ornament was placed back on the windowsill, and it gazed out as a butterfly fluttered by. There would be rain later, with dark clouds, and maybe even a rainbow. The little brown cat ornament was looking forward to that.
The end.
23rd March 2022.
===========
I hope you liked it!
Author: Dimity Blue
Rating: All
Genre: gen
Word Count: 1,401 words
Summary:It was just a sad looking cat ornament in a shop. Who'd ever buy it?
Read under the cut or on AO3.
The Little Brown Cat Ornament
By Dimity Blue
The little brown cat ornament sat in a dusty corner of a shop on a busy road. From where it was, it could see a little bit of grey - or sometimes blue - sky. Occasionally, a beam of sunlight fell across the floor, though it struggled to find its way between the signs in the window that were meant to entice unwary shoppers in.
Red and gold signs were on display in December. They would, sooner or later, be changed to pink and blue birthday signs, then Easter signs of a similar hue. The summer signs showed a lot of green, while the Hallowe'en ones featured cobwebs on an orange background. Whatever the colour, the signs had two things in common: They attempted to lure shoppers in, and they assured passersby of the high quality of the gifts sold by the shop.
This was a lie. The gifts were made in various factories that specialised in churning out as many items in a week as was possible, and the lack of artistry and care showed. The shop was mostly frequented by young children who were looking for a gift for a much older (usually female) relative, who would profess delight at the unrealistic-looking cat/dog/donkey they'd been given.
The little brown cat ornament, though, was never one of them. It was not because it was an improbable shade of tan, for all the animal ornaments bore little resemblance to their real-life counterparts. No, it was because the little brown cat ornament was a very sad looking cat. No glint of happiness or quirk of humour brightened its face. Its little round eyes appeared to gaze upon a world that had never, and would never, give it any pleasure.
This, however, was not quite true. For the little brown cat ornament loved, with all its non-existent heart, to see the sunshine that occasionally darted between the signs in the window and showed dust-motes dancing in the air. The little brown cat ornament thought it would be a fine thing to sit in the window and gaze out onto the street outside. Once the Closed sign was showing on the door, and the metal shutters were down, the other ornaments talked about the view and the people they saw passing by outside, and the little brown cat ornament always listened hard with its little pottery ears.
"Here they come!" the donkey in the window cried.
"Right on time," the rearing horses said in unison. Their front hooves supported a clock, so they were considered to be the experts on time.
People rushed past in ones and twos, and the little brown cat ornament caught glimpses of different colours through the gaps in the shutters as comments flew back and forth between the ornaments in the window.
"She still hasn't got that rip in her sleeve fixed!" the iron doorstop dog exclaimed.
"She's probably been too busy," the white cat said. "She's been working every day this week."
"They say they'll be closing the supermarket soon," the trumpet playing mouse put in. "Just as soon as they open the big one near the town centre."
"We won't get to see the workers anymore," the ladybird egg timer said sadly. "They'll be closer to the train station then."
"We'll see other workers," the rearing horses said. "The supermarket isn't the only shop. Stop talking now, you lot. It's getting dark, and we want to sleep."
Silence fell as the daylight faded. The little brown cat ornament craned its neck and watched as the grey outside turned to black, then it sighed. One day it would have a clear view from the window, it promised itself. One day, it would see blue skies during the day, and the stars in the night sky. One day.
~'~
Morning came. So did the shop owners as they dusted and rearranged the ornaments in the window. Marian started on the shelves near the door, while John began dusting further back. He picked up the little brown cat ornament and a disapproving look came over his face.
"When did you last dust over here? I could write my name in this!"
"Oh, I don't bother over there. No one looks!"
"I'm not surprised. Is this all you've got for this corner? It's a bit boring." Despite his words, his hands were gentle as he dusted the ornament.
Marian peeked over John's shoulder. "It's sad looking, isn't it? I don't know why I bought it."
"It was cheap, that's why. I doubt anyone will buy it."
Rough fingers caught around the little brown cat ornament's neck. "It can go into the bargain bucket. There. Let's put those pink llamas on that shelf; they might get some attention."
The little brown cat ornament stared up at the white ceiling tiles. It had even less of a view now. It listened to the sounds of the pink llamas being moved, then the chatter as some customers came in. Finally, it slept, awoke, and slept again. The day had never seemed so long.
Suddenly, it was awoken by warm fingers curling around its base and lifting it. "I like this one!" a young voice piped.
"Umm... I'm not sure your auntie will like that one, sweetie."
"But it's a cat."
There was a pause, then the woman agreed. "Well, it is that. All right, if that's the one you want."
"I think she'll love it!" the girl declared, confidently.
The little brown cat ornament suspected the woman was right, but no one asked its opinion as it was briskly wrapped in tissue paper, tucked into a bag, and carried away. Once outside the shop, the sounds of the outside world were far louder than it expected. The rumble of traffic and voices - young and older - merged together into a sea of sound, and the little brown cat ornament couldn't make head nor tail of anything. Finally - after what seemed like hours - there came the noise of a door shutting, and the rumble stopped.
"I brought you a present!"
That was a familiar voice. It seemed the moment of truth had arrived. The bag and warm wrappings were removed, and the little brown cat ornament gazed up into a face that supported a mass of grey-flecked brown hair.
"Oh! It looks so sad!"
"Don't you like it?"
"I love it, thank you! I think he just needs a little bit of cheering up. Here, he can sit in the window."
To the little brown cat ornament's astonishment, it was put on a windowsill. In front of it was a garden with flowers of all colours dancing in the breeze. There was a hedge and a little wooden gate, and the little brown cat ornament could see a path with people walking by. Behind them was a row of houses, and towering over all was a wide blue sky with clouds and sunshine. If it had been at all possible for the little brown cat ornament to look astonished, it was sure it would have been the most surprised looking ornament that had ever been created.
Days passed and the little brown cat ornament got used to spending its time watching flowers and sunshine, rain and umbrellas, the stars and a big silver moon. Days and nights passed, and the little brown cat ornament was happy.
"What's this?"
A large hand lifted the little brown cat ornament from its spot on the windowsill, and it found itself being inspected by a man with a round face and blue-edged spectacles.
"Jan got him for me."
"You and your cats! You could open a shop with all your cat stuff. At least this one's a cute little thing."
"It's just a shame he's such a sad cat."
"Sad? I wouldn't call it sad. It looks quite happy to me."
"Happy? Even Jan admitted he looked sad, and she..." The woman's voice trailed off. "Well, I'll be. He does look happy. I could have sworn... Maybe he likes looking out of the window."
"'Maybe he likes looking out of the window'," the man repeated. "It's not real, you know! I'm only surprised you haven't given it a name."
The ornament was placed back on the windowsill, and it gazed out as a butterfly fluttered by. There would be rain later, with dark clouds, and maybe even a rainbow. The little brown cat ornament was looking forward to that.
The end.
23rd March 2022.
===========
I hope you liked it!