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‘I don’t know,’ said Arthur hanging his head, catching sight of the cat, who he was sure was grinning at him.
‘I don’t know, either! Now, get out of my sight while I decide what to do with you.’
And without needing to be told twice, Arthur grabbed his things and hurried back to the house.
‘So maybe you were right, Cat. Maybe it really can’t be opened,’ whispered Arthur, having crept up to the attic to avoid being seen.
‘A box that can’t be opened. It doesn’t sound very likely, or very useful, does it?’
‘What? You’ve gone and changed your tune.’
‘I never said it couldn’t be opened. I said that maybe we shouldn’t be trying to open it. Also, the more I think about the inscription on it, the more I think it sounds like a riddle.’
‘A riddle?’
‘Yep. And as you know, there’s nothing us cats love more than a good riddle. Especially when it’s raining and a small group of us have gotten together to pass the time.’
Arthur glanced at him in amazement.
‘What? Don’t tell me that you didn’t know that.’
‘Um, well I…’
‘See—just goes to show how much you don’t know about cats.’
‘Actually, I always thought that cats didn’t like each other much,’ said Arthur, recalling all the times he’d watched his cat seeing off the neighbours’ cat.
‘Ah well now, there’s an interesting theme for a discussion. I’m guessing that it also never occurred to you that we’ve had to come up with ways to amuse ourselves over the years? No offence intended of course, but you humans aren’t exactly the most interesting creatures to be around most of the time. I bet, for instance, you never knew that cats just adore theatre; re-enactments of legendary battles between cats and dragons, or the exploits of the great Catiators of Roman times. And yes, thats right, it was us cats who invented the whole gladiators idea and all that stuff. You just copied us as usual.’
Arthur stared at him, more than a bit confused.
‘Catiators? …So what about that big ginger next door, then?’
‘Fluffy? What about him?’
‘Fluffy? He’s not called Fluffy. He’s called Brutus.’
‘You call him Brutus, yes, but his name is actually Fluffy. Fine fellow, actually.’
‘Fluffy!’ repeated Arthur, trying not to laugh.
‘Sure, what else would it be?’
‘What, and he’s really your friend?’
‘Of course he is, and a very fine riddler, too.’
‘Woah! Hang on a second. If the cat next door is called Fluffy by other cats, what do they call you?’
‘That my dear fellow, I will never tell!’
‘Oh, come on! It can’t be that bad.’
‘No, it’s not at all bad, but it’s my business, and my name is private to me.’
‘Oh, come on, Cat. You can’t be serious. You’re really not going to tell me?’
‘Nope—not for all the roast chicken in China!’
‘Fine, suit yourself, then,’ Arthur said, not even trying to disguise how offended he felt at that moment. ‘I’m sure it’s very silly, anyway. I bet they call you Biffy, or Mini Mouse or something.’
‘Ha! Nice try, but no.’
‘Whatever, not that interested anyway.’
‘Yeah, sure you’re not.’
‘So, anyway, if you’re so good at riddles, what do you think this one means? “To open what is both known yet unknown, speak this word times three.”’
‘Well,’ replied the cat, stretching himself out full-length on the floor. ‘I didn’t exactly say that I was really good at them. I mean, I’m not bad, and now that you mention it, I’m pretty good, but not the best… No, probably not the best.’
‘Soooo?’
‘So, hold your horses. These things take time. I need to think about it.’
‘Oh, Cat!’
‘Arthur? Who <<are >>you talking to?’
His mother’s head had just appeared at the top of the stairs. She was still looking angry, her long dark hair tied back, only serving to emphasise her stern look even more.
‘Hmm?’ he asked, not having a clue how he was supposed to answer that.
‘I asked who you were talking to? The cat again, I suppose?’
‘I guess.’
‘Right, well, that settles it then. I’m going to call your friend Lizzy’s mother and invite them over at last. You’ve really been spending too much time running wild by yourself this summer. I always thought she was very sensible for her age.
‘Wild?’ he mumbled after she’d gone. All he ever did was go fishing at the lake. There was nothing wild about that. As for Lizzy though, well, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. She was smart. She might even be able to help them figure out this box thing.
‘So, what about Lizzy, then?’ he whispered.
‘I know what you’re thinking, but we don’t need any help.’
‘But I thought you liked her? You always sit with her when she comes.’
‘That’s because she’s warm and scratches my ears very nicely. Which, incidentally, is something you could learn to do better. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and see a cat about a riddle.’
And getting up, Cat sauntered off in the direction of the stairs.
3
Speak This Word
When Arthur awoke the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that the cat wasn’t anywhere to be found. Guessing it probably meant that he was still ‘riddling’ with the big ginger next door, and having caught wind that Aunty M was readying a long list of things for him to do, he’d fled upstairs to the attic to try and delay the inevitable.
Hiding in a part of the room that couldn’t be seen from the stairs, he placed the box on the floor in front of him and sat staring at it.
‘You know, I bet you turn out to be a whole lot of nothing,’ he said, finally picking it up. The longer he gazed at it, the more foolish he started to feel for wantingto believe that it could be anything more than just some ordinary little box. Feeling annoyed with himself, he was about to throw it in a drawer but stopped.
<<No, wait! What about everything that has already happened?… It can’t all be coincidental, can it? That weird white light; my hands; suddenly being able to talk to the cat; the hole in the tracks; the fish; the box; the reports of the men looking for it.>>
‘They’ve all got to be connected somehow. But how?’ he asked out loud.
‘You do know, right, that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness?’ meowed the cat, strolling into the room at that moment.
‘Ha ha, where’ve you been?’
‘Busy solving the greatest riddle that never actually was.’
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You’ll see when I tell you the answer. Fluffy and I have solved it. Well, it was more me than Fluffy. I’m sure even he would agree.’
<<‘So?’>>
‘Well, it was really just staring us right in the whiskers the whole time.’
‘Great, but I’ve been staring at it all morning, and I didn’t feel it staring at my whiskers.’
‘That’s because you’ve been looking without really looking.’
Arthur rolled his eyes. ‘Brilliant! OK, and…?’
‘Hmm?’ asked the cat, distracted by a small beetle scurrying across the floor.
‘C’mon, what’s the answer?’
‘Oh, that. Just say “open” three times.’
‘What—that’s it?!’
‘I told you it was simple.’
‘Just a bit!’ <<Could it really be so simple?>> he wondered, shaking his head. ‘Well, I guess we should try it, at least.’
‘Yep, right—off you go then!’ said the cat, forgetting about the insect all of a sudden, and beating a hasty retreat towards the stairs.
Watching him from the corner of his eye, Arthur cupped the box in his hands and held them out in front of him.
‘So, I’m just going to say “open” three times, then.’
‘Yep. Three times ought to do it.’
‘OK, here we go. <<Open!>>’
The cat had reached the top.
‘<<Open!>>’ he said again.
Arthur could feel his hands beginning to shake with excitement and his heart racing.
‘<<Open!… >>Cat! Why are you—’
Suddenly, the little box shot into the air, freezing halfway between the floor and the ceiling. Snapping open, a bright white light like he’d seen the night of the storm spilled out of it, filling the room instantly. Coloured spheres began to materialise everywhere. And between them, countless shining points. Arthur, mesmerised by what was happening, ducked as a small green-and-blue sphere appeared just above his head.
‘Cat…’
‘I’m here… I see them!’ he meowed dreamily.
‘What are they?’
‘I have no idea. But they’re <<soooo>> pretty.’
A moment later, the room was plunged into darkness. The coloured spheres, the points of light, continuing to shine, now appeared to be grouped into clusters.
‘Cat! I think I’ve got it! I know what this is! They’re planets, suns, and stars. I saw something like this when I was at the planetarium. It’s got to be a map—a star map! And look over there, there’s some kind of writing near one of the groups. See?’
‘Yes, yes, I see. What’s it say?’ he whispered, coming closer and trying to catch one of the spheres with a paw.
‘I don’t know, but they look like symbols of some sort. I reckon it must mean that there’s something special about those planets.’
‘You mean like a warning not to ever go there.’
‘That’d be weird, don’t you think?’
‘Not really.’
‘But, if it is a map, then where did it come from? And how did it get to Earth?’
‘And who put it at the bottom of a lake?’
‘Or on that weird train that blew up?’
‘If it really was on that train!’
‘What? Of course it was on the train. Don’t you think it’s a bit of a coincidence that it fell into the lake exactly on the night of the bright light, which was also when it looks like it blew up?’
