Faceless Night [Part 3].

***

The man remembers, fifteen years ago. Before he truly understood the curse. He walked among the lips of the pier, scavenging through the pile of trash left by the passengers. He found nothing except for the foaming ocean water. Then, his two pearl eyes fixated on a mother carrying her child on her left arm, and a bag of fresh fish on her right hand. His drool dripped, his eyes sharpened, and his long tail waved as a signal that he found his target. His paws stuck closer to the edge of the pier, and he leaped into the big ship that had just docked.

The ship's anchor protruded from the surface of the sea that started to turn reddish in the reflected light of sunset. The big ship departed, leaving its city behind. The city filled with narrow alleys, where he always ran to avoid being hit by broomsticks. Narrow alleys that had trash cans at each end, where he scavenged for food. The cat meowed and sniffed on the third floor deck of the ship, sharpening his sense of smell to trace the fresh fish aroma brought by the mother. It was complete, just five meters in front of him. The mother was sitting on the passenger seat, nursing her child. Now, he just had to wait for the pitch-black night.

It had been an hour and thirty minutes since the ship sailed calmly on the moonlit sea. Some passengers grouped themselves according to their age order. They suddenly greeted each other, getting to know each other, telling their origins and ethnicities. The elderly were busy discussing their youthful days, while the young people joked around while humming night songs.

It was not as dark as expected. Now the cat took a higher spot, on the roof of the third floor deck. He still caught the scent of fresh fish, guarding it not to be lost. His trick turned out not to be as easy as wagging his tail, which now just lay flat, stroking his hungry belly. He sat, gazing into the distance, occasionally looking up to let the moonlight's bias dip into his pearl- like eyes. He meowed loudly, asking the clouds to cover the moonlight. "Meeeooong...!"

Suddenly, the passengers fell silent, momentarily stopping their activities. They were quiet not because a cat was meowing on the roof, but because the ship's speed slowed down when the captain turned the steering wheel to make a turn. Then, from a distance, there was a faint sound like a trumpet. There were other ships across the port. The lights of the ships sparkled like fireflies, lining up and shining along the beach's lips. Confirming that the destination was close, a destination to another city.

The cat squinted, its ears perked up, sharpening its hearing. Restless, the fish might not be eaten. It leaped and ran towards the deck, keeping an eye on the passengers' area. The fish bag was still there, among the rows of long benches. It was time for dinner. Nobody cared, not even the owner who had already fallen asleep with their child. The cat crept among the slouching passengers' legs, finally getting a big chunk of fresh fish. It sharpened its claws, clawing at the bag until it tore open. The cat was angry because the ship was slowing down to dock, and the bag was still intact. It bit into the bag, its fangs piercing the surface. It tasted the fish's fat mixed with its own saliva, and continued to scratch at it. But then the mother woke up, finding her child urinating, peeing on the black fish bag. The cat, now wet with urine, was trying to steal the fish.

The owner of the fish grabbed the black cat by the scruff of its neck before it could get any of the fresh fish. The cat meowed, writhing helplessly, resigned to being thrown into the sea, where giant fish like hammerhead sharks with fangs larger than the ones it had been proud of on land, lived. "Meow... meow..." Its skinny body hung like wet clothes on a clothesline, while the ship continued to dock and its body swayed before being thrown onto the beach. Its life didn't end with being eaten by a shark.

He walked brokenly, holding his body that felt crushed. Crushed by the impact against the mangrove trunk from the three-story ship. His stomach wasn't just hungry, but really torn apart. Now he had arrived in an unnamed foreign city. Looking along the empty beach, his body shivered from cold and pain. Pain because several black fur hairs peeled off and got stuck on the tree branches. He continued to walk unsteadily, thirsty. "Meow" (to hell with the salty sea water), there was no hope other than the sea water licking the shore.

Until he tried to drink it, descending the gentle slope of the beach. He found his face reflected in the waves of the tide that touched the shore. So thin, so pale, even his pearl eyes didn't seem to sparkle, just stuck on his black face. He tasted the sea water with the tip of his tongue like tasting rain puddles in the narrow alleys of the city. He hesitated. The first sip made him look up at the full moon, the second sip he stared at the foam of the sea, the third sip he couldn't believe it, sniffing the sea water. "Meow", the waves hit again. The land wind blew, hitting his tail. He still couldn't believe it, he chewed the beach sand, his throat choked, "meekhkhhhooong" (this is indeed beach sand). Now he believed in his disbelief, "sea water doesn't taste salty!"

.....

Continue to part 4.