YOU'RE ALL MINE - ch 7

YOU’RE ALL MINE - ch 7

(the magic of Midnight)

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Mia carefully read Finola’s book on Ley lines and realized they were much more than the lines indicating longitude and latitude. If you knew where you were going, jumping a line was as easy as breathing. Jump on a wrong one, and, well? You could end up in Timbuktu or at a sudden stop that propelled you in a sprawling fall which resulted in you lying flat on your face. If Mia were truly serious about learning how to jump a line, she’d have to fiercely study Finola’s book and experiment, but not without heeding her great aunt’s warning: “until you have excelled at jumping a line, never go without me.”

The frisky feline curled and lifted her tail upward and began jumping from side to side but to Mia’s mind, it looked as though Midnight was dancing.

“Hey, Cat!” Mia called out playfully, “What on earth are you doing? You can’t be in pain since you’re not screeching so what’s going on?”

“Hey, girl!”, Midnight answered in return. “I’m jumpin’ in the line! See?” and Midnight started singing, “Hey, hey hey, Senora!”

Mia laughed. “You silly feline! Jump a line is not jumping in the line. And where did you hear that old song, anyway? I think my parents used to dance to that when they were my age!”

“Oh, Mia, mo chailin daor (my dear girl)! Familiars know everything there is to know about who we are attached to. How else can we protect you?”

“Protect me? Midnight, so far, because we talk to each other, I’ve gotten weird looks from people because I keep forgetting they can’t hear you. You almost got me in trouble in school because you wouldn’t stay out of the classrooms. You had to break your code of silence to let the teachers know who and what you are. Then my parents had a hissy fit when we raced in the house, and I accidentally slammed the door behind us. You keep jumping on me at five in the morning to wake me up. And I might add, that’s long before the sun comes up. You’ve chased Mickey’s little puppy into exhaustion. So, you want to tell me again, how it is you’re protecting me? Midnight, you’re more of a frisky little prankster than a protector. I love you, but where’s your sense of humility?”

Midnight raised her stiffened tail in a sign of arrogance and said, “I’m a cat! I don’t do humility. Cat’s, in general, are never humble, we’re proud. And let’s face it, Mia, mo ghra (my love), as aggravating as I can be, I’ve made you laugh. Oh, and who was it that pushed you out of the way when that crazy O’Malley boy came racing down the road and almost crashed into you with his bike. I shouldn’t need to remind you that this is a private road, and he had no business being here. Who was it who chased the mouse from the kitchen? I could go on, Mia, but you get my point.”

“Francis O’Malley came down this road to make a delivery from the pharmacy to Uncle Ian. He still had a few other deliveries to make and wanted to get them done before his suppertime. That mouse? That wasn’t a mouse, Midnight. It was a gerbil. Uncle Ian brought it here to show my mom. He thought she might help Aunt Liz with a special formula to ease the animal’s stomach problems. The poor little thing almost had a heart attack when you jumped at it and screeched like your lungs were on fire. You really need to be more careful.”

“Mia, I’ll try, but remember, I’m not even a year old yet. I’m still in the fun stage of my life.”

“Midnight, no matter how young you want to try and convince me you are, you will never truly be young. You walk, talk, and act like a fourteen-year-old boy, never mind a nine-month-old female kitten. Enough of that for now. It’s time to get to Aintin Finola’s house.”

She picked up her familiar, sprouted her wings and flew, while Midnight meowed the entire short distance. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Midnight. It was only a short trip, and I didn’t go fast. You sure are a scaredy cat. What are you going to do when I start jumping lines?”

As Mia lit down on Finola’s front porch, Midnight’s body stopped shaking. Mia laughed. “If you weren’t a cat, I’d swear your face turned greet and you looked like you wanted to vomit.”

Before she could knock, Finola opened her door, reached out and pulled Mia and Midnight into her house. Hugging her niece she said, “I see you took my advice and didn’t try to jump a line. Good girl.”

“Aintin, until I have a clue as to where they are and how to use them, I’m just going to go along with you.”

“Good. Now, to make the ride on the lines a bit easier, I’ve made something for Draiocht an Mhean Oihce (Midnight Magic).” She walked over to her kitchen table and picked up what Mia thought looked like a papoose.

“Aintin, is that what it looks like?”

“Yes, my love, but it’s slightly different. Here, let me show you how to put it on.”

She explained how Mia would place her familiar in the pouch that was sewn in the inside back of the papoose, then sitting down, Mia would wrap the straps around her shoulders as if the papoose were a backpack but cross them behind her back and tie them at the front of her waist.

“In time, my dear, Midnight will learn how to crawl in and out of the pouch while you have it on. Come on, now. Time for your first lesson. Let’s go jump a line. Where would you like to go?”

Without thinking of a ley line, Midnight hollered out for both Mia and Finola to hear, “Let’s go to the fish market! I’m hungry!”