Chapter 14
The rest of that summer passed quietly for Mrs. Keller and Jake, who appeared to be getting better emotionally after the murder of his mom. He and Casey seemed inseparable. The boy never spoke about his feelings and Mrs. Keller was alright with that.
After all, Jake was only ten, and if he seemed to be coping with it, she didn’t want to upset him by discussing it with him.
He and Casey would go and play in the field together, Casey chasing butterflies as most kittens like to do, and Jake would lay there in the sun, watching his friend and laughing as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Late one afternoon, Jake decided to go for a walk by the stream.He was throwing stones into the brook when something at the edge of the water caught his eye. It was a small pile of bones and feathers. He wondered what it could have been from, and then, with a rush of vivid remembrance, he saw himself breaking the bird’s neck as if it had just happened.
He recoiled and shuddered at the thought and the image disappeared as quickly as it had come to him. He went to play with Casey, having forgotten about the bird again.
Jake played for another hour and returned home for dinner. When he came in, Mrs. Keller looked at him lovingly, thinking how strong Jake was to be able to come through all he had endured.
On outward appearances, it did appear that Jake was readjusting to life in Mrs. Keller’s home. It was however, that shortly after Jake found the bird in the stream, that the cats in the neighborhood started disappearing again.
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