Old Tom’s Bucket

Chapter 1: A Storm of Change

“A cool breezy day with chances of showers in the south. Temperatures are likely to reach…” Tom turned the television off and looked out at the heavens emptying outside.

“Chances of showers huh?” A light tapping grabbed his attention.

“Oh no!” He watched a small pool of water starting to form on top of his television. Within a matter of minutes he was standing in a living room full of basins, pots, pans and whatever container he could manage to find in the house. He was coping well until a particularly large drip started beside his chair. He got a bucket out of the boiler house and put it under the leak. He put a coat on and went about trying to block the leaks with dishcloths.

“Hope this rain lets up soon.” He said to no one in particular as he stretched to cover up a hole near the doorway. “Clank”

“What was that?” Tom turned to see nothing but pots and pans. His pocket felt lighter. He looked in the bucket and sure enough he found the source of the noise.

“Damn pockets. That was my bus money and everything. What else is going to go wrong today?” Lightning flashed, swiftly followed by a large thunderclap as if to answer him.

“Fine. If that’s the case then I’m going to bed and when I get up this had better have been a dream.” He shouted towards the ceiling. As he slammed the door shut an almighty crashing sound soon made him open it again. What was once his ceiling was now a charred hole letting in a large quantity of water. He checked the floor for his lower jaw as he stood there open mouthed. Tom quickly set about rescuing what he could from the room before shutting the door and going to bed hoping that the storm would let up by morning.

The warm rays of sunlight greeted him when he woke up the next morning. Still a bit groggy he entered the living room to see how bad the damage was. Seeing a pair of bright green eyes staring at him didn't surprise Tom that much. It was the voice that took him aback.

“Hello.” He shut the door, quickly rubbed his eyes then opened the door again.

“Hello again.” His eyes hadn’t deceived him. There was a small black cat standing on a table in his living room fixing his ceiling. Tom decided to play along for a while.

“Hi there. Just to get this straight. I am at this moment addressing a cat who is dressed as a decorator and is in the process of fixing my ceiling.” The cat nodded.

“Bout sums it up.”

“First things first. Am I insane?”

“Nope. Next question.”

“Should I trust a talking cat?”

“That’s up to you mate isn’t it.”

“Well you are doing a good job so I wont complain. Cup of tea or saucer of milk?”

“Saucer please.”

“I take it you will make everything clear when I get back?”

“If you want. I’m good with keeping the odd secret as well.”

“Sugar?”

“No. I’m happy enough.”

Tom returned with the saucer for the cat and a mug of tea for himself. He gulped it down like whiskey.

“Helps me cope with things. That and ginger snaps.”

“Just so long as they don’t get soggy.” The cat said between licks.

“Precisely.”

“Tell me about it.” It occurred to Tom that it was going to be one of the stranger days of his life.

“So just to get things going. Hi my name is Tom. Who are you?”

“I’m the cat. I thought that would have been obvious.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Only when I want one.”

“What is it when you do want one?”

“Star.”

“Well Star I’m very pleased to meet you.”

“The feeling is more then mutual. You freed me.”

“What are you exactly?”

“Have you ever heard of Jenkins Well?”

“The old wishing well that used to be in town?”

“Yes. Well I was linked to that place before they turned it into a car park. The bucket you have beside your chair is all that remains. You dropped change in and wished that this hadn’t happened so I was obliged to make with the mop and the magic.”

The cat watched as a thought crossed Tom’s face and worked its way down to his mouth.

“You’re a genie?”

“No I’m a cat.”

“You grant wishes though.”

“So does the toaster when you want toast. It doesn’t make that a genie.”

“You’re a magic cat then.” The cat swatted at its tail as if involved in a serious game.

“That’s close enough I suppose.”

“Do I get many wishes then?”

“I told you I’m not a genie. I can grant wishes but I’ll only do it if it suits me.”

“Sounds fair enough.”

“It is. You couldn’t pass me that brush could you?”

“Sure.” Tom handed the cat a long handled paintbrush and watched as she finished off the ceiling.

“Thanks for this.”

“Not at all.”

“I’m going to get dressed. Will you be here when I get back?”

“I’m always here. Wherever I am is always called here.” Tom decided not to think too hard about that one. He finished his tea and got dressed.

When he got back the room was completely fixed. Star was sitting in front of a fire, which she controlled to make a show of dancing fire mice.

“Hello again.”

“Shh. It’s just getting to the good bit.” Tom and Star watched in fascination as two mice made of fire had a sword fight to win the maiden mouse’s favour. When it was over Tom clapped. The cat gave a small bow.

“Thank you. Now to business. Firstly I’d better give you the trick wish.”

“Trick wish?”

“Yes. It’s in a few genie stories. You are meant to trick me into giving you a wish.”

“I am?”

“Aww you have to play the game better then that.”

“Ok. Like what?”

“Ah now that’s the spirit. Very tricky. Making me thing of your free wish for you like that. Nice.”

“Err yes it was.”

“However it’s not going to work.”

“Its not?”

“Nope. You have to make the wishes.”

Tom’s mind was blank. Then it came to him.

“You’re a magic cat.”

“So?”

“So any magic act I’ve ever seen so far has had a magic hat to hold things in.”

“You want a magic hat?”

“No. A magic bucket.”

“Be more specific.”

“You know. Like the magicians on T.V. Can you make it so that it can carry a lot of things so it never gets full and I can pull anything I want out of it like magic.”

“Hmm that could prove interesting. Ok done.”

“What? No magic spell?” The cat gave him a puzzled look.

“Why? Spells are only gibberish to say while the magic materialises your desires. The longer the spell, the weaker the magician.”

“You didn’t say anything though.”

“I know.”

“Wow.”

“Yep. I’m awesome.”

Tom looked at the bucket and gave Star a look of cautionary disbelief.

“It hasn’t been tested yet so save the trumpet blowing until it works.” The cat shrugged and sat on the end of the table.

“So what are you waiting for?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Looks painful”

“Quit it. Aha! Got it. There’s a lake near here. You coming?”

“Coming? I’m driving.”

“What? Why? How?”

“Two words my friend. Magic cat.”

“Fair enough. Let’s go” The two left the house and got into Tom’s car. Tom watched the cat look around.

“Forgot something? Like the keys?” Star looked over at Tom with a displeased look on her face.

“No. Never needed them before. It’s this car. Needs something.”

“What would that be?”

“This.” There was a brief flash in Tom’s vision as reality reshaped itself around him. In an instant his trusty rust bucket had been turned into a flashy sports car. The cat purred.

“Much better. Ok ready to navigate.?”

“Sure lets go.”

Thats all for now. It's been a while since I've worked on anything small. Still working on the second novel. That and dreaming are taking up a lot of time. However I have this story finished so its just a matter of typing it up. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Drop me a comment if you want. TTFN.
Cheers
Wolf