Monday, September 21, 2009

Three Russian Winters ago............(jk)

Three Winters ago I was living in a small rented room in Shabolvskaya in South Moscow. It was a Stalin building, built in 1951. It was a cold November night, outside it was -29.c. The windows are closed in winter and taped over with masking tape to stop draughts. Just the tiny little window at the top can be opened to let air in sometimes.
It was dark, I was lying on my bed watching the candle flicker and splutter. The neighbours were quiet. They must have been asleep or out.
I heard an unearthly screeching howling noise from outside. It was like a cat being mutilated.
My head just about fit through the small rectangular top window. Below in the snow I saw four dogs, each holding the leg of a black cat and pulling outwards, splaying it. The cat continued its black howl, but now seemed to be sobbing softly as it’s life dripped out of it’s thin ribs onto the snow. A fifth dog arrived, and bit the middle, I heard the crunch. There was a final sound like the last dregs of air seeping from a bagpipe, the dogs continued to hold the splayed cat, five black tails now wagging . They huddled together, snuffling slurping noises from the feast. Next morning I checked the snow but there were no traces, bones, nothing. Fresh white snow had fallen and covered the ground.

JK – 2009, Sept.

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