Grace by Morris Gleitzman

Author:Morris Gleitzman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781742286488
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2014-09-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

On my first day in the new house I needed some advice, so I had a word with God.

I told Him I was very grateful to have my own bedroom, even though I was finding being locked in it doing Bible solitary since breakfast a bit frustrating.

‘Please don’t take that personally,’ I said.

I asked God to forgive Grandpop and the other church elders for punishing Dad by hiding us in a secret house.

‘I don’t think they realise how mean they’re being,’ I said. ‘And pig-headed.’

Finally I asked God a question.

‘When you’re locked in an upstairs room,’ I said, ‘and you can’t see any street signs out the window, and you couldn’t see any last night when you arrived because it was dark, and you couldn’t memorise the route from your old house because you didn’t recognise any landmarks after the Breezy Whale carwash, how can you find out the address of the new house so Dad knows where to come when he’s ready to be meek and obedient?’

It was a difficult question, but I knew God was used to those.

I thanked God for listening. Almost immediately He gave me an idea and I got busy. For I remembered what Dad had taught me. Don’t sit back and wait for God to do it all. Ask for His advice, but be prepared to do the hard yakka yourself.

Which I was.

I turned to page one of the Bible. Dad reckoned the Bible was more a book of advice than a book of rules, and I was pretty sure that somewhere in it I’d find the clue I needed.

When I was halfway down page two, I heard a faint tinkling sound. I looked around the room. Outside the window, crouching on the ledge and staring at me through the glass, was a kitten.

My first thought was that the poor thing was in danger. It was high up. If it slipped and fell …

I was sure God cared about animals as much as humans, but there wasn’t a lot He could do once they were airborne.

I went to the window and carefully slid it open, trying not to scare the kitten. It was a beautiful colour, sort of yellowy gold, like a little lion.

‘Hello,’ I said. ‘You’re a good climber.’

There was a tree overhanging the house, but the kitten didn’t seem in a hurry to go back down.

‘Come in,’ I said.

Before I could pick it up, it jumped over my hands and onto my bed.

‘Make yourself at home,’ I said.

The tinkling was coming from a bell around its neck. As I reached out to stroke the kitten, I noticed something else hanging from its collar. A small metal disc with engraved words.

I looked more closely.

It was an address.

28 Spinoza Crescent, Clayton Lakes.

The kitten was staring up at me like it was waiting for something to happen. My brain to start working, for example.

Of course.

Spinoza Crescent must be the street we were in. If the kitten lived next door in number 28, I was in either number 26 or number 30.

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