Pagan Portals--Stories for the Songs of the Year by Fiona Tinker

Author:Fiona Tinker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
Published: 2020-09-07T00:00:00+00:00

Visitors, Cats and Lost Keys

A complaining, roaring voice broke the silence of a beautiful dawn, scaring the two small friends who had been peacefully watching the colours change in the sky as the sun got out of bed.

“What’s going on now?” asked Meg, the cat with half a tail.

“Not a clue,” answered Attila the Bun, “but this looks like it is going to be interesting!”

Both animals stared in fascination as the old woman of winter, The Cailleach, banged on the ground with her hammer whilst cursing really loudly in God-speak. Everywhere the hammer struck, the ground froze over and snow appeared. Her naughty words made ice in the air.

“I don’t think she’s very happy,” said Meg.

“Is she ever?” laughed Attila.

Meanwhile, The Cailleach became angrier and noisier. The winds howled in reply to her but whatever their answers were, she did not seem pleased with them. She threw her hammer on the ground and stomped off in the direction of the faery mound.

Now that the noise of winter had gone, Attila and Meg became aware of different noises. There was a shuffling and a shifting in the undergrowth, as if someone was kicking old leaves aside and shaking branches. And there was a quieter sound. It was the sound of someone crying.

“Unbelievable!” exclaimed Attila, “all we wanted to do was watch the sunrise! Now we’re right back in an adventure.”

Meg smiled his biggest cat smile. He liked the sound of this. They both headed off in the direction of the new noises. They were delighted to see Angus Óg and Bride. But something was wrong.

Angus looked worried. His normally cheerful face had a frown as he pushed aside the undergrowth. It seemed he was desperately looking for something. A little way away, Bride searched the low-hanging branches of trees. It was she who was crying.

Attila had the biggest soft-spot in his little rabbit heart for Bride and he did not like to see her crying. He did not like it one little bit. He hopped over to her and rubbed his head gently against her ankles, sending her love and comfort. Bride picked him up and held him close to her.

“What’s wrong?” asked Attila, quietly.

“I’ve lost something,” sobbed Bride, “something really important. And I can’t find it.”

“The Cailleach can’t find it either,” said Angus Óg. “We’d know if she did. We’d all know if she’d found it because she’d send winter back if she had.”

“What is it you’ve lost?” asked Meg.

“A key – it’s a golden key of balance,” answered Bride. The summer Goddess of Scotland started weeping again.

“Can you retrace your steps?” asked Meg. “When my human loses her keys, she walks around the house talking to herself until she finds them. She says things like: ‘I definitely had them in my hands when I was in the kitchen’ and then she’ll say something like: ‘Stupid woman! Who on earth puts their keys in the refrigerator?’ Would that help?”

Bride smiled a little at this. “It’s a lovely idea, Meg. But Gods don’t need refrigerators, so I’m not sure that would work for me.

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