‘No,’ said Lukas. ‘I’m not ill.’
‘Are you hungry?’ she asked.
Lukas tested. He wasn’t really hungry. But if he was going to run away, he needed to eat. He followed his mum into the kitchen.
It was already late afternoon. Lukas heard Whirlwind slamming the front door then rushing into the kitchen to get something from the fridge. Shortly afterwards the front door slammed again. Whirlwind was always in a hurry. It was as if he always needed to whirl around in order to do everything he wanted to do.
Lukas felt a bit jealous, and wished he were the one who whirled around in the world. He didn’t like being a Lukas who sat around in his room not knowing what to do in order to run away.
But run away is what he did. Shortly after Axel had come home. He’d made a few sandwiches and put them in his red rucksack. He’d also packed a tin of cat food, his piggy bank containing thirty-two kronor, a compass he’d been given by Whirlwind, and his pillow. He didn’t have room for a blanket. But he didn’t think he’d be able to leave home without his pillow.
He sneaked out of the front door, climbed over the fence at the back of the house, adjusted his rucksack, took a deep breath, and said aloud to himself: ‘Now I’ve run away!’
He didn’t know what to do next. Which direction should he take? Should he head for town, or for the forest? Should he tiptoe along, or walk normally? Could anybody tell by looking at him that he’d run away?
Dusk had slowly started to set in. Dark clouds were hanging over the forest in the far distance.
He decided to walk towards town. Partly because it would probably start raining soon, but also because it was light in the town’s streets. He thought that Night surely couldn’t be so stupid as to be hiding away in the forest, where Lukas would never be able to find him. Night was a clever cat.
Now and then Lukas would turn round to see if his mum or dad had come looking for him in the car. But there were hardly any cars on the road at all. It was such an unpleasant evening that only those who had run away from home were out in the streets. Lukas thought that all the people he passed, and the ones he saw behind the wheel of the few cars on the road, were running away. Perhaps certain evenings were running away evenings? When only those running away needed to be out and about?
He could see the town lights in the distance. Soon he would come to the dual carriageway that led into town. He wondered if he’d have the strength to walk as far as that? Maybe he’d have to stop and sleep by the roadside?
The thought that he might have to sleep out in the open gave him stomachache. Would he be brave enough to do that? And where would he sleep? He couldn’t simply lie down on the pavement. Should he see if he could find one of those places they called hotels? He knew that you could sleep in a hotel if you had enough money. That thought made him feel a bit happier. Besides, he had his own pillow with him. He’d tell the people at the hotel that he only needed a sheet and a duvet. That would make them realise they were dealing with somebody who knew what to do when they were running away.
It was a long way to town. But Lukas kept on walking and walking. He occasionally stopped and looked around, to see if Night was following him. But the only animal he saw was a dog on a lead, with an old lady.
It was dark now, and it had started drizzling. Lukas tried to walk a bit faster, so that he would get to town before it started pouring down. It also occurred to him that his mum and dad must have begun to wonder where he was. He’d normally be in bed by this time. He noticed that he was starting to feel tired.
He eventually came to the edge of town. By then, he was so sleepy that he had to sit down on a bench and rest. He nearly fell asleep on the spot. In order to stay awake, he ate one of the sandwiches he’d taken with him in his rucksack. Then he set off walking again. Now it was light everywhere, from all the shop windows. He suddenly gave a start and stopped dead. In one of the big windows was a big black cat, sitting there and looking at him. When he went to examine it more closely, he saw it was made of porcelain.
That’s a clue, he thought. That means that Night is here in town somewhere.
He wanted to know what time it was. He stopped at a hot dog stall and hid in the shadows until there were no customers. Then he went to ask the time. He had to stand on tiptoe in order to see over the counter.
‘A quarter to nine,’ said a girl chewing gum. ‘Do you want a hot dog?’
‘No,’ said Lukas. Thank you very much.’
‘Thank you for what?’ she said angrily, closing the hatch.
Lukas hurried away. He’d been a bit scared of that girl. Maybe people who lived in the town didn’t like people who had run away from home and asked about the time without buying anything?
He started looking for a hotel. If he was going to have enough strength to run further away, he must soon get some sleep. He trudged along street after street, and soon was so tired that he almost burst out crying. He’d never have the strength to walk back home — and besides, he didn’t even know how to get there. He’d lost his sense of direction ages ago, wandering from street to street. He started to have nasty thoughts about Night, who’d caused all this trouble by running away from Lukas.
He eventually came to a big square where he could see a building with a large sign saying Hotel. It was a big house with lots of lit-up windows. Music was playing, and lots of people were sitting at tables, eating. He sat down on the steps, took out his piggy bank, opened it and counted up his money. He’d been right, he had thirty-two kronor.
Then he went in through the big doors. The room he’d come into was very large. And full of people rushing back and forth. Somebody was laughing very loudly, somebody else was using a telephone, and speaking a language Lukas didn’t understand. A man was standing behind a high counter, handing keys to people who came up to him. Lukas waited until there was nobody waiting there, then he plucked up courage and went there himself. The counter was so high that he could barely reach up to it this time either.
‘I want to sleep,’ he said to the man with the keys. ‘I have my own pillow.’
The man behind the counter didn’t hear him. Lukas said it again, but a bit louder. Still the man with the keys didn’t hear.
So he shouted.
‘I want to sleep. I have my own pillow.’
The man behind the desk gave a start. Then he noticed Lukas.
‘What did you say?’ he asked.
Lukas said it yet again.
The man eyed him thoughtfully up and down. Then he put his glasses on and leaned over the counter to take a closer look at Lukas.
‘How old are you?’ he asked.
Lukas thought it was best to be polite.
‘I’m seven,’ he said. ‘My name’s Lukas and I’m looking for my cat. I need to sleep now. I have my own pillow with me. And I have thirty-two kronor. I can pay.’
The man looked serious, and nodded.
‘I’m sure you can,’ he said. ‘I think you’d better come back here with me so that we can talk a bit more about it.’
He opened a little door under the counter and beckoned Lukas into a back room with a bed, a table and a television set.
‘So you’re out looking for your cat, are you?’
‘It’s run away,’ said Lukas.
‘And so you’re out tonight, looking for it?’
Lukas thought it might be best to tell him the facts.
‘I’ve run away,’ he said. ‘If you’re going to be able to find a cat that’s run away, you have to run away yourself.’
The man nodded.
‘I see,’ said the man. ‘Where do you live when you’re not running away?’