He still didn’t understand why Night had run away. But perhaps he’d get a reply from him? Perhaps Night was so remarkable that he could transform his miaows into a sort of words that Lukas would be able to understand. Maybe Night would be able to hold a pen in his paw and write letters. Why not? Were there any limits to what that remarkable cat could do?
Lukas decided on the spot to go home and write another letter. Maybe the secret postman would come back again tonight as well? He felt an urge to tell his mum what had happened. She would have to help him to write the next letter.
Now he could start thinking seriously about starting school, despite everything. It didn’t feel so bad, now that he knew Night would soon receive his greeting. He’d soon be sitting with the photograph of Lukas in his paws. Maybe he’d even regret having run away? Lukas wondered if it might be possible for him to create a sort of mini rainy-weather land for Night in his room. If he hung a watering can from the ceiling, it could create showers to fall on Night. Would that be enough?
He started running towards the gate. He was in a hurry. There was so much he needed to do! Now! Straight away!
Just as he was opening the gate, Whirlwind came speeding up on his skateboard. He had some of his friends with him.
‘Have you found the cat?’ Whirlwind shouted.
‘No,’ said Lukas. He didn’t want to tell him how he’d sent a letter to Rainy-Weather Land. Whirlwind and his friends might think that was a childish thing to do, and start asking awkward questions. It was best to say nothing at all.
‘We’re going to start building a skateboard track now,’ said Whirlwind. ‘Guess where it’s going to be!’
Lukas only liked guessing when he was sure he was right. But he had no idea where Whirlwind and his friends were going to build their track. So he said nothing.
‘There,’ said Whirlwind, pointing.
Lukas followed the direction indicated by Whirlwind’s finger — and had a terrible shock.
Whirlwind was pointing straight at the old currant bush.
‘It’s a good place,’ said Whirlwind. ‘We’ll pull down that old bush. Then we can build our track.’
‘But you can’t,’ said Lukas, and he felt a lump in his throat, growing bigger and bigger.
‘Why can’t we?’ asked Whirlwind. ‘Just wait and see. We’re off now to get some of the wood we need for making the track.’
And they raced away.
Lukas stared after them. Now all his joy had vanished again. Why did they have to build their track in the very place where the currant bush was standing? Surely that wasn’t possible? It was Night’s place, and nobody was allowed to touch it.
Lukas didn’t know what to do next. How could he explain to Whirlwind that they would have to build their track somewhere else?
What should he do? How could he defend his currant bush. All by himself? Night would never come back if the currant bush was no longer there.
He tried to think of a solution. The currant bush was wild. That must mean that nobody owned it. Maybe he could buy it for the thirty-two kronor he’d saved up. But who should he pay if nobody owned the bush? Could you say that it was Night’s bush because he was the only one who used it? But Night was missing, of course. And Night was only a cat. No, that was no good. He must think of something else.
He walked slowly over to the currant bush. There were only a few dried up, half-rotten currants left, on the end of one of the branches.
‘It’s not possible,’ he said to himself. ‘Whirlwind can’t be allowed to pull down the currant bush. If he does, Night will never come back.’
Although it was damp on the ground, Lukas sat down. How would he be able to defend the currant bush? When he was on his own, and up against all Whirlwind’s gang?
Dad, he thought. He’ll understand. He’ll have to help me. We’ve been out in the forest together, and talked. He knows what it’s like to love a cat more than anything else in the world.
Lukas stood up and went indoors.
‘Do you still not want any breakfast?’ asked his mother.
‘I’m not hungry,’ said Lukas.
It wasn’t true. He was hungry. But he didn’t think it was right to eat when somebody was going to destroy Night’s currant bush.
‘Are you ill?’ his mum wondered.
‘No,’ said Lukas. ‘I just want to be left alone.’
Beatrice looked hard at him, but she didn’t say anything. She left him alone with his thoughts.
Lukas sat down on a chair by the window and looked out. He hadn’t bothered to take his boots off. There was a pool of dirty water on the floor, but he didn’t care.
I hope it takes a long time, he thought. I hope it takes ages and ages for Whirlwind and his friends to collect all the wood they need for the skateboard track. I hope they don’t have enough money to pay for it all. I hope, hope, hope... But most of all he hoped that they wouldn’t have time to dig up the bush before his dad came home for his evening meal.
Lukas was so nervous that he had stomachache. He couldn’t sit still on the chair any longer, and went to the kitchen.
‘Is Dad coming home for dinner tonight?’ he asked his mum.
‘Haven’t you taken your boots off?’ she said. ‘Look, there’s dirt all over the floor!’
‘Is Dad coming home for dinner?’ Lukas asked again.
Beatrice looked at him and frowned. Lukas couldn’t tell if she was angry or worried.
‘What’s the matter with you?’ she wondered.
‘Nothing,’ said Lukas. ‘I just want to know if Dad’s coming home for dinner tonight.’
‘He’s coming home for dinner as usual,’ said Beatrice. ‘Why ever shouldn’t he?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Lukas. ‘But I need to talk to him.’
‘Can’t you talk to me just as well?’
‘No,’ said Lukas. ‘Only Dad understands this.’
To avoid having to answer any more questions, he went back to the chair by the window. But first he took his boots off in the hall.
Whirlwind and his friends still hadn’t come back. But there was a long time to go before his dad would drive his lorry back home for dinner.
Would he get back in time?
Lukas waited. And waited. And waited.
Nothing happened. He occasionally went to ask his mum what time it was.
Nothing happened.
Then everything happened all at once.
First, Lukas saw to his horror that Whirlwind and his friends had arrived, pulling a barrow laden with planks of wood. Then he saw his dad’s lorry approaching from the other direction. He shouted out loud and jumped up from the chair. Then he ran out into the garden to welcome his dad. He forgot to put his boots on. But all that mattered was the currant bush. Would his dad understand that it had to stay? Or would Whirlwind get permission to pull it down?
Eleven
Sometimes, Lukas simply couldn’t understand how he’d had the courage to do what he had done. Like now, when he ran through the garden in his stockinged feet then started jumping up and down and flailing with his arms in front of his dad, who had stopped dead in astonishment. Lukas tried to explain what was happening, but he was in such a hurry that he mixed everything up. The words whirred round and round inside his mouth and came tumbling out in the wrong order. He could see that his dad hadn’t a clue what was going on. That only made Lukas all the more excited. He started again from the beginning, but Axel merely shook his head.
‘I don’t know what you’re on about,’ he said. ‘And why are you running around the garden with no shoes on? What do you think your mum would say if she saw you?’
‘Whirlwind is going to cut down the currant bush,’ Lukas yelled. ‘But he can’t, because it’s Night’s. How will Night be able to find his way home if the currant bush isn’t there any longer? They’ll have to build their track somewhere else.’