The sun's rays painfully pierced Tabby's eyes, full of tears. She could not believe that such a wonderfully magical night had ended just like this. But with each step, the tears diminished. And as she approached her father's house, she stubbornly tossed her head and wiped her eyes. She tried with all her might to preserve her pride, and even more so she did not want anyone at home to recognize anything. She hesitantly went inside. It was still too early and the house would be quiet. The celebration must have dragged on until late at night. With great reluctance, she glanced at several pairs of strange shoes, which indicated that a few guests had stayed for the night. She slowly walked up the stairs to her room. She was so absorbed in her thoughts about the previous evening that she did not even notice the shadow that flashed nearby in the darkness of the hallway. She suddenly flinched because she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She turned around sharply and grinned... Now...
"Good morning, forget-me-not, see, the stray cat is back... how was it, did you enjoy yourself? I hope there's some cream left for me too..." She snorted contemptuously and shook his hand off her shoulder.
"It's none of your business, and anyway, I'm tired, I'm going to lie down..."
"Tired? And what for, are you trying to tell me that this cripple is so good that he didn't let you sleep all night?"
She widened her eyes at him.
"What do you dare to do? You're disgusting! What right do you have to call him that? Who do you think you are and what do you want from me?" she squealed angrily. He gritted his teeth and painfully grabbed her hand again.
"Now I want the same thing you gave him..." He pushed her with force towards her room. She struggled in vain.
"Let go, do you hear? Leave me alone!"
"But, forget-me-not, I don't want it that much," he hissed angrily and slammed the door behind them.
Before she knew it, she was lying on the bed and with horror she felt Ted's body and his awakened desire on her. She felt like a trapped bird, she desperately struggled and screamed with all her strength.
"Go away, do you hear? I hate you!" But her last words disappeared in his disgusting kiss. It was so aggressive that she tasted the blood from her lips in her mouth and her stomach turned.
She thought all was lost when the door flew open and her father's voice thundered through the room.
"Ted? Let her go right now and leave!" She breathed a deep sigh of relief. Ted blushed, got up heavily from the bed and quickly buttoned his jeans.
"What does that mean? Can you explain it to me?" Dad kept shouting.
"I…I…I just wanted to…sorry…" Ted stammered.
"Leave, right now. And be glad I'm being discreet and not telling your father. He'd be very surprised!" Ted staggered and staggered out of the room.
"Are you okay, Tabby, little girl…what did he do to you…I heard you scream in despair…" Dad asked worriedly.
Tabby sat up, smoothed her messy curls, and quickly pulled down her pulled-up T-shirt.
"Sure, Dad, I'm fine, you came just in time...thank you..."
Then the door opened and Nicole peeked in curiously.
"What's going on here? Where the hell were you all night? And what did you do to Ted? The poor thing was so scared he didn't even say hello to me! Tabby? Do you have any reasonable explanation for me?" Her voice was starting to gain intensity. Tabby bristled and snapped.
"I'm not a little kid, and where I was is none of your business, Dad knows that and that's enough. And don't say Ted's name in front of me!"
Tabby looked curiously at her dad. The right corner of his mouth twitched and his eyes were narrowed in anger. He looked like a volcano about to explode. Nicole blushed like a turkey and squealed.
"What...what? How are you talking to me? Remember, as long as you live in my house, I require certain rules, do you understand? And you will apologize to Ted!" She emphasized every third word by banging her fist on the door frame. Tabby stared at her and then looked at her dad. He stood up abruptly and said slowly in an icy tone.
"That's enough, first of all, I know where she was and I have nothing against it. Second, the only one who will apologize here will be your Ted. Because just a moment ago he tried to rape our Tabby. And third, when it comes to the house, it's mine, so I make the rules..."
Nicole changed colors like a chameleon. Right now she was perfectly in tune with the greenish color of the wall by the door.
"What...what? Ted? But that..." She swallowed hard.
"Yes, Ted, and we won't talk about this topic anymore. I hope our guests will leave the house after breakfast. Now I want it even more. The idea for them to sleep here was yours. And now I'd like some more strong coffee...and a large Scotch..." Dad said in a calmer voice. Tabby's eyes welled up with tears and she wiped them away discreetly. She had never seen so many tears in her eyes in just the moment she had been in this place in her entire life, except for her mother's death and funeral. She looked up at her dad, he winked at her conspiratorially.
"Come on, you're probably hungry, let's have something good for breakfast..hm?"
She was so full of emotions that she didn't even notice that a message on her cell phone beeped on the table. She shook her head and whispered.
"No, thanks dad, I'm not hungry, I want to wash up and rest. I'll come later. When we're alone..." she deliberately emphasized the last word and looked at Nicole. When their eyes met, she felt as if the Ice Queen was looking at her. Dad just smiled and quietly closed the door to her room without a word…before that, he made room for Sid, who ran into Tabby's arms with a whimper.
She smiled as he licked her nose, and then she buried her face in his soft fur with a grateful sigh. She smiled when she remembered her words when she arrived at Dad's house…namely, that she would never touch this furry monster. She lay there for a while longer, but then she felt her eyelids drooping from fatigue. After a while, she fell asleep in Sid's arms…
Dublin station was packed to the brim with passengers. David kept nervously watching his mobile phone screen. Still nothing. A worried frown adorned his forehead. Together with Aaron, they tried to push their way to the carriage.
"Why are you still looking like a devil? Did something happen?" Aaron inquired. David just smiled sadly. "It's good, really, I'm fine. I hope we have everything…" he remembered out loud and felt in the pocket of his backpack for a note with the contact information of his grandfather's nephew, who lives in the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. One last sad look at the mobile phone and then with a sigh he turned it off and hid it in his shirt pocket. He looked around the platform with a senseless hope, but there was no sign of Tabby. Maybe she wouldn't even find him in the chaos.
The last people got on, the whistle blew, and the train slowly set off towards the airport.
They had a very long journey ahead of them…perhaps full of exotic experiences, but perhaps also full of hardship and danger…
Tabby woke up from her sleep after about three hours. Sid was no longer with her and was lying by the door, his head on his front paws. She stretched and rubbed her eyes. She felt much better. With a learned movement, she reached for her mobile phone. But when she read the last message, her heart broke and her eyes filled with tears again:
"Love, I'm leaving for the Himalayas today. I know you're angry with me for that, but you know the reason. It can't be changed like my miserable life. The train leaves at 8:30 and I'd like to see you at the station. Or call me, I want to hear your voice one last time before I leave, so I have something to remember. I love you and I always will, no matter what happens…David."
She looked at the clock on the wall in fear. It was just ten o'clock. She quickly dialed David's number, but in vain... So it was too late for anything!
She read the message three more times so that she wouldn't miss a single word. She had no idea that one of them might have its own specific meaning. It was the word... "for the last time".