Under the Red Moon, by Lorraine Stoker
From the series Not Everyone Sees the Same Cat
Under a heavy sky where the moon burned red, a witch emerged from the shadows, her long silhouette stretching beneath a flickering streetlamp. The quiet night seemed to hold its breath as she passed.
Out of the darkness, a small black cat crossed her path.
The witch stopped. A thought came instantly - bad omen. Old stories rose up like a wall.
The cat froze too, its body stiff, its eyes wide. To the cat, the witch looked just as dangerous, just as unknown.
For a long moment, they stood facing each other, each wrapped in their own fear, each certain of the other without truly knowing why. Then, almost at the same time, both looked away.
Time passed. The lamp buzzed softly. The red moon hung still above them.
After a while, the cat took a cautious step forward. Then another. The witch didn’t move, but something had softened.
That’s when the cat noticed—the witch was crying. Quiet, steady tears falling into the silence.
The cat hesitated, then slowly came closer. The witch did not pull away. Instead, she lowered a hand, unsure but open. The cat stayed.
Under the warm light of the streetlamp, they began to see each other clearly - not as shadows or old stories, but simply as they were. The witch gently held the cat, and the cat curled in peacefully. Together, they looked up at the red moon, which no longer felt like a warning, but something calm and beautiful.
And in that quiet moment, they both seemed to understand that fear often comes from the stories we carry and the distance we keep. When we pause and allow ourselves to truly see, what once felt strange or threatening can become familiar, even comforting. There is beauty in everything - the witch, the black cat, even the red moon - it only depends on how we choose to see it.
by Lorraine Stoker