Two black cats, good luck for me.
Three black cats, a son shall be born in the family.
Four black cats, a daughter shall be born in the family.
Five black cats shall be a funeral in the family.
Six black cats, if they scattered away, a sudden death.
Seven black cats with their tails towards you, death within seven years.
A man and woman were on a one way trip to Mars with no going back. They had no children and thought it was going to be a great adventure for them. The man, however, was having second thoughts, regretting the life and friends he was leaving behind on earth.
While aboard the ship and his wife asleep he gazed into the abyss that was outer space and began to see things. Scared that they might be aliens, he quickly backed away from the window and fell asleep.
A day had gone by and he decided to peak out the window again. He could depict what it was a little better, but it was just a bunch of black blurs to him.
Not being scared that it was aliens anymore, he peaked out again and could see that it was five black cats. Was this all in his head he wondered, no way black cats could be in outer space.
The next day he told his wife to look out the window with him. This time he saw six black cats.
He asked his wife, “Can you see those six black cats?”
“No,” she replied as the man noticed the six black cats scatter away.
It suddenly hit him remembering the black cat saying his mother used to sing to him. He first saw five black cats and then he saw six black cats that scattered away. Having only one family member still alive, he knew that his wife was going to die suddenly. Not wanting to scare her in her last moments, he decided not to tell her.
He prepared her favorite meal and they drank some wine while the steak was cooking. Once the food was ready she cut into her steak and took a big bite. She began to choke and the man ran over and tried to give her the Heimlich, but it was too late. She passed away and the man realized it was all his fault.
Black Cat Bringing Bad Luck Wikipedia
Author's Note: In the original story, the cats are actually crows. They are flying all around him and watching him while he is steering his vessel. The crows keep reappearing and are all perched on a coffin foreshadowing his death. He gets back and tells his wife that he keeps sees all these crows and she could not see the seven black crows that he saw. He did not feel well and fell dead in front of his wife. I changed the story to him seeing five and six black cats causing someone in his family to pass away. With his wife being his only family member he knows that its going to be her last day and he tries to brighten up the day, but ends up killing her.
Bibliography: Crows from Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories by Peter H. Emerson (1894).
Your story was really interesting/sad. It was comical that this husband was seeing cats in outer space. I liked the twist it provided though. The fact that it was the husband's kindness and decision not to panic wife that killed her is also darkly ironic. It is almost a "That's So Raven" moment where something he does because he knows the future causes the future to happen.
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