Old hags fly through history. On the backs of their brooms, the inevitable black cat. Nine
times witches change magically into sinuous feline form. In mothy blackness cats’ eyes burn
topaz, blood-stained ruby. Familiars, whisper secret chants. Black rites are hidden in
darkness. Freyja, goddess of death, drives her chariot over wintry skies. Her cats, strain in
their harness. They plunge and spring through storm clouds. By a fire of bright orange and
amber, with her hellish third nipple, a witch is suckling her cat. As light thickens and night
falls, the covens gather. They fly over wild moors and freezing fens. Satanic chanting
echoes from caves. Magic dancing in moonlit rings. Old women in lonely places. Cats,
enigmatic, night creatures, secret, silent familiars. Predators, furtive, seeing the invisible,
they ambush their prey. The split pupils, the glowing eyes, the sudden hiss. Feline serpents,
memories of Paradise lost! Witches and cats, both sad victims. The cruel flames torture and
burn. Live cats thrown from Bell Towers. Bricked up in chimneys and walls. Familiars in death
as in life!
Sarah Das Gupta is a retired English teacher from near Cambridge, UK. She taught in India, Tanzania as well as the UK. As the head of department, she was often charged with overseeing the English section of the School Library and purchasing books.In most schools she was also responsible for stocking class libraries. She started writing this year after an accident which kept her in hospital. Her work has been published in many magazines from twelve countries, including US, UK, Australia, Canada, India, Germany, Croatia and Romania. Writing has given her the challenge and drive to learn to walk again.