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Tonight... enjoy our show. Please share us with a friend. This episode is brought to you by Gabbing Grimalkans. Tonight for the last episode of our sixth annual Spooky Sleep Story series, we shall read a newscast original, the cat who speaks once a year about a young girl, who loves who loves Halloween especially because it's the only night of the year her cat Toby can speak. We hope you tuned in every Wednesday this month for sleep stories of the darker variety, like classic horror literature and ghost stories. If you prefer to avoid the mildly macabre,

we hope you'll enjoy one of our many other stories available wherever you listen to podcasts.

Every year, Lila and Toby set out on Halloween on small adventures,

solving magical mysteries and keeping their town of new hope safe from mischievous spirits. However, this Halloween is different, as Toby seems tense, hinting that the force that will be up against this year will be very, very powerful. Let's get cozy. Close your eyes. Relax your body into the softness of your bed. Now, take a few deep breaths. Halloween Drifts in like a ghost on the breeze, the smell of cold, the crackle of dry leaves, cinnamon spice and fresh apples, wet earth, the morning fog. I have something else to look forward to during this time of year, I suppose. Something I guess that makes me unique. Every year, when the sun goes down and the shadows get long, and the first batch of kids show up at the front door with their pillowcases wide open and ready to be filled. Something special happens. My cat Toby starts talking. Now, most people think their cat's talk, right? They meow and purr and make little sounds that you like to think mean something more. But that's just people being people. Toby doesn't talk like that. Toby talks real talk, words, sentences, stories, but only on Halloween. The rest of the year is just a cat. Well, I should be specific. I know he's still the same talking Toby from Halloween, but he just can't say anything with words. We give each other looks though, especially when something funny happens. Like yesterday morning, when we were out of milk, so dad mixed his cornflakes with ketchup. It's a liquid, dad had said, Toby caught my eye and did this slow blink. I almost lost it. So, after sunset every Halloween, I wait for that rich, deep, and dry, sarcastic voice, with a bit of theatrical flair to come from somewhere down by my ankles. Usually, he starts off with just a happy Halloween, or, hey kid. Once I remember he scared me pretty good with a well timed boo when my parents were out and no one else was home. When I was a kid, you know like a little kid. I didn't think much of his talking. I assumed everyone had a pet with some kind of special power. For example, I thought the Henderson's retriever, Dodger, could fly, judging by the way he would leap over the neighborhood fences. Not realizing this wasn't the case, once on Halloween and 4th grade, I brought Toby into school for show and tell. Well, my mom actually brought him around lunchtime. At that point, I had figured out that he was speaking specifically on Halloween, and I wanted to show him off to the class. Oh, the embarrassment. He just sat there in his crate purring loudly while the whole day prior I had promised a big surprise from him. Five years later and they still call me Cat Lady. Later that day he said to me, sorry kid, I really tried, but I guess I can't say anything until after sunset. Plus, you really wouldn't want to bring all that heat on us anyway. I said to him, heat? Yeah, you know. Cops, feds, witches, the whole bag of trouble that comes when someone else knows you've got a talking cat. You get the hornet's nest, you better have a good place to hide. But Toby, yes, Lila? Why can't you talk? He paused before finally replying. Ask me next year. Next year will be the right year, think. That next year, in fifth grade, I remembered he asked me if we could take a detour while we were trick-or-treating. He said he had something important to do. I had said something more important than trick-or-t? Kid, trust me, we need to go over to that cemetery. He pointed to the tree line. We were walking around Pinewood Circle, where we lived. My parents didn't mind if I wandered around my neighborhood at the end of the night. Last stops and all that. That's the forest. Yeah, I know. Behind it is a cemetery. We need to go there now. While we walked through the woods that night, it occurred to me his promise from last year. So I asked him about it. Does this have to do with why you can talk, Toby? I'll tell you in a minute, kid, we've got it. And so we had made our way to the edge of the tree line, something rustled ahead. A low growl echoed through the trees, sending a shiver down my spine. Toby's ears perked, his tail twitching. The growl turned into a snarl, and out of the underbrush lumbered what could only be described as a werewolf. Its eyes glowing a fierce yellow in the moonlight. It rose on two legs towering over the headstones. It howled, the light dancing across its fur. I know I should have felt fearful, but I was surprisingly calm.

Toby whispered to me quickly, kid, that necklace I found a couple weeks ago and gave to

you.

You remember?

You're still wearing it, right?

Yes, I had said, keeping my eyes on the creature, give it to me. Earlier that month, while I was studying one night, Toby carried over this beautiful chain with a silver crescent moon pendant delicately in his mouth. I told him, thanks, silly kitty, and asked, where'd you get this? I tried to put it in my desk drawer. He was always bringing me over little things. I lost track of many of them. But his eyes went wide at this, and he quickly rooted around in my drawer, fetching it again, and tried to indicate that I should wear it by nuzzling the back of my neck. I had said, you want me to wear this? And he nodded and purred. And so I did. And I had forgotten about it until we were standing there dumbfounded in the cemetery. I took it off carefully and held it out so he could carry it in his mouth like he did earlier. Just then, a couple of older neighborhood boys wearing skeleton costumes wandered into the cemetery. They were joking around, trying to think of some kind of trouble they could cause no doubt. The werewolf caught sight of them. Without hesitation, Toby bolted across the grass, zigzagging between tombstones and vaults like a black shadow. He raced directly toward the boys, who were now frozen in place, faces slack with confusion as the creatures glowing eyes fixed on them. In a blur, Toby leapt up, his lye formed twisting in midair and flung the necklace around the werewolf's neck with astonishing precision. silver chain tightened instantly, glimting in the faint light, and for a second everything was still. The beast stopped dead in its tracks, eyes widening in confusion. I then saw it stare directly at me, almost pleading. One second it was snarling. The next it let out a pitiful yelp and crumple to the ground, shrinking until it transformed into just a plain, scruffy dog, wagging its tail sheepishly.

Go home. Toby told the dog sternly, and the dog trotted off, tail between its legs. He turned to the neighborhood boys.

You too, they helped and scrambled away at what they had just witnessed. A werewolf turning into a dog and now a talking cat. They were gone by the time Toby walked back over to me. I stood there mouth-hanging open. How? How did you do that? Ancient arcane wards and well-timed pendant, nothing fancy. He sat with the shrug. I stared at him. New hopes built on old, powerful grounds, Lila. There's a blurring here, if you will. A sort of mesh between worlds. Some of us, special cases like myself, are, let's say, tasked with keeping those lines straight. So, that's why you can talk. You're some kind of magical guardian. Let's call it a community service gig. He replied, his whiskers twitching with a faint smile. Tonight, we had a stray. Sometimes these things slip through. I make sure they slip back. And me? Can I do anything special? Yeah, of course you can, kid. You're great at opening up tuna cans.

So that night was five Halloween's ago.

And every year since then, like clockwork,

it seems like there's always something working out there

waiting to cross the line.

One year we banished a banshee that kept wailing up a storm by the library. Another time we had wrangled a rath haunting the old train station. We had smothered a smoke spirit, h my yearly community service work and was eagerly anticipating the sun to set. So today, I'm going to be able to see the sun and the service work and was eagerly anticipating the sun to set, so Toby and I could get down to business. Tonight, though, felt different. Tonight, there's something in the air, sharp, like the taste of copper. I was sitting on the sofa, flipping through the channels, and had landed on the sixth sense. I had never seen it, but my focus was on listening to my parents, trying to determine from their getting ready sounds, they would actually be leaving for the Henderson's annual Halloween party. My mom popped in and looked in the mirror near the front door. My parents had settled on the Adams family this year and she looked great as Morticia. She turned to me. Lila, don't tell me you're just gonna stay in and veg out tonight. As if I'm going out trick or treating when it gets a bit darker. Dad walked in, he smoothed out his fake pencil mustache. Don't you think 16 is a bit old for that? He leaned to whisper to mom, especially if she's just going by herself. I can hear you, dad. Your father has a point, Lila. What are Ruby and Tatum up to tonight? A couple of us are getting together at Hannah's house later. I didn't say I wasn't going to see my friends. I'm just going trick-or-treating first." Mom asked, and none of them are coming with you? I laughed. You know they never do, Mom. Mom and Dad looked at each other. Just then, Toby jumped in my lap. Some of the popcorn from my bowl and flying up. I'm taking Toby. Toby purred. Dad raised a eyebrow. He was about to say something, but mom shushed him. Well, have fun, honey," she said.

As they exited and the door closed, I could hear Dad call back. You know how that one ends, right? He was, but Toby had jumped off the couch and slammed it quickly shut without them noticing. Finally, he said. So what is it this year? Zombies, vampires? Do you taste that copper in the air too? Cats can taste copper, right? No, no, yes, and yes. Toby said, listen kid, we got a problem. He said that last part, not at all like a creature that napped in the sun 12 hours out of the day. What kind of problem? Well, you know that mesh between the worlds I'm always talking about, it's about to break. I stared at him. It's a witch Lila, a real one, and she's coming here. I've got it on good authority. Well, we've beaten plenty of, no, no we haven't. Where wolves, goblins, hob and regular, ghouls, those are all symptoms, the witch. If she sets up shop here, there won't be a new hope. Suddenly I felt silly in my banana costume. Let's go, Toby said. I didn't hesitate. We slipped out the door into the chill of the last October night that year. The street was bustling with kids and costumes. Little ghosts and superheroes sprinting up and down the sidewalks. But Toby's focus was sharp. His gaze fixed on something beyond the world we could see. We left Pinewood Circle and headed towards Bridge Street closer to downtown. town. Toby scanned the rooftops, the trees, the empty sky. She's here somewhere. Where? I asked, breath misting in the air. I don't know, Toby said, but we need to find her. If she's loose, then everything we've done, everything we've fought will mean nothing. We cut through alleyways and backstreet, slipping past laughing children and oblivious parents. But no matter how fast we ran, no matter how many places we checked, we found nothing. Just empty streets and the distant sound of laughter. Are you sure she's here? I asked, panting. What if your information was wrong? My information is never wrong, Toby snapped. But there was a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. She has to be here. She's a sudden gust of wind whipped through the strait, sending leaves skittering across the pavement. I stomped, heart racing, half expecting to see a shadowy figure step out of the darkness. But there was nothing, no witch, just nothing. Toby's tail lashed for a station simmering in his case.

Where are you, Lue? Then he froze. His eyes widened. Pupil shrinking to slits. Slowly he turned to look at me. Wait. What? I asked Frowning. What is it? You. Toby whispered, voice tight. It's... It's you. What's me? The witch. He took a step back for a bristling. Lila, I think you're a witch. I stared at him, uncomprehending. What? No, that's ridiculous. I'm not. Think about it. He hissed. The power. The creatures. The way they always seem to be drawn to you, the way you can face them without fear, is because you're one of them. You're... stop," I said, for a shaking, I'm not a witch, Toby. I don't even have my learners permit yet. shouldn't I be able to on a broom or or put a curse on Molly Morse for continuing to call me Count Lady even now when no one else does or or I don't know past trigonometry. Toby stared at me. Should I be able to turn this rock? I bent down and picked up a plain looking stone. This was actually somewhat difficult to do in my banana costume. Into a quarter. Something changed. I no longer tasted the copper in the air. I looked down at Toby. I don't think he could hold his mouth open that wide and shock. I turned to look at the rock in my hand. It was a quarter. I inspected it. It was real. What does mean?" I said. Worried my life was drastically about to change. My information was right that there was a witch coming. Toby said. But it was wrong about the nature of that witch. I know this now. I'm positive.

What do you mean? Not all witches are bad, Lila. You happen to be a good witch. A good witch? That's that's not a real thing. You've never seen Wizard of Oz? No, I don't think so. It doesn't matter. Look, I understand it all now. They sent me specifically to you because you are who you are. This town is safe because you're here, because you're strong enough to keep it that way. But what about... don't worry about it. Toby said, cutting me off. It doesn't change anything. You're still a kid. But, and I'm still me. He added, ears flicking forward. Still your faithful, feeling sidekick. So what do you say we go home? Looks like tonight will be a quiet one thanks to you. I have so many questions I said and I'm afraid I don't have any answers. He replied at least not tonight, but I'm sure we'll figure it out.

Figure it out.

How? Well, it's not like I got an instruction manual. I was just told, hey, make sure Lila doesn't get, you know, like, eaten by any monsters. And I've been winging it ever since. They said, you know, like, like that, I'm paraphrasing, winging it. Well, it's not like I have a posable thumbs. That's what you're for. I frowned. Hey, you got to look at the bright side, kid. You wanna try something? Not really. Trust me. Where what? Five, maybe six miles from home. Yeah. Probably a bit tired from all that walking, right? Sort of. Wouldn did it be great if we were back on the couch now?

...