The Familiar

As a child, I would often see figures moving in the corners; silhouettes that stuck to the shadows and lingered in the distance. Whenever I brought the matter up to my parents, they dismissed it. They said it was just my imagination. However, it only got worse as I grew older, and I would often run to my parents’ room, fearing that monsters were out to get me. I was a stubborn child, often refusing to sleep in my room.

One day, however, my mom was able to convince me that our cat, Jupiter, would take care of any monsters that would try to hurt us. Jupiter was my grandma’s cat; we adopted her right after Grandma passed away. From the day she joined our family, Jupiter always seemed to be inspecting the surroundings. She would never leave my side when I was alone, and even slept in my room.

Whenever I heard or saw something, Jupiter would run in that direction even before I could react, and I would often hear her hissing and growling at the shadows until any presence I felt disappeared. Sometimes, I could’ve even sworn I saw a faint glow emanating from her when she stood against those dark forces. Jupiter put my mind at ease; I just knew that she would save me from anything.

After moving to another town for my higher studies, I would often think about Jupiter while in bed. She was still lively, even in her old age. I visited home whenever I got the chance, and one time, my sister and her son, Javier, paid us a visit as well. During their stay overnight, Javier was playing with Jupiter in my room while I was reading a book. We all felt a sudden chill crawl into the room, and before we knew it, Jupiter leapt into the shadows and growled. It was the first time that I had seen her glow clearly. Blue light rose like fire along her fur, and that’s when we went to my mom for information.

According to Mom, Jupiter was possessed by my late grandmother. She said her ancestors were witches, and that my grandma had bound her soul to Jupiter’s body so that she could watch over us even in death. Witch powers would sometimes skip generations, and unfortunately, none of us had inherited such powers after her. Grandma didn’t want us to be vulnerable to the dark forces that lurked in the shadows, so she decided to become both a familiar and a protector.