I couldn't stand that black cat. She conjured up images of obeah and witches and evil, ominous spells. Whenever I passed Mr Fang's gate, he would be there on the top of the column. At other times he would be in the shop. Little did I know that this cat would play a large part in saving one life and ending another.

The night was dark, just like we wanted it to be. It was considerably cold, unlike what we wanted. We were on a mission, Rufus and I. We were going to break into Mr Fang's grocery shop.

It was not something we wanted to do, but we were desperate. Our babymothers and the children were dying of hunger and we were not able to get any jobs.

The plan was for me to go inside first, while Rufus keep watch. Well, I got in through a side window and put some food into my bag, ensuring that my woman and children would have enough to eat for a while. Things were going well until I knocked a tin off the shelf. I froze.

I should mention that Mr Fang and his family lived at the back of the grocery shop. He had a gun that he would not hesitate to use.

"Is who that?" he bellowed as he shuffled for his gun.

I had to think fast. "Meow! Meow!" I mewed, imitating his black cat as best I could.

"Oh, is that damn cat," he said. Then everything was quiet again. Holding my breath, I waited. Then I quietly climbed through the window and found Rufus waiting for me in the dark.

"Why yuh didn't full up the bag?" he grumbled as he surveyed the loot with the aid of the beam from his flashlight.

"I had to leave with what I have, because I knocked over a tin of corned beef and woke up Mr Fang." I told him.

"So how him didn't shoot yuh?" he asked.

"I imitated the black cat," I told Rufus, and did it again so he could hear.

"Yuh sound like real puss," Rufus complimented me.

"Mr Fang thought so too," I said. "He cursed the cat and went back to sleep."

"Give me the other bag," Rufus said as he roughly grabbed it and headed for the open window of the shop, before I could stop him.

As I stood there in the darkness I imagined Rufus reaching in and filling the bag with grocery. I waited anxiously for him to return. A minute was an hour and waiting was a lifetime. My heart was a drum beating in my chest, with the uneasy calm around me magnifying it threefold.

Suddenly, the silence was shattered when a shot rang out. Impulsively I dashed through the darkness. How I reached my home in one piece, I still cannot fathom.

Early next morning I joined the crowd that had gathered at Mr Fang's gate.

I reached just in time to hear Mr Fang giving a statement to two police officers.

"As I was dozing off I heard a heavy thud in the shop." Mr Fang was telling the police. "I thought the cat had knocked something down again. However, a man can't be too careful, so I grabbed my gun and inquired if anybody was in there. That was when I heard someone's voice inside the shop.

"Is the black puss!" it said.