Momma Soko Cat and the Star-Custard Apple

Momma Soko Cat and the Star-Custard Apple

​Far away, beyond the whispering woods where the shadows stretch long at twilight, lived Momma Soko Cat. She was not like other cats, with their tabby stripes and quiet paws.

Momma Soko Cat was sleek as the midnight sky, with eyes like two emerald lanterns, and she wore a tiny silver bell that chimed like stars colliding.

​Momma Soko Cat did not live in a house. She lived under the roots of a grand, ancient oak tree, in a cozy hollow lined with the softest dried moss. There, she tended to her three plump kittens: Pip, Pop, and tiny Puddles.

​Now, Momma Soko Cat knew the secret songs of the birds and the names of all the quiet things that grow. But one evening, as the silver crescent moon rose high, she knew something else: her kittens needed a truly special treat.

​“Hark, my little ones,” she purred, the sound deep and rumbling like distant thunder. “The stars tell me tonight is the night for the Cherimoya feast.”

​The kittens opened their eyes wide. “Cher-i-moya?” chirped tiny Puddles.

​“Yes,” Momma Soko Cat said. “The Star-Custard Apple. It tastes like dreams and sunshine mixed together.”

​With that, Momma Soko Cat kissed each kitten on their nose and slipped out into the nighttime forest. The silver bell on her collar jingled, a merry tune that echoed off the tree trunks.

​The path was winding and dark. Strange, gnarly trees with knotty fingers seemed to reach towards her. But Momma Soko Cat was not afraid. She sang a quiet song as she padded along:

​“Little lamb, who made thee?

Little cat, who guides thee?

Through the woods where shadows creep,

To the treasure while children sleep.”

​Her song seemed to brighten the forest floor. Owls with big, wise eyes hooted softly as she passed, and foxes tipped their pointy ears in greeting.

​Soon, she reached the Sun-Kissed Garden, a secret place deep in the woods where only magic things grew. In the very center stood the grandest tree of all. Its leaves looked like green velvet, and hanging from its branches were the Cherimoyas. They were strange-looking fruits, green and lumpy, like small, heart-shaped dinosaur eggs.

​But Momma Soko Cat knew the secret.

​She leaped gracefully onto a sturdy branch. The silver bell chimed! as she stretched her paw toward the finest Cherimoya. Just as she touched it, a mischievous shadow-imp, with eyes like fireflies, popped out from behind a leaf.

​“Not so fast, Momma Soko Cat!” the imp giggled. “To take the fruit, you must answer a riddle!”

​Momma Soko Cat swished her tail impatiently. Her kittens were waiting. “Ask your riddle, shadow-imp.”

​The imp grinned and said:

​“I have green skin, but I am not grass.

I have black seeds, but I am not glass.

I am heart-shaped, but I have no beat.

What am I, so sweet to eat?”

​Momma Soko Cat didn't hesitate. She patted the imp gently on his nose. “You are the Cherimoya itself, silly imp. And I have kittens to feed.”

​The imp laughed loudly and disappeared into the shadows. Momma Soko Cat plucked the Cherimoya. It felt heavy and ripe in her paws.

​She carried the fruit all the way back through the whispering woods, her silver bell jingling triumphantly.

​When she reached the mossy hollow, Pip, Pop, and Puddles were waiting anxiously. Momma Soko Cat carefully placed the Cherimoya on a smooth flat stone.

​She did not cut it with a knife. Instead, she gently pressed the fruit with her paw until the green skin gave way. Inside, the flesh was white and creamy, smelling sweetly of bananas and pineapples. She carefully scooped out the large, black seeds (because she knew kittens should not eat the seeds!) and shared the soft, sweet fruit with her little ones.

​Pip, Pop, and Puddles ate until their bellies were round and full, licking the sticky sweetness from their paws.

​“It does taste like sunshine!” tiny Puddles squeaked happily.

​Momma Soko Cat curled around her kittens, her emerald eyes shining warmly. The silver bell on her collar was quiet now.

As they all drifted off to sleep, she whispered one last secret: “Remember, my little ones, the best things in the forest are always shared with love.”

​And soon, all was still in the cozy hollow under the grand, ancient oak tree, as Momma Soko Cat and her kittens dreamed sweet Cherimoya dreams.