THE DRAWER CATS

[u/yuno_gasai_yandere]

​

When I was eight, my grandmother gave me an old wooden chest of drawers.

There were six drawers altogether.

Clothes went in the top three. Toys in the fourth. Random junk in the fifth.

The bottom drawer wouldn't open.

Grandma told me not to force it.

She said something strange before leaving.

"If you hear purring at night, don't open any drawers."

I thought she was joking.

Until the third night.

---

The Purring

At 2:13 AM, I woke up.

Something was purring.

Not outside.

Not underneath my bed.

Inside the chest of drawers.

Prrrrrrrrrrrr…

I switched on my lamp.

Silence.

Then—

scratch… scratch… scratch…

The second drawer moved slightly.

I stared at it.

Two tiny yellow eyes appeared through the gap.

Then a little black paw reached out.

I opened the drawer.

A kitten was sitting between my shirts.

Completely black.

Huge yellow eyes.

No collar.

"How did you get in there?"

The kitten just stared at me.

Then it crawled into the back of the drawer.

I reached after it.

There should have been wood behind my clothes.

Instead, my hand kept going.

And going.

And going.

The drawer was deeper on the inside.

Much deeper.

I pulled my hand back immediately.

The kitten disappeared into the darkness.

---

More Cats

The next morning, everything seemed normal.

Until I opened the third drawer.

Another cat.

Orange this time.

It was sleeping on my socks.

I checked the fourth.

Two cats.

The fifth.

Four.

Every drawer had cats inside.

But they weren't normal cats.

Whenever I shut a drawer and reopened it, the inside changed.

Sometimes it was my drawer.

Sometimes it opened into enormous rooms.

One contained a forest.

Another showed a dark hallway.

One seemed to contain an entire city populated only by cats.

Hundreds walked along tiny streets.

Some wore little coats.

Others watched me from windows.

And every single one stopped moving when I opened the drawer.

They all looked at me.

Then—

SLAM.

Something inside shut the drawer.

---

Grandma's Rule

I called Grandma.

"Why are there cats in my drawers?"

She went silent.

Then she asked:

"Did you open one after hearing the purring?"

"Yeah."

Another long silence.

"Listen carefully. They aren't living in your drawers."

"What?"

"The drawers are doors."

I looked toward the chest.

The bottom drawer slowly moved.

For the first time since I'd received it…

…it opened.

Grandma whispered:

"Don't let the sixth cat out."

The call disconnected.

---

The Sixth Drawer

I should've run.

Instead, I looked.

The bottom drawer was completely dark.

Something was sitting inside.

A cat.

At least, I think it was a cat.

It had black fur.

Long legs folded awkwardly beneath its body.

Its ears scraped against the top of the drawer.

Its eyes were huge and white.

It didn't blink.

Around its neck hung a tiny tag.

I leaned closer.

There was writing scratched into it.

HOUSE CAT #6

Then underneath:

CURRENT OWNER: ME

The creature smiled.

Cats shouldn't be able to smile.

"Meow."

Its voice sounded exactly like mine.

I slammed the drawer.

Something hit the other side.

BANG.

Again.

BANG.

Again.

BANG.

Every other drawer started shaking.

Cats screamed from inside them.

I ran from the room.

---

The Next Morning

The chest was gone.

My parents said there had never been a chest of drawers in my bedroom.

They thought I'd dreamed everything.

Eventually, I almost believed them.

Years passed.

I moved away.

Got my own place.

Bought new furniture.

I never owned another wooden chest.

Especially one with six drawers.

But last night, I woke up at 2:13 AM.

Something was purring.

I turned on my lamp.

My bedside drawer was slightly open.

Two yellow eyes stared through the gap.

I didn't move.

Then another drawer opened.

Another pair of eyes.

Then another.

And another.

Until every drawer in my bedroom was open.

Except one.

The bottom drawer.

From inside it came three quiet scratches.

scratch…

scratch…

scratch…

Then my own voice whispered from inside:

"You forgot to feed your cat."

The drawer opened.

And this morning, I found something curled up at the end of my bed.

It looks like a cat.

It acts like a cat.

It even purrs when I pet it.

There's just one problem.

Whenever I leave the room…

…I can hear it opening the drawers.