WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:12.240 Thomas lives alone on a small island. The island is 2 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:16.199 not large. You could walk around its edge in twenty 3 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:20.480 minutes if you did not stop. But Thomas always stops. 4 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:25.239 He stops to watch the waves. He stops to listen 5 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:29.039 to the wind in the tall grass. He stops to 6 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:33.280 look at the sky, which changes color every hour, from 7 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.640 pale pink at dawn to deep blue at noon, to 8 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:40.960 warm gult at sunset. The island is his whole world, 9 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:45.439 and it is enough. The lighthouse is old and tall 10 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:48.840 and painted white with a red band around the top. 11 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:52.920 It stands at the highest point of the island, looking 12 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:56.920 out over the ocean. Thomas has kept it for many years. 13 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:01.280 He tends the light each evening, making sure the great 14 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:05.840 beam turned steadily through the darkness, warding ships away from 15 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:10.719 the rocks. It is quiet work, it is good work. 16 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:15.959 Thomas likes quiet work. He has always been a quiet man, 17 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:19.400 the kind who finds more comfort in the sound of 18 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:22.760 the sea than in the sound of voices. He came 19 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:27.280 to the island with a ginger cat named Marmalade. Marmalade 20 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:30.359 was already old when Thomas brought him to the island. 21 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:34.560 He was a round, slow, moving cat with bright green 22 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:37.439 eyes and a tail that curled at the end like 23 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:40.920 a question mark. He had been astray at the harbor, 24 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:44.719 living on fish scraps, and when Thomas picked him up 25 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:48.439 and carried him to the boat, Marmalade purred so loudly 26 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:51.959 that Thomas could feel the vibration through his coat. That 27 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:55.799 was two years ago. Now, Marmalade sits on the window 28 00:01:55.879 --> 00:02:00.799 sill every morning, watching the sun come up. He sleeps 29 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:06.599 on Thomas's bed at night, curled against Thomas's legs. He 30 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:11.360 follows Thomas on his walks, patting along the rocky path 31 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:15.280 with the slow confidence of a creature who knows he 32 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:21.919 is safe. They are companions, Thomas and Marmalade. They do 33 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:27.400 not need any one else, or so Thomas thought. It 34 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.960 was on a Tuesday evening, just as the sun was 35 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:35.439 sinking into the sea, that Marmalade came home with a cat. 36 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:39.159 Thomas heard the scratching at the door and opened it. 37 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:44.960 There was Marmalade sitting on the step, and beside him 38 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:49.360 was a small gray cat with white paws and wide, 39 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:56.400 curious eyes. The gray cat looked up and meowed a soft, 40 00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:00.960 hopeful sound, as if to say I have heard about 41 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:05.520 this place, and I would like to stay. Thomas looked 42 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:10.960 at Marmalade. Marmalade looked at Thomas. There was something calm 43 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:16.000 and satisfied in the cat's expression, something that said this 44 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:20.120 one is good. Thomas knelt down and held out his hand, 45 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:23.840 and the gray cat touched its nose to his fingers. 46 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:28.159 Then it walked inside, as if it had lived there 47 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:32.800 all along. Thomas set out a bowl of milk. The 48 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:36.560 gray cat drank, then curled up on the armchair by 49 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:41.199 the fire. Marmalade jumped up beside it, and the two 50 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:46.240 sat together, grooming each other. Thomas made himself a cup 51 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:50.759 of tea and sat down with his book. It felt right. 52 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:55.639 The next evening, Marmalade came home with a black cat, 53 00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:01.199 sleek with golden eyes that gleamed in the lamplight. It 54 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:04.479 moved like a shadow and sat on the doorstep, waiting 55 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:09.599 to be invited in. Thomas invited it in. He set 56 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:13.039 out another bowl of milk. The black cat found a 57 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:15.719 spot on the rug near the fire and settled there, 58 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:20.319 its tail wrapped around its paws. The evening after that, 59 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:25.839 Marmalade brought a tabby, a big striped tabby with a loud, 60 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:30.000 rumbling purr, then a small white cat with a crooked 61 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:34.040 ear and a gentle face, then a Siamese with blue 62 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:38.560 eyes and a quiet voice. Each evening Thomas opened the 63 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:43.800 door and there was Marmalade with a new friend. Each evening, 64 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:46.519 Thomas set out a bowl of milk and made a 65 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:50.800 place by the fire. Thomas did not ask where Marmalade 66 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:55.720 found them. Some things do not need explaining. The cats 67 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:59.600 came because the lighthouse was warm. They came because the 68 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:03.199 fire crackled, and the milk was sweet, and the man 69 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:07.000 who lived there had a gentle voice. They came because 70 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.439 Marmalade told them to, in whatever way cats tell each 71 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:13.759 other things with a look or a slow blink in 72 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:19.560 the moonlight. By Friday there were seven cats, seven cats, 73 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:24.959 and a kitten. The kitten was tiny, in calico, with 74 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:29.120 patches of orange and black and white, and it had 75 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:33.600 been tucked inside the tabby's coat when they arrived. The 76 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.639 kitten was too small to jump or climb, so it 77 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:41.240 stayed in a box by the fire, wrapped in a 78 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:47.639 soft blanket, sleeping and mewing. Thomas fed it warm milk 79 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:52.519 from a tiny dish, holding it in his palm, and 80 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:55.600 the kitten lapped at it with a tongue no bigger 81 00:05:55.720 --> 00:06:01.279 than a flower petal. The lighthouse changed. It had always 82 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:05.120 been quiet, but now it was the kind of quiet 83 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:10.279 full of small sounds, the purring of cats, the soft 84 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:14.240 padding of paws on the stairs, the rustle of a 85 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:18.480 cat turning in its sleep, the distant sound of the 86 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:24.360 ocean against the rocks below. Thomas would sit in his chair, reading, 87 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:27.959 and marmalade would be on the arm of the chair, 88 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:32.680 the gray cat on the arm chair beside him, the 89 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:37.120 black cat on the rug, and the others scattered around 90 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:42.120 the room. The fire would crackle, the lamp would glow. 91 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:46.920 The light above would turn and turn, sending its beam 92 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:52.439 into the dark. Thomas had never felt less alone. He 93 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:54.920 did not think of himself as some one who had 94 00:06:54.959 --> 00:07:00.519 been lonely. He liked his quiet life. But now, sitting 95 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.759 in the warm glow with seven cats and a kitten 96 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:08.759 sleeping around him, he understood the difference between being alone 97 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:12.480 and being at peace. He had been at peace for 98 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:16.279 a long time, but now he was at peace and 99 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:22.160 surrounded by soft, warm, living things that trusted him. That 100 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:25.040 was a kind of home he had not known he 101 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:30.079 was missing. Each evening, after he tended the light, Thomas 102 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:33.000 would sit in his chair and the cats would gather. 103 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:38.759 They came slowly, one by one, finding their places, as 104 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:41.839 if there were a ritual to it. The gray cat 105 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:46.279 always took the armchair, The black cat always took the rug. 106 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:51.600 The white cat liked the window sill. The Siamese like 107 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:56.199 the top of the bookshelf, looking down with cool blue eyes. 108 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:02.000 Marmalade always sat closest to Thomas. Thomas would read to them, 109 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:06.399 sometimes out loud, in his quiet voice. He did not 110 00:08:06.600 --> 00:08:11.759 know if they understood. What mattered was the sound, the 111 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:15.160 sound of a voice in the warm room, filling the 112 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:19.079 spaces between the fire and the ocean and the turning 113 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:23.639 light above. On the last evening of the week, Thomas 114 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:26.879 sat in his chair and looked around the room. The 115 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:31.519 fire was low and soft. The cats were all asleep, 116 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:36.440 each in their place, breathing in the slow, peaceful rhythm 117 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:41.240 of cats. Marmalade was in his lap, his warm weight 118 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:46.559 pressing down, his purr vibrating through Thomas's whole body. The 119 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:50.600 kitten was in its box, a tiny bundle of calico fur, 120 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:54.399 its small chest rising and falling like a wave on 121 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:58.639 a calm shore. Thomas set his book down, He leaned 122 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:02.240 his head back and closed his eyes. He could hear 123 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:07.639 the ocean outside, a low, steady rhythm, like breathing. He 124 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:12.360 could hear the cats purring, a chorus of contentment. He 125 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:14.480 could hear the wind in the grass on the hill, 126 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:19.440 a soft whispering sound, and above it all, the slow 127 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:23.759 turning of the light, a sound so familiar that Thomas 128 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.600 no longer heard it, the way you no longer hear 129 00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:31.720 your own heart beat. He smiled. It was a small smile, 130 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:34.919 the kind that comes not from a joke, but from 131 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:38.000 a deep knowing that everything is exactly as it should be. 132 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:43.720 The lighthouse was warm, the cats were sleeping, the ocean 133 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:48.240 was whispering, and Thomas, who had come to this island alone, 134 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:52.360 was alone no more. He did not need a crowd. 135 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:59.759 He needed this, this chair, these cats, this light, this sea, 136 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:04.559 this island in the dark, with its circle of golden warmth. 137 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:08.840 He needed to know that small, soft things could find 138 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:12.159 their way to him, could cross the water in the dark, 139 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:16.120 could follow a ginger cat up the rocky path and 140 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:20.360 find a door that was always open. The fire crackled, 141 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:26.279 the cats purred, the ocean whispered, the light turned, and 142 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:30.320 Thomas sat in the middle of it, all warm and 143 00:10:30.440 --> 00:10:34.039 full and safe, and let sleep come the way the 144 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:39.159 cats had come to him, slowly, gently, without any effort 145 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:43.679 at all. He slept, and the lighthouse watched over him, 146 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:47.639 and the sea held the island in its arms, and 147 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:51.559 the cats kept watch through the night, their eyes glowing 148 00:10:51.639 --> 00:10:55.600 softly in the dark, keeping Thomas safe until morning.