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fall into hopeless despair
After losing his job and the apartment in the same week, he fell into hopeless despair.
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draw their attention to
The teacher pointed at the board to draw the students’ attention to the maths problem solution.
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fill somebody with shock and terror
The sudden crash in the middle of the night filled her with shock and terror.
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a growing dislike for
After months of working late with no thanks, she developed a growing dislike for her boss.
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be ashamed to admit
I’m ashamed to admit that I forgot my best friend’s birthday.
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beyond control
The situation quickly became beyond control once people started arguing.
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a violent rage
He flew into a violent rage when he realized his car had been stolen.
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completely untouched
The cake was still completely untouched at the end of the party.
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fill somebody with great relief
Hearing that her family was safe filled her with great relief.
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sleep peacefully
After the storm passed, the children finally slept peacefully.
That same night, the sound of fire woke me up. The curtains around my bed were burning, and the whole house was soon in flames . With great difficulty , my wife, a servant , and I escaped. Everything we owned was destroyed , and I fell into hopeless despair .
The next day, after the fire, I visited the ruins of my home . The walls had almost completely collapsed , except for one section. This wall stood near the centre of the house, exactly where the head of my bed had been. The plaster* on it had resisted the fire , probably because it had been recently repaired. A large crowd had gathered around it, and many people were staring at one specific part of the wall that had drawn their attention . Hearing words like “ bizarre ” and “ unusual ,” I felt curious and moved closer.
What I saw filled me with shock and terror . Clearly marked on the white plaster* was the image of a huge black cat , with a rope around its neck. The shape was incredibly accurate, as if it had been carefully drawn.
At first, I could hardly breathe. But after some time, common sense began to work again. I remembered that I had hung the cat in the garden next to the house. When the fire started, people had rushed into the garden in an attempt to put out the fire. Someone, for some reason, must have cut the body down and thrown it through my window. Later, as the walls collapsed , the cat’s body was pressed into the soft plaster*. The heat, the chemicals in the wall, and the fire itself had created and preserved the image .
Although this explanation satisfied my logic , it did not calm my imagination. For months afterward, I could not forget the picture of the cat. During this time, I felt something like regret . I missed the animal and even began looking for another cat like Pluto to replace him.
One night, while sitting in a dirty bar , half drunk, I noticed a large black object resting on a barrel. When I touched it, I realized it was a black cat , almost exactly the same size and shape as Pluto. There was only one difference: this cat had a large white part on its chest.
The cat reacted warmly to my touch. It purred , rubbed against me, and seemed happy to receive attention. I offered to buy it, but the bar owner said it did not belong to him. When I left, the cat followed me home.
Once inside the house, the cat quickly made itself comfortable and became my wife’s favourite. At first, I expected to feel affection, but instead I felt a growing dislike . I could not explain it, but the animal’s constant attention annoyed me deeply .
Slowly, my annoyance turned into hate . I avoided the cat and felt ashamed of my feelings, especially because of what I had done before. I did not hurt it, but I felt uncomfortable and disturbed whenever it was near.
One morning, I noticed something that increased my fear: the cat, like Pluto, had only one eye . This made my wife love it even more, but for me, it created a sense of uneasy recognition .
The cat followed me everywhere. When I sat, it climbed onto my legs. When I walked, it moved between my feet and nearly caused me to fall. Sometimes it pushed its claws* into my clothes and climbed up my chest. I often wanted to kill it, but I was stopped by fear and guilt .
That fear was not just physical . I was ashamed to admit it, but the white mark on its chest slowly began to change shape. At first it was unclear , but eventually I could see it clearly: it looked like gallows *, the symbol of death.
This image filled me with constant fear . I slept badly. The cat never left me alone. During the day, it followed me everywhere, and at night it lay on my chest like a living nightmare .
Under this pressure , the last good part of my nature disappeared. My thoughts became dark and violent . I hated the world and everyone in it. My wife, who never complained, suffered the most from my sudden anger .
One day, my wife followed me into the cellar of the building where we now lived. The cat came after us. As we went down the narrow stairs, the cat ran between my feet and almost caused me to fall. This moment pushed my anger beyond control.
I lifted an axe to kill the animal. My wife caught my arm and tried to stop me. Her interference filled me with a violent rage , and without thinking, I turned the axe* on her. She died instantly .
After the murder, I calmly began to plan how to hide the body . I knew I could not remove it without being seen. I considered many options, including burning it or throwing it into a well*. Finally, I decided to hide it inside the cellar wall .
The wall was weak and recently plastered*, which made my task easier. I removed the bricks , placed my wife’s body inside, and carefully rebuilt the wall so that it looked completely untouched . When I finished, I admired my work proudly .
I then searched for the cat, determined to kill it. However, it had disappeared. Its absence filled me with great relief . That night, for the first time in a long while, I slept peacefully , even with murder on my mind.
Several days passed. The police came and questioned me, but I answered calmly. They searched the house, including the cellar , and found nothing. I felt confident and safe .
As the officers prepared to leave, I felt a need to show my self-confidence . I praised the strength of the house and knocked on the very wall behind which my wife’s body was hidden.
Immediately, a terrible sound came from inside the wall. It began as a low cry and grew into a loud, scream . The police froze , and then rushed to pull the wall down .
When the bricks fell, my wife’s body stood before them. Sitting on her head was the black cat, alive, with its single burning eye and mouth open in a scream.
I had trapped the animal inside the wall along with the body. Its cry had revealed my crime. That moment had exposed me , and I knew it was all over.
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