Chapter 8

“Come here, kitty kitty.” I quicken my pace, trying to stay as close to the cat as possible. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The cat jumped onto a table outside of a cafe. It sat down and started to lick its paw.

“Ah ha! Got you!” I reach out to pat the cat’s head, but it swats at my hand, glaring at me. “Geez. For a small kitten, you’ve got some major attitude.” The cat hisses at me, showing its pointed teeth in a way to scare me. 

"Well, aren’t you cute? But seriously, can I pet you? Just once and then I’ll get out of your fur.”

The kitten stops hissing and seems to calm down a little, though it still looks angry. It starts to sniff my outstretched hand and immediately relaxes completely. 

“See? I’m not here to hurt you.”

The cat jumps on my arm and runs up it to get to my shoulder. To my surprise, it starts rubbing its face up against my cheek. Its fur tickled my skin, and it took a lot out of me to not just burst out into laughter. 

"Well, hello there. This isn’t what I expected, but that doesn’t matter!”

I scratch the area under the kitten’s chin, and it starts to rub against my hand instead; it’s purrs vibrate against my hand. Just then the owner of the cafe walks out of the cafe with a broom. She looks over at me just as I was looking at her. It became an awkwardly silent staring contest between us.

“Uh. Hi? This wouldn’t happen to be your cat? Would it?” I ask, trying to break the silence.

“No, it’s not, though it does pass by here often for food. I assume she’s not yours either.”

“No. It’s not. I kind of just ran into it today and thought it was cute. It’s letting me pet them, though, so I’m happy!” I grin childishly.

The cat looks over at the lady, jumps off my shoulder, and runs over to her feet. The lady picks the cat up, and it lays in her arms contently, like it’s been her pet for years.

“You only met this cat today? She seems very comfortable with you. What's your name?”

“My name? Oh, it's Liviana, but everyone just calls me Livy.”

“Livy… Well, you seem like a kind young girl. Why don’t you take care of this cat?”

I stare at the lady in confusion. “Why can’t you just keep the cat? Aren’t you the one who feeds it? Plus, I can’t just take in a random cat from the streets. I don’t have the supplies to care for a cat, and my mom has to be ok with it being in the orphanage. That's too much of a hassle.”

“But she seems to like you!”

"Ok, I understand that, but again, cats are expensive, and I do not have the money for that. I would have to buy all the supplies to care for a cat. Also, I’m pretty sure my mom is allergic to cats, so I wouldn’t even be able to bring it inside!”

“I see. Very well then.”

“Again, why don’t you just care for the cat? It also likes you, probably more than me. And you already feed it too!”

“I do not have the time to train and care for her. Giving her food doesn’t take much time out of my day, but fully caring for her would be too much for me.”

"Well, I have to go. Sorry about the sudden leave.”

I step out of the property line of the cafe and onto the edge of the stone road, heading back towards the park.

 "If I remember correctly, the park was over here somewhere.”

I turn a corner to see a giant mass of tall trees.

“There it is; once I get to the park, I can easily find my way home.”

I make it to the giant forest circle and see the entryway to the park peeking out from behind a tree. I head over to the entryway and use that to determine where I need to go next to get back to the orphanage. I remember my mom trying to say something to me before I left. Hopefully it wasn’t important. But man am I exhausted! Maybe it's because I got a little out of shape from staying in bed for so long. Guess it doesn’t matter much.

I open the front door into the orphanage, and as soon as it's open enough to see me through it, my mom yanks me inside by my arm.

“Where have you been!? You were gone for 3 hours!”

“Calm down, mom. It’s not that big of a deal, and were you seriously waiting here in front of the door for 3 hours? That seems kind of excessive.”

“Watch your tone! You're cleaning the whole house for the rest of the day for that.” 

“What!? That is so unfair.”

“Go!” My mom’s voice is stern and loud, shocking me to my core.

“Ugh. Fine.”

I head to the supply closet and grab a broom. I start sweeping the floors in the entryway, feeling my mom's piercing gaze on my back. Chills run up my spine. I glide the broom across the floor more hastily, hoping that getting the work done faster would make my mom calm down.

This went on for the rest of the day. My mom would carefully watch me every time I was doing a different chore. I’m pretty sure she was keeping tabs on me because she didn’t want me sneaking off again. And well, it obviously worked. Her gaze was a hawk watching their prey. I didn’t even want to try and sneak away. I was afraid if I did, I was going to become her next meal.

After finally getting a break, I lay on my bed and sigh in relief. Finally, I was free from all of that work. I don’t even know what her problem was! All I did was go out for a few hours and get back right afterwards. Maybe she was mad because I didn’t stop to listen to what she had to say before I left? I honestly couldn’t tell.

As I was trying to fall asleep, I heard the soft thumping of something landing on the roof. My eyes fly open, my mind still groggy from being exhausted. I slide myself out of bed and onto my feet, making my way to the only window in my room. I open the curtains and lift up the shutters to see that same small cat from earlier sitting on the shingles of the roof area over the back porch of the building. When it sees me, it meows, telling me to let in. In pure confusion, I just opened my window to let it inside.

“What are you doing here? Better question, how did you get up here?”

The cat meows again and jumps into my room through the opening in the window. Once it’s inside, I close the window and drag my shutters down to cover the clear view my window was giving. I turn around and look down at the floor, only to see the cat staring right back up at me.

“How did you know where to find me? Did you follow me all the way home?” The cat walks up to my feet and starts rubbing up against my shins, purring loudly. “Ok, ok… Come here, you cute little fuzzball.”

I pick the kitten up, and it snuggles into my arms. I know I shouldn’t keep it, but I really want to.

“Ok. How about you sleep with me tonight? But after that, you have to leave. If my mom sees you, she’s going to flip.”

The cat gently purrs against my chest and arms.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” I slip back into my bed and pull the covers over me and the kitten using one of my hands.

“Good night, little friend." I whisper softly as I snuggle with the cat. It meows and rubs its head against my neck. Soon I’m able to fall asleep. My eyes shut closed, and I lay there peacefully with the new friend I made that day.