Today was... nice.
The summer break was doing great. Turns out Alys wasn't a villain, and she actually knew how to cook a proper cake. That made points. No more hospital calls. Dad's job was doing great, too. Alys was really nice. I know, deep down, that this is what mom would've liked.
So that day, I was pedaling on my bike. Coming back from Mr. Weatherby's library. I missed him a lot at Hogwarts. Ironic and a bit depressing to think that, before the school, he used to be my only friend. The 70 year old librarian who lived five blocks away. At least he hadn't gotten a random girlfriend during my time away.
That was the only thing I was still a bit mad at my dad for. Imagine going to Hogwarts, coming back and finding out your father has a girlfriend no one told you about. Disgusting!
And while I thought about it, just a few blocks away from my house, I heard it. It was subtle at first, and for some reason, I stopped in my tracks.
"Meow!"
Subtle. Slight. A small kitten sound. I may be going crazy. I got up on my bike again and I heard it again.
"Meow!"
Huh. It was real. I left the bike on the ground and approached the small bush on the platform next to the street, where the sound seemed to come from. Reckless and fearless as I've become, I tucked my hand into the bush and touched something furry.
Slowly, I took it out. It was a kitty! Small, black, I didn't calculate more than six or seven months. Not more of a year, though. His wide, golden eyes looked at me with curiosity, as if I was the first human he saw in days, which probably wasn't true, considering the great state he seemed to be in.
It was a boy, I noticed. He was crying. At least, he seemed to be well fed. Was he lost? Did he lose his mommy?
"Hey, who are you? Where's your mom? Do you have a name?"
By all response, he meowed back at me. In a second, still on my arms, he took out his claws and tried to scratch me.
"Woah, hold on! I'm an ally!" I quickly yanked my arm back. He almost fell into the ground, so I better crouched down and left him on the floor.
He just sat there, looking at me like he didn't decide if I was his savior or the one who lost him.
And I looked down at him, standing up and placing my hands on my hips. I couldn't leave him here. He was a baby! What if there was a family looking for him?
Oh boy, what can I do with you?
An hour later, the scene was the same, but the kitten was calmly licking his paw on the couch and, in the living room, Alys, my dad and me were staring at him with our arms on our hips, still deciding what to do with it.
"... We should keep him." I said first.
"No, what if there's a family looking for him?" Dad said.
"John, she found him on the street. It's a stray kitten. It's ours now." Alys backed me up. I decided she was my favorite person now.
The kitty meowed. He was getting hungry.
"Alright, how about this? I'll print some 'missing' posters and, if anyone calls, we give him back." Dad was a hero. My hero.
Alys and I looked at eachother with excitement.
"I'll go buy some food for him!" She said.
"He's sleeping in my room!" I said at the same time.
We laughed as dad rolled his eyes.
"You girls are aware of the fact that I have allergies, right?" He sighed.
"Daaad!" I pouted.
"John, there's medicine for that. Come on, don't be so grumpy." She smiled and winked at him.
Well, it was... awkward to see them flirt in front of me. Gross.
"So will you leave me keep him or...?"
The kitty meowed again, louder this time, as if he was backing me up, too.
"Fine." He sighed.
I laughed as I lifted the small baby on my arms.
"Neko. I'll call you Neko. You're coming with me." I talked to him as we went to my room, chatting with him as if he was my new best friend.
"Until we find his owner!" I head dad yelling from the first floor, along with Alys' laugh. I rolled my eyes.
