Chapter Text
six years old
There was excitement in the air as 6-year-old Laura Hollis ran down the block towards her house. The last of the other trick-or-treaters were going back to their houses as well. Halloween night was coming to a close, and Laura had had the best Halloween yet. She had so much candy her arm hurt from carrying it.
As she ran, she had to occasionally fix her black wig and straighten out her dark clothes-- being Wednesday Addams was harder than Laura had thought it would be.
“Laura, sweetie! Slow down!” called out her dad. “I don’t want you to trip!”
Laura rolled her eyes, her pace not changing. She giggled as she bounded up her front steps. Her dad finally made it over to the door to unlock it.
“I can’t wait to count how much candy I got!” Laura exploded. She started jumping up and down. “I bet I got a million pieces! Dontcha think, Daddy? Dontcha?”
“Mhm, I’m sure you did. Now, stop jumping up and down, before you hurt yourself. And don’t eat too much candy!”
Laura ran inside and up the stairs, saying hello to the witch decoration in the hallway as she always did before running into her room and closing her door. She spilled the contents of her bag onto her blue rug, orange and yellow and red wrappers creating an inferno of candy that practically engulfed the carpet. Laura took off her costume, changed into her Halloween pajamas, and began to count each piece out loud as best as she could. ‘One, two, three…”
Something flashed in the window out of the corner of Laura’s eye just as she was about to unwrap a Reeses peanut butter cup. She got up and slowly walked over to her window, crawling up on the comfy chair beneath it so she could peer outside. Out of sheer surprise, Laura gasped and ducked down.
Just outside her window was a large oak tree, one that had always loomed in her front yard. And in this tree, looking right into her window, was a small black cat. Laura knew that black cats, especially on Halloween, were never a good sign. As Laura cautiously looked out her window again, she got a better sight of its round, yellow eyes that pierced the darkness. It was too small to be full grown, but it wasn’t quite a kitten. It had a deep red collar around its neck, but instead of a tag there was a silvery sun charm hanging from it, like it was a fashionable necklace hanging around the cat’s neck. Its thick, midnight-black fur was tinged with the light of the full moon, and it unwaveringly stared into Laura’s bedroom window.
At first, Laura felt afraid. Should she go get her dad? But as she continued to stare at it, and it continued to stare back, she realized that this little thing was harmless. “Aw,” said Laura, smiling. “You’re kinda cute.” With that, the cat’s whiskers quivered, and Laura could swear that the cat had just smiled at her, yellow eyes beaming. Laura began to laugh, hoping this wouldn’t scare it away. But the cat didn’t budge-- it seemed as though nothing could make it move from that spot, perched on the sturdy, knotted oak branch.
“I guess people are wrong about black cats,” Laura sighed. “They don’t seem so scary or unlucky after all!”
Suddenly, her dad walked in. “Hi, Laura.” He noticed where she was sitting. “What are you doing? Why aren’t you counting your candy?”
“Daddy!” She jumped down and sprinted over to him. “Come look! There’s a black cat outside my window!”
She took his hand and walked him over. “Look! See? Its right…”
But the cat was no longer there. Laura scrunched up her face in confusion. “But… it was just there…”
Her dad gave her a disbelieving look. “Are you making things up again? I still don’t believe your whole ‘bear in the closet’ spiel.”
“No! I swear! It was right there…” Laura suddenly felt an emptiness in her stomach. She looked down, upset, and muttered. “Nevermind.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You know I love meeting your imaginary friends.”
“But Daddy, this wasn’t ima…” But Laura just let out a frustrated sigh, giving up, knowing her dad wouldn’t believe her.
He smiled and pulled her into a hug. “Goodnight, Laura. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.” With that, he stood and left, closing the baby blue door behind him.
Laura was sad. Why had the cat left? She felt a tear slide down her cheek. She suddenly felt so… lonely without the cat. So vulnerable. So afraid. She climbed back up, looking out the window, expecting to see an empty tree once again.
Laura caught her breath. Happiness swirled inside her, filling the empty pit in her stomach. A grin stretched across her face.
Two yellow eyes were staring back at her, unblinking and as round as saucers. And Laura had never felt happier. Suddenly, the candy felt so unimportant to her as she ran over to her cabinet and pulled out a piece of paper, and a black, yellow, and red crayon. She ran over to the window and began to draw the cat. When her masterpiece was done, she held it to the window, for the cat to see. Once again, she could have sworn its slick black lips upturned ever so slightly into a smile. Laura looked over her masterpiece again and grinned.
“This really is the best Halloween ever!”
eight years old
“Ready or not, here I come!” called out the dark-haired boy standing in the wood chips of the playground. He uncovered his wide green eyes and began to run around, searching for the other hidden kids.
Laura could barely contain her giggles. She was hiding behind a big, wide tree, in the forest that surrounded the playground, and when Sam Greeneberg came looking for her she’d switch trees stealthily. He’d never find her in a trillion years! Laura thought her plan was absolutely genius.
Just as Laura began to cautiously peer around the tree, a voice rang in her ears.
“Hey.”
Laura jumped, her head whipping around to see a girl about her age standing in front of her. She had long, wavy dark brown hair and soulful brown eyes. She was wearing skintight black skinny jeans, lace up combat boots, and a shirt that read ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’ Her arms, adorning lace-up fingerless gloves, were crossed and her lips slightly pouty. She looked like she was dressed as if she was several years older that she looked.
“Hi,” Laura squeaked, a little intimidated. She had never seen this girl in the park before. She usually knew every kid on the playground, due to how frequently she came and how close she lived to the park. “I haven’t seen you before. ...Are you playing hide and seek with us?”
“Ah, is that why you’re hiding behind this tree? I was wondering.” The girl had a deep, smooth voice that was sweet to Laura’s ears.
Laura couldn’t help but smile. This girl seemed so mature and cool. And something about her seemed familiar… but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“So, who are we hiding from?” the girl asked. Laura grinned when she referred to them as ‘we.’ She loved making new friends.
Laura pointed to Sam and whispered her response. “See that skinny boy with the dark hair? That’s Sam Greeneberg. He’s it this round. He isn’t the best at finding, though-- he has pretty bad eyesight. So when he starts to come over here I’m gonna make a run for the next tree.” She began to giggle. “He’ll never find us!”
The girl smirked, pulling at her red choker necklace, the silver sun hanging from it glinting in the sunlight. “I like the way you think,” she whispered back. “But, we don’t need to run to the next tree. I know a way for him to never see us without moving from this tree at all.”
Laura was about to question her, but noticed Sam making his way over. “He’s coming!” she muttered.
The dark-haired girl grabbed Laura’s hand, her eyes not leaving Sam. “Just follow my lead.”
Laura tried to contain her giggles. This was so exciting!
Sam bustled over noisily, tripping over his own lanky body every few steps. As he approached their tree and began walking around, the girl lead Laura silently around, always being on the opposite side of the tree from wherever Sam was. Genius! Laura thought. This is way better than my idea!
Sam stopped in his tracks when Laura accidentally stepped on a twig, snapping it loudly. She and the dark-haired girl stood stock still as the boy contemplated what to do next. Laura, being a bit clumsy once again, took a tiny step back, and yet again snapped a twig.
“I can hear you!!” Sam exclaimed. He suddenly began to sprint around the tree; but the dark-haired girl anticipated this, starting to run just before he started, still clasping Laura’s hand and leading her along. Sam began to slow down and stop, as well as they did, and the girl stooped down and grabbed a rock. She wound up and chucked it as far as she could to the right, its landing making a loud rustle and thud! noise in the distance. Sam, giving up on trying to find them, snapped his head in the direction of the sound, and sprinted off after it. They moved to the left as he did this. Once he was out of range, Laura tried her best to hold back her hysterical giggles, but it wasn’t working. She had to throw a hand over her mouth.
“That was so cool!” Laura said between laughs. “I felt like a ninja!”
The girl chuckled and looked down. “That was really fun, wasn’t it?”
Laura’s giggle fit calmed down eventually, and the two suddenly realized they were still holding hands. Laura swore she noticed the girl blush as she unlaced her gloved hand from Laura’s.
Laura simply grinned. “By the way, I’m Laura. What's your name?” She asked, just now realizing she had no idea what it was.
The girl flicked her dark eyes up and smirked. “Well, now, I have to keep some of my secrets. Otherwise I'll lose my aire of mystery, won’t I?”
Laura felt shivers go down her spine. She slowly raised an eyebrow. Wow, this girl is so awesome… but kinda creepy and weird, Laura thought. What does ‘air of mystery’ even mean? And why does she feel so weirdly familiar…? She was about to question her when she heard her dad’s voice coming from the benches near the playground. “Laura! Time to go! It’s time for your Krav Maga lesson!”
Laura sighed, looking around to see if Sam was in near proximity. “Dad always blows my cover during hide and seek every time,” she grumbles.
Laura noticed that the girl looked very disappointed that she had to leave. She grabbed Laura’s hand and gave her a small smile with her delicate, rose-petal lips. “Goodbye, Laura. I’m afraid we won’t meet again for a while. At least… not like this.”
Laura gave her a quizzical look. “What? What do you mean?”
But she just smiled and pulled her into a quick hug. Laura breathed in her scent; it was floral and fresh. Laura smiled, said goodbye, and walked away, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. Laura had only taken a few steps before she turned around to really try and find out her name. “Hey--”
But she was already gone.
***
Laura sat down on her comfy chair and sighed, massaging her split lip. After her Krav Maga lesson had finished, on the walk back home, Raquel Waters had just happened to pass by her. Raquel was her school’s big-time bully since kindergarten. Laura never really hated anyone-- except for this girl. Raquel was riding her perfect pink bike, streamers flying in the wind with two of her ghoulish friends when she rode past Laura on the sidewalk, stopped, and began to tease her. Anger had welled up inside of her body. No one, and she meant no one, made Laura felt such strong hatred as she did. She was usually a very calm and level-headed person but suddenly Laura had turned around and socked Raquel square in the jaw. Laura felt pretty proud of herself, but then realized that Raquel was much bigger and taller than her—and she was outnumbered. Before she could turn and run, Raquel punched her in the mouth, and Laura fell down. She fled the scene before Raquel and her friends could hurt her any more.
Laura had put her hood up when she walked in so her dad wouldn’t see her bloody mouth, and ran upstairs, muttering a quick greeting. Which led to her sitting down on her chair.
It was dark now. Laura had moved to her bed and was reading a book when she realized something. She jumped out of bed and hurried toward the couch, kneeling on it to gaze out the window.
As always, there was the full-grown black cat, perched on the same branch, staring at her with the same round yellow eyes. It always gave Laura comfort to see this cat outside her window, watching over her, always there. She gazed out at it when she was bored or having a bad day, or simply needed someone to talk to. She smiled at it, and, as usual, it seemed as though it smiled back.
“I guess this isn’t such a bad day after all,” she sighed. “I played in the park, I met a new friend…”
A realization hit Laura like a giant meteorite hitting the earth; meaning, it was quite an explosive realization. Laura squinted her eyes at the cat, making sure she was correct, and then widened them, her jaw dropping.
The collar the black cat was wearing was exactly like the one the girl was wearing earlier that day.
eleven years old
Laura stifled her sobs as she hoisted herself up onto the roof. It was evening, the sun just about to set, and Laura and her father had just gotten into a fight about whether she could go out and meet up with her friends. He was refusing, saying it was ‘much too dangerous to walk around at this time of night,’ even though it was only evening. She had yelled at him to stop treating her like she was five years old, she was almost twelve and could take care of herself enough to walk the ten minutes it takes to get to the mall and meet up with her friends.
“Stupid over-protective dad,” she muttered, sitting down on the top of her roof and hugging her knees. “I don’t need you. Just like I don’t need Mom. Whoever the heck she might be…”
Laura watched the sunset, the sky slowly turning beautiful shades of orange and pink, and eventually fading out into black. The stars twinkled up above, and Laura felt as if she could watch the sky forever.
Suddenly, Laura heard a sound. She perked up her head as movement came from the edge of her roof. Squinting in the darkness, Laura struggled to see what it was, but before her eyes adjusted, those vividly yellow eyes easily gave it away.
Laura blinked for a few moments, her heart pounding in her chest, and she wasn’t sure what to do. She had never seen the cat anywhere but perched in that same place in the oak tree branches before. Laura had noticed the past few months that it was becoming harder for the cat to sit in the same crevice of the tree branch due to its increasing size, despite the fact that it looked like a normal-sized cat when she was around eight or nine, but still continued to grow after that. By now, the cat was much bigger than the size of an average house cat. She estimated, something she had learned to do in math class, that the cat would weigh around 25 pounds, maybe more.
She almost couldn’t believe her eyes as it slowly sauntered up to her. She felt scared for a moment, then remembered what this was; it was the cat that had been watching over her for almost half her life. It would never harm her. Laura relaxed her tense muscles a little after thinking this in her head.
The cat cautiously sat down next to her, laying down and resting its head on its large black paws, closing its eyes. Laura had never, ever seen the cat so close before. It was an incredible sight. It excited her, yet comforted and calmed her all at the same time. Her brain was clean from the stressful fight she and her dad had just hours ago. She smiled, laying her back flat on the roof and gazed up at the stars, wondering how some glowing dots in the sky so incredibly far away could be so trustworthy. You could always count on them being there every single night, gleaming in the sky.
Laura realized there were only two constant things like this in her life; the cat, and the stars. And she was starting to think there wasn’t much of a difference between the two; they were both breathtakingly beautiful.
thirteen years old
“Come on, Laura, you HAVE to answer,” said Callie. “Truth or dare?”
It was Laura’s 13th birthday party, and Laura was freaking out. She was usually the person to pick truth-- she hated dares. But what if Callie asked her who she liked? Laura was not about to admit to the 6 other 7th graders sitting cross-legged in front of her that she had a crush on Sophie Gilmore.
She darted her eyes around her dark living room, trying to think of the smartest answer. “Fine,” Laura breathed. “I choose… dare.”
Jacqueline Rodriguez giggled. “This is gonna be good,” she whispered to Casey Tanaka.
Callie smiled. “I dare you to… go out into that forest out there, and stay there for… at least five minutes.” She pointed out Laura’s sliding glass back door, into the patch of looming pine trees that had taunted her since she was a young girl.
Laura sucked in her breath. “What? No! That forest is so creepy. I am so not doing that.”
“You have to. It’s a dare,” demanded Ruby Albern. “Come on, Laura. You’re a teenager now. Besides, it’s just some trees!”
Everyone was giggling. Laura hated it. They all sounded so stupid. These girls weren’t even really her friends anyway. At least, it didn’t feel like it. It all just felt so fake. Everything in middle school did. She couldn’t wait to grow up.
“Fine,” Laura sighed. “But I’m only standing out there for five minutes. That’s it!”
They all walked to the door. Laura opened it and walked outside.
“Good luck, and don’t die…” Callie said in a fake mysterious voice. Laura rolled her eyes. They were all giggling again. Ew.
Laura made her way to the trees, realizing halfway she was in her pajamas, barefoot. She winced at every sharp twig or pebble she stepped on but chose to ignore it. Slowly, cautiously, she was swallowed by the dark looming trees.
Laura made her way in a little further and stood in the forest, turning to face the direction of her house. She could barely make out the soft glow of the lights seeping dimly through the incredibly dense branches of the trees around her.
After about thirty seconds, Laura heard a snap come from behind her. She whipped around, not able to see very well in the darkness. “D-don’t come any closer!” Laura yelled out. “I...I know Krav Maga!”
“Your dad is still making you go to that?”
Laura jumped from the sudden voice, a sharp, “AH!” escaping her lips, throwing he hands out in front of her. Her eyes focused on the person who had just spoken, and she suddenly gasped.
Standing in front of her was the girl from the day she played hide and seek about a million years ago, when she used to go to the park. Her overall style was the same, but she looked so much older, so much more mature. Her jawline was more cut, her voice much deeper, and her style was a little more truly alternative than what she wore at eight years old.
Laura felt her cheeks redden. Wow. I was too young to notice how pretty this girl was before, but now…
“Y...you,” Laura stuttered. “I haven’t seen you since we met all those years ago. It’s been so long. What are you doing out here?”
The girl smirked. “The real question that should be asked here is what are you doing out here, in the forest at this time of night?” she countered.
“My friends dared me,” Laura growled. “They’re so stupid. None of them are really my friend-- they’re so fake. All they care about is boys and makeup and popularity. I don’t care about any of that.”
Laura couldn’t read the sudden emotional expression in the dark-haired girl’s eyes. It was passion, sorrow, so many things she didn’t understand. But the girl simply nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed. “All of that stuff is pretty pointless.”
Laura nodded, then suddenly noticed the girl was bleeding. She had a scratch across the bridge of her nose and her lip was bleeding. The purpleness surrounding her eye indicated a pretty severe black eye. “Are you okay? You look hurt.”
The girl held up her hand, as if to say ‘that is so irrelevant right now that I don’t even need to explain it to you’. There was a long pause in which the two just stared at each other before the girl spoke up again. “Look, Laura, I came here to tell you that you might not see me again for a while and I’m really sorry. There’s business I desperately need to take care of. But…” She took a step closer. “But when you look out your window at night, I hope you still think of me and know I’ll still be watching over you. Just know that I’ll always be protecting you, no matter what.”
Laura’s brain was flooded with confusion. “Wait… what? What are you talking about? What do you mean?”
She looked down with her big, brown eyes. “I think you know exactly what I mean.”
Laura’s mind stopped. No, she thought. The thought she had just had was too crazy to even consider. Looking out my window, watching over me and protecting me, she couldn’t possibly mean…?
Before Laura had time to react, the girl leaned in and pecked her on the cheek. “Goodbye, Laura. At least for now.” And as quickly as she came, the girl turned around and ran off.
Laura was paralyzed from shock. She still couldn’t register the information given to her. In fact, it wasn’t possible to register. Laura shook her head. Of course this girl wasn’t the black cat. That would be crazy. She had to be talking about something else when she said ‘when you look out your window at night.’ Some crazy, ridiculous coincidence.
...Right?
When Laura was done mentally freaking out, (both about the black cat thing and the oh lord the kiss), she finally convinced herself that she was being crazy and walked back inside after realizing she had been in the forest well over five minutes. Her friends had asked her what happened and she simply responded, “Nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary happened at all.”
The rest of the night felt surreal. All she could think about was the girl and what she had said. She still didn’t even know this girls name, and she was the only thing on her mind. When her friends were all finally asleep on her bedroom floor cocooned in their sleeping bags late into the night, Laura crawled onto her worn-out comfy chair and looked out the window, her heart sinking into the bottom of her stomach.
The cat wasn’t there.
seventeen years old
Laura sighed, walking along the sidewalk and listening to the the wet, yellow leaves shift under her feet. Everything was damp, even the heavy, humid air that smelled musty and of fresh, sweet rain.
As Laura made her way back to her house, Laura caught herself daydreaming. She was days away from turning 18, and getting out of the hell hole that was high school in a few short months, and she was beyond ecstatic to be accepted to Silas University. But that wasn’t stopping her from having really bad days almost every day in high school. Everyone around her didn’t feel real, didn’t feel genuine to themselves at all. All Laura wanted was to go to college, get out of her small town, and be free to be who she wanted without being judged or bullied for it.
Laura sucked in her breath as something caught her attention from across the street. Her heart rate rapidly increased until it felt like her heart was pumping fire through her blood at the sight. On the other side of the road was the black cat. It was sitting nonchalantly, in the light of the evening, next to a bench.
The first thing Laura noticed was its size. Apparently, this thing never stopped growing. It was now the size of a small German shepherd. What kind of house cat could grow to this size, and could continue to grow for this long?
The next thing Laura noticed was the unmistakable way it was smirking at her and its yellow eyes gleaming mischievously in the evening light.
Laura tried to get a better look, but in the blink of an eye a bus drove by, blocking her view, and when it had passed, the cat was gone.
Holy crap, Laura thought. It’s official. High school is driving me into insanity.
***
When Laura found herself waking up in pitch blackness, it only took her moments to realize she was in a dream. She couldn’t see a thing around her. She wasn’t even certain she was sitting on a bed until she felt the blankets suddenly weighing down on her body, a feeling she swore she hadn’t felt just moments ago.
“Hello?” she called out, sitting up. There was a reverse echo effect on her voice, where she was able to hear her voice getting louder before she even made a sound. Everything was so unclear and confusing around her. She wrapped her arms around herself, only realizing now that she was wearing nothing but underwear and a white tank top, and she had no idea why.
She almost screamed when she felt a cold hand touch her shoulder. She whipped around, expecting someone scary and evil to be grabbing her shoulder and trying to pull her in to eat her or kill her.
The sight that greeted her was the complete opposite.
Kneeling next to her, hand on her shoulder, face just a foot away from her own, was the dark-haired, mysterious girl from the forest all those years ago. Laura had immediately known it was her even though she looked so much different, so much older and more grown up, just like how she looked older when she was thirteen in comparison to when she was eight. Except this change felt different, more drastic. The girl was dressed in a cut-up black and red top and the tightest pair of black leather pants she had ever seen in her life. Her eyeliner was smudgy and dark, and her lips a delicate shade of red, as well as the ever-familiar choker necklace with the silver sun charm hanging onto her neck.
Laura’s heart began to beat. The fuzzy, confusing surroundings around her felt less overwhelming and more comforting now that she was here.
Laura couldn’t help but grin. “You again,” she breathed out.
The girl smirked and began to trace invisible patterns on Laura’s shoulder, sending shivers down her spine. “Hey, cutie.”
Laura’s blush hit her face like an oncoming train as she realized how little clothing she herself was wearing. But in this moment, she didn’t care one bit. She was busy getting lost in those dark eyes…
Laura tried to make coherent sentences come out of her mouth, but couldn’t, for the girl began to lean forward and inch closer as Laura scooted back, a bit terrified of her own overwhelming feelings. All she could get out was, “The forest… long time ago… you left.”
“Let’s forget about the past for a moment, shall we?” she said, leaning into her more and more, her voice a deep tone of pure seduction. The girl was now pushing Laura down with the hand that was still on her shoulder, and Laura was surprised how easily she gave into the pressure.
The dark-haired girl now had one arm next to each side of Laura’s head, staring down at her. Slowly, she lowered herself down, closing the mere inches of space they had between their bodies.
She was completely on top of her. And Laura’s heart had never beat faster in her life.
The girl’s hands began to run down Laura’s side. When she hit the patch of smooth, exposed skin between Laura’s shirt and underwear, Laura twitched. The corner of the girl’s mouth shot upward, her fingers tracing circles lightly on her skin.
She moved her face to the right side of Laura’s jaw, whispering, “I’ve missed watching over you every night,” before lightly kissing her jaw. Laura let out a whimper, which only made the girl chuckle. Laura tried to respond to her, but deemed it useless to even try. She could feel the girl’s tight leather pants brushing against her bare legs, her hips placed over Laura’s and moving just slightly, driving her insane…
“You know, you’re beautiful when you sleep,” she said, leaning her forehead into the right side of Laura’s forehead. “I sometimes think I should have never left…”
Laura was trying to pay attention to what she was saying, but due to the fact that the girls hands were now actively running down her body and her hips were moving so suggestively Laura couldn’t pay attention to much else. She tried to talk but it only came out as a small moan.
The girl laced her fingers through Laura’s blonde hair, pulling Laura’s head closer to hers. She was looking her in the eyes, their mouths only inches apart. Softly, barely audibly, the girl whispered, “But I’m coming back soon, cupcake. I promise. I’m sorry I left. I want to see you again. Every night.”
Laura was just starting to get the strength to respond when Laura suddenly jolted upright, her eyes flying open. She looked around, recognizing her room and that it was morning.She was breathing heavily and sweat coated her arms and shoulders. Ecstasy pumped in her veins as she relished in the feeling of that dream, how realistic it was...
But every second that Laura was awake, details of the dream began to fade, slipping away, despite the fact that her brain desperately clung to the dream, relishing in every sweet, sexual moment. But by the time she was walking downstairs to make pancakes for breakfast, the only thing she could possibly remember was a cold hand, touching her shoulder.
six months later (eighteen years old)
Laura was doing some last-minute packing up, preparing for her journey to the college of her dreams in Styria, Austria, at 11:30pm, when she saw it.
Laura dropped the box she was holding and sprinted over to her window, feeling the emptiness in the room when had to kneel on the floor instead of her comfy chair; her dad had thrown it out a few weeks ago without her consent because it had become ‘too worn out and disgusting.’ Laura had never cried harder in her life.
But she wasn’t entirely preoccupied with that at the moment, because sitting in the tree, entirely much too big now for the crevice in the oak tree branches, was the black cat. It was as large as when she had seen it for a split second across the street several months ago. Its yellow eyes remained unblinking, bright and piercing through the veil of the heavily dark night. She couldn’t believe it was here; the last time it had been was the night before her 13th birthday party. She had missed this cat so much it had hurt, but now it felt as if a piece of her broken heart had melded back together. Everything felt surreal, happy, peaceful, stable…
Suddenly Laura burst into spontaneous laughter. The happiness she was feeling was so infectious it was causing her to laugh. And when she was calming down, she looked up at the cat and smiled the biggest, most genuine smile she had ever smiled in her whole life, and said, “Thank you for being a part of my life. You make me feel so important, and happy, when no one else could. You mean the world to me.”
And as usual, the cat reacted like it always used to-- by twitching its whiskers and giving her one of those unmistakable smiles.