7/26/10
...
The crowded streets were littered, sadly, with more garabge and the wretched smell of factory smoke than people. It seemed that the more garbage there was, the less people. Either the litterbuging-bastards couldnt stand the destructed state of the city, or they choked and died on it.
Cars flew by the sidewalks with alarming speed, tires squealing out in pain as metal clamps shut off their natural rolling system- all for the sake of a little red light.
Coughing on car fumes and unseen germs, people shuffled from one side of the street to another on a painted walk way. Children among the crowd, while walking with the people, glanced at the cars which stopped at the red light to let them pass, wondering fearfully if they would suddenly roar to life and squash them.
One child waved when he noticed for the first time that people like Mommy and Daddy were in the cars.
The driver did not wave back.
It was about this time that a young brown haired boy by the name of Toboe cut through the people with loud calls of "excuse me!" and jumped to the opposite side walk, just as the light switched to green.
Cars began moving again- cars with people in them; people who drove cars- cars which kill people; people who brought the cars to life: It was the irony nobody saw coming. If they had saw it, odds are they didnt have a chance to say so because they must have been hit by a car a second later.
Safe on the other side, Toboe turned his wide-eyed gaze from the rushing violence of the cars, to the soft blank movements of living, secretive humans. He began walking more comfortably on the sidewalk, blending perfectly as if he was like them.
The boy put his hands into his pockets and began humming; he was in a good mood today. The sun was high and warm, the wind stirring dirt and the smell of hot food into his nostrils...It was a great morning for a walk.
A sudden light, high note catch the boy's attention, and he turned to a dark, brick wall. Blinking, Toboe stepped forward, placing a hand on the grime, fingers tracing the rough surface. His foot knocked on something solid, and he jerked back, startled.
Looking down with his doe-brown eyes, Toboe noticed the box of kittens.
There was a gray one, a white one, and an orange one.
Toboe picked up the orange kitten, and held it up in the air like a baboon unrealistically does a newborn lion king. Exsamining the kitten, the boy discovered two dark-oange strips across it's back, and smiled at the kitten, thinking he was pretty damn close to being the ugliest cat he'd ever seen.
The orange kitten smiled down at the boy, purring happily. A single flea leaped off from its back, and vanished in the sky.
Toboe looked around for a man- anyone- who might be selling the kittens. But on the box was the sharpie-fresh word: Free. Excited, Toboe set the orange kitten back into the box and lifted the white one.
"You're a cute fellow," said Toboe, eyes squinting as he smiled. The white kitten struggled in his grip, eyes wide, small claws expanding from their fur sheaths to cut his enemy. The boy bent down and put the kitten back hastily. He frowned, rubbing a fresh cut on his arm. A drop of blood slipped into the box, and he watched in alarm as the last kitten- the gray one- began licking up the blood.
"Aah!" cried Toboe, withdrawing. "Vampire!" he scolded. With only slight hesitation, the boy stuck his hands into the box and freed the orange kitten from his prison, tucking the warm creature under his arm like a newspaper protectively as he watched the last two kittens begin clawing eachother playfully. Savages in the making.
Shuddering, Toboe stood up and followed the crowd moving up the street, dodging silently the people who walked towards him. Everyone going somewhere else...
Removing the kitten from his arm, Toboe curled the kitten in his hand, running his fingers along the two dark stripes. "What should I call you?" he asked the kitten. A man with glasses brushed by with quick strides; a woman with a bad hair cut yelled to somebody on the end of a cell phone; a gang of young men with portible stereos walked by with their music playing several different tunes, their low jeans held up by rope.
All these people passed the doe-eyed boy without even glancing at the kitten. But then a couple walked by, all smiles, talking loudly about some airline flight called Oceanic they had to take in twenty minutes. Their daughter, Jenny, lagged behind dragging a stick along the sidewalk.
Though the girl was glad her parents had came home from the trips, it saddened her that they were going to leave tomorrow- so soon. She tried to be happy with them, but she couldnt keep it up for long. She didnt want them to make her promises they would never keep. Raising her hand to her face, the girl brushed her dark red hair from her face, and looked up from the dirty sidewalk just as Toboe crashed into her.
Jenny fell backwards onto her butt, the stick skidding from her hands, settling on the road. Watching it, the girl flinched as a car drove over the stick. She started to stand, but, wincing as she discovered bruising on her legs, sat back down.
Toboe gasped, standing up quickly. He held his kitten more closely to his chest, and offered his free hand to the girl. "I'm sorry, are you all right?" he asked.
The girl took his hand and stood more carefully, nodding emotionlessly.
The kitten mewed.
Blushing Toboe tried to hide the kitten, but the girl's eyes lit up and she stepped closer to the boy, asking a question she already knew. "What was that?" she asked breathlessly.
"N-nothing!" stammered Toboe, hiding the orange kitten in his shirt now.
"Let me see it!" demanded the girl loudly.
Toboe, frightened, fell back against a wall, and the kitten slipped out from his shirt- claws scraping down his chest along the way. Crying out, the boy hugged his bleeding chest.
"Aww," Jenny got on her knees, hands out reaching, grabbing, and cuddled the kitten against her cheek. "You poor kitty," she said. Jenny stood up and glared at the boy. "You need to be more careful!" she told him.
Toboe, looking up at her, merely blinked. He raised a pointing finger slowly. "That's my kitten..." he said dumbfoundedly.
Jenny blushed and looked down at the orange kitten in her arms. The kitten looked back and meowed curiously.
By now, Jenny's parents had made the brief argument of "where did Jenny go?" and now arrived at the scenen with red, humiliated races.
"Jenny!" snapped her mother. "Get away from the boy! And what- what is in your hands?"
Jenny faced her parents, the kitten ducking against her chest in fear. She could feel its heart racing against her own.
"Put that kitten down!" Jenny's father said, pointing to the sidewalk.
Jenny obeyed. But the kitten didn't leave her side.
"Shoo, shoo!" hissed Jenny's mother, waving her hands.
Jenny scooted the kitten away with her foot- the kitten fell off the curb, onto the side of the street.
"Stay with us." said Jenny's father to his daughter. He gave Toboe an evil look. "And you'd better go back where you came from, boy."
"Daddy..." Jenny begged, glancing down at the kitten beside the curb, who gazed at her with wide, helpless eyes.
Jenny's mother stepped forward and snatched Jenny by the arm, pulling her along without a word. Her father followed.
Jenny looked back at the boy, but the boy could only stare with wide, disbelieivng eyes. Mouth quivering, the girl looked away, as if hurt.
Swallowing a lung full of hot air, Toboe walked over to the curb and picked up the kitten. Already, it was covered in bits of sticky paper, dirt. A black smear of grease was visable across its face.
Tilting its head, the kitten meowed softly, as if apologizing.
"Yeah, I forgive you." muttered Toboe, rubbing the claw macks under his shirt. Taking up the corner of his sleeve, the boy wiped the grease off the kitten. "Well, I know what I'm going to do with you now." he said, more brightly. He looked back up the street, where the girl had merdged intot he crowd.
Smiling, Toboe began to walk, humming a song- unheard in the sea of muffled voices.
...
Several minutes later, the boy arrived at a large house between a dozen smaller others. The area smelled much cleaner- or maybe it was the smell of cut grass that over whelmed the hidden sewers.
At the sight of the house, Toboe nearly laughed. "They must be rich," he told the kitten. "I'm sure you'll like it here." he added gently when the kitten gave him a funny look. Walking up the stairs, the boy placed the kitten on the stairs. He pressed in the golden button, instantly hearing the loud music cry out from inside.
Panick suddenly washed over the boy. The man didn't like him very much. He had to hide. Turning in place, Toboe noticed the rose bushes on the side of the house. Wincing, the boy hoped they weren't thorned roses. Footsteps were heard approaching the door, so the boy threw himself into the bushes without another thought.
The kitten watched him, tail flicking back and forth. When the door opened, the kitten ducked down in fear, ears flattening on its face.
"Oh, it's you!" cried a soft, excited voice.
Toboe glanced between the leaves at the girl. Jenny, thought Toboe. That's her name.
The kitten meowed, standing up on its hind legs expectantly. The girl picked him up and brought him inside, whispering sweet nothings in its ear.
The door closed.
Rising from the bushes, the boy stepped out and stood in front of the stairs. He wondered if the kitten would be happy there. An ant crawled up his arm- he quickly thumped it off.
He checked himself and noticed a few leaves and rose pettles stuck to his clothes. He dusted them off with a sigh and turned back to the sidewalk. He gave the house one more look, and smiled.
"I hope you have a good life, kitten." he said cheerfully. Toboe stuck his hands in his pockets and started walking. Enjoying the day, the boy began to hum. He passed by the nice houses as their statements slowly went from "rich person lives here" to "I need money." Eventually, he was back in the heart of the city, breathing the fumes and illnesses of the world.
A few minutes later, he was surrounded by the ever-moving crowds, and his voice became lost. Cars raced by, their horns shouting through the thick air, startling children, putting fear in their hearts. But among it all, Toboe was smiling.
...