I waited day and night for them, never moving from my box. My tummy was rumbling with hunger and I was weak. My arms and legs could barely support my frail body. I lay limp in my blankie, hoping my Mommy and Daddy would come for me soon. I curled up every night and cried myself to sleep.
The weather grew harsher each passing day. Luckily I had my blankie to keep me warm and the box to shelter me from the white falling powder. I watched the alley cats dance and play in it. I once stuck my nose out to get a better view of the white powder, but one fell on my nose. I shrunk back. That was cold! I think I once heard someone call it 'snow'.
It was tough finding food, especially since I didn't know how to hunt. I guess having a box behind a restaurant is considered lucky, since all I have to do is crawl to gets a few scraps of what I can get. I was afraid of cats and Pollicles. Every time I heard the slightest of noises, I hid under my blankie. The outside world was a scary place. And the best part? I was so small, I was never discovered!
One particular morning, however, I was finally discovered.
A fresh sheet of snow was on the ground and the alley where my box stood was quiet for once. Most of the cats who lived there were out wandering around the city. I happily settled down to take a nice catnap. It didn't last long, however, when I heard several tiny voices laughing. I dove under my blankie, poking my head out slightly.
"C'mon, Teazer!" I heard a young tom say. "It's your turn!"
"No woy!" A young queen replied. "Oi'm olways 'it' foirst!"
"Ok, 'ow about we moike a deal?" A second young tom voice spoke up. "If yah go foirst, the one yah cotch 'as tah kiss the othah playah!"
"Where?" The queen asked.
"Um…the cheek!"
"Deal!" The young queen said. I heard the two toms scurry away as the queen ran after them. I listened to them shriek in delight as they avoided the queen's paw and throw snowballs at each other. It finally grew silent after a few seconds. I thought they had left and walked out from under my blanket – still inside my box, though.
"OOF!"
A ginger tom about my age fell in front of my box, sending up a cloud of snow. I hissed in surprise and curled up into a ball. He heard my hiss and glanced over, noticing me. His eyes widened as he watched me cowering away from him.
"Hey you guys!" The ginger tom called over to his friends, brushing the snow off of his fur. The queen had successfully caught the tom that looked a lot like her. They were both white with black and orange stripes. "There's a kitten over here!"
The kittens bounced over. The striped queen bent down and looked at me, tilting her head. "Whot do yah suppose we do?"
"Toike 'im tah Jenny, Oi guess?" The striped tom suggested. I frowned. What was this Jenny? Would it hurt?
"What's your name?" The ginger kitten asked me.
"Xander," I replied.
"I'm Macavity, and these are my friends, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer." He gestured to the two cats beside him. "What are you doing out here?"
"Waiting for my Mommy and Daddy."
"Well…where are they?"
"I don't know," I said sadly. "I waited for them for a few days, but they never came back to me."
The ginger kitten glanced at his friends and he held his paw out to me. "Come with us."
I hesitated. "Where are we going?"
"To the junkyard." I picked up my blankie and followed the three kittens out to the junkyard. So many questions were running through my mind. Why were we going to the junkyard? What would happen if Mommy and Daddy came back, but I wasn't there? None of these questions were answered, considering I kept them to myself.
"'ey, Jerrie," Teazer perked up suddenly. "Don't fahget, yah 'ave tah kiss Mac since Oi caught yah!"
Jerrie groaned. "Oi wos 'oping yah would 'ave fahgotten…"