Chapter 7: A Lost Soul
Run faster, run as fast as you can! I am! I am running as fast as I can. No, run faster... you must get away! She was running as fast as she could through the street. The rain clutched onto her already drenched figure. She came to a stop and hid in an alley way. She had no clue where she was. She had ran as fast as she could in one direction and finally made it to a city. Her eyes were scared and showed the pain she was feeling. She had been betrayed, betrayed by her childhood friend. She shivered as she touched her face. It wasn't furry, it was smooth, something she wasn't used to. She walked out of the alleyway slowly, clutching her bag to her. She began to walk, other people hustling around her trying to get out of the rain. She walked and stopped in front of two big windows that belonged to a coffee shop. She stared at her reflection as two green eyes stared back at her. She was human...
Rose walked into the small coffee shop and took a seat in the far corner. She shivered some as she sat in the corner. A waitress walked up to her.
"What would you like sweets?" she asked, her high pitched voice awfully naisly. Rose's ears rang as she looked up at the waitress.
"A cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows please," she spoke a little softly. The waitress wrote down the order and walked off. Rose turned and put her back against the wall and brought her knees up to her as she cuddled in the booth. She was scared and everything around her was so new to her. She felt like a lost puppy, well actually a lost kitty. The waitress brought her the cup of hot chocolate and asked if that was all. Rose gave a little nod and the waitress sat a white slip of paper down on the counter and walked away. Rose looked at the white slip of paper, tilted her head and shrugged and began to drink the hot chocolate. She yelped and put down the cup. Her tongue was throbbing and she was fanning her mouth. She blew on the drink and took yet another sip. She could feel the warm liquid flow down her throat and hit her stomach. Her whole body warmed up and she relaxed.
Once she finished she set the empty cup to the side and began to head out the door. A lady walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Excuse me, but you didn't pay your bill," said the lady. Rose just looked at her.
"What?" she asked. She had never really been out before because she refused to turn human. Actually she never knew she could change into a human until she saw herself in the window. Daniel never really took her out anywhere because of her image. She knew he had money and had dealt with it when he gave her an allowance and let her pick something out of a catalog book but never knew you had to pay for anything else.
"Your bill." Rose looked at her and knew she had no money or anything to pay. She backed up and dashed outside quickly. The woman ran after her but soon stopped for she didn't want to get wet at all.
Rose ran until she could find some shelter far away from the coffee shop. She found it at the park under the covered picnic sights. There were several groups of people there all huddled together and Rose found herself among them. She listened to their conversations as they waited for the rain to stop. Some where brave to venture out into the rainy afternoon while others just stood and waited for a drizzle. The park was lush and green and smelt of cool rain. Everything was a deeper color than usual and a slight fog covered the park. Most things in the park were benches and a playground about one hundred yards away. Rose began to think about what she was going to do. She had no money, little clothes, and no where to stay. She began to go into deep thought when she saw a woman pull out a wallet and showed her companion what was inside. Rose pretended to not pay attention as the woman spoke.
"See this, this money is going toward that cruise that me and my hubby are going to take. Its half of our savings plus other money we have been saving. I just hope we have enough..." said the lady and put the money into her purse, or so she thought. Half of the money slipped out of the wallet and landed on the ground with a soft thud. The two ladies weren't paying attention and it caught Rose's eyes. She looked at it. She began to debate if she wanted to take it or not. She began to reach for it but drew her hand back. She looked around, kneeled down and grabbed the money and darted off into the rain once again.
A tall lean man walked up the stairs of the apartment building and opened the door.
"This will be your room. Remember that the rent is due every three months and not a day late. Every day that its late I add onto it you understand ma'am?" he asked. Rose just nodded blindly and stepped into the room. The man left the keys with Rose and stepped out. The apartment was small and cozy. The living room was small that lead to a small kitchen. Then there was a hallway that lead to a bathroom on the right and a bedroom to the left. There was a small sofa in the apartment with a small television set. There was a shelf to put pictures on, an ice box and table in the kitchen with an oven and microwave. She walked toward the bedroom which held a small bed and an old desk with a small closet. She sat her bag down on the bed and unzipped it. Rose began to unpack when she reliezed where she was and what she was doing. She looked up and everything seemed so different to her. She felt like she was in a little house made of wood with leaves covering the windows. She could see a small washing dish, a pump for water, a homemade couch and chairs, a wooden table with wooden chairs, a shelf with a picture on it of which three felis sapiens stood. Outside the window she could see a meadow then woods and far off in the distance she saw white towers blurred. She reached out to touch the blurred objects but soon noticed she was reaching into thin air and in front of her was a dull colored wall. She sat down and rubbed her head. What had happened? She was confused and remembered what she saw. Then it hit her. Her home. She had seen her home. Excitement welded up inside of her as she thought about her home. The picture, she must have the picture. The picture was her only way of remembering her mother and father.
"Mija, Kija..." she whispered softly. She stopped. What had she just said? She blinked and it hit her. She just said Momma, papa. She began to think of other words she could remember but none returned. She sighed and flopped on the bed. She looked at the wall in front of her and fell into a gentle sleep.