Abandoned 05.28.2023
"Moon Cat!"
Skipper and the team approached Max the Cat as he frantically ran up to them on all fours.
"Guys! I need your help!" Max exclaimed as he came to a stop next to them.
"What's wrong, Max?" Private asked.
"There's this little girl down in the Bronx. Her name is Sally. She needs our help," he explained.
"Okay," Skipper responded, his brow furrowing. "I'll never say no to helping a child in need. But how do you know her?"
Max shook his head. "No time to explain. We just have history. Are you going to help, then?"
"Affirmative," Skipper responded. "Explain on the way. Move out, men."
The penguins followed Max as he explained the story. Apparently, the little girl had been kidnapped and nobody saw what happened except for Max. He had followed her and her kidnapper to a house just outside of the Bronx, one that had neighbors that were far away. Once he knew where she was, he immediately went to recruit the penguins to help. After only a couple hours of work, they managed to save little Sally before any real harm came to her, physically anyway. Once she was reunited with her parents, Max and the penguins started making their way back to Central Park.
"I can't thank you guys enough for helping me save Sally," Max said as they walked alongside the brown river beneath the New York streets.
"No problemo, Moon Cat," Skipper responded.
"Of course, Max," Private added, "we couldn't let that poor girl remain in that evil man's house."
"Do we get to know how you know her now?" Kowalski asked.
Max slowed his pace a little and looked down. "Truth is, guys, it's a little personal."
The penguins nodded and exchanged looks.
"Well," Private started, "you don't have to tell us, but I hope you know we're your friends and you can trust us."
Max looked at Private, who gave him a trustworthy look. Looking at the rest of the penguins, they all watched him similarly. He sighed and nodded, then went closer to the sewer wall and sat down against it. The penguins joined him.
"Sally was . . . my person," Max said sorrowfully.
"Was?" Kowalski asked. "What happened?"
The penguins leaned in, eagerly listening. Max had a family? He had never mentioned them before.
"Yeah," Max said, studying his paws. "The family abandoned me when they moved."
Private frowned angrily. "Abandoned?" he exclaimed. "That's awful!"
Max nodded but didn't respond at first. The penguins exchanged glances trying to figure out what to say, but Max finally broke the silence.
"They said that I didn't fit into their family anymore. They locked me into a room and left the day they moved out. Didn't even leave me any food or water. I waited for 3 days, hoping they would change their mind and come back. That never happened. I had to meow in the window until someone finally found me and let me out."
The penguins felt their blood boiling. They had left Max to die.
Private sighed exasperatedly. "Well, Sally certainly didn't deserve to stay kidnapped or anything of course, but why were you watching her if she did that to you?"
Max sighed. "After I was on the streets for a while I found them again. But I was too afraid and hurt to try to go back to them. But it wasn't Sally's fault. She was just a toddler. She still holds a place in my heart. I check on her every now and again to see how she's doing. I hope that maybe one day when she's grown I'll find her again and she'll remember me, and maybe take me back in. But then I get too scared she'll have forgotten me and see me as just some mangy stray."
The penguins watched Max sympathetically. They had never asked how he had become a stray. They had always assumed he'd been a stray since birth.
"Well, Moon Cat," Skipper started, breaking the sad silence, "whenever you decide you want to try, we'll be happy to help." He put a flipper on his shoulder.
Max looked up at the penguins, then gave them a sad smile. "Thanks, guys."
Shortly after, they were making their way back to the zoo again. Little did Max know that little Sally still had a picture of her and her childhood buddy on her bedroom wall.
[Words: 735]