A Collection Of Short Stories

Katie's Promise

There was once a cat named Marie- actually she's still around today. Perhaps you recognize the name from AristoCats? However whether you specifically know her isn't what this is about. This is about Marie's number one fan, a girl living in a southern Texas town. This girl's name is Katie and this story is all about how she met her idol.

The story starts when Katie was sitting on her bedroom floor, fiddling through random websites on her new computer. After flicking through a few more pictures on Pinterest, she looked up, thinking she had heard something. She thought about getting up to go see what it was, but she wasn't sure she wanted to stay in her room, pinning pictures and writing her stories. 

She heard something again and sighed. She would have to go see what it was. She stood up and closed her laptop, trying to convince herself that she was only going downstairs because she was hungry and wanted a snack. It scared her to consider any other options because she was currently home alone. Her family had gone to the movie theater to watch a movie Katie thought would be rather boring.

Katie went into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of pretzels from her pantry. They were her favorite snack and she was constantly munching on them. Then she went still to listen for any sign of disturbance in the house.

She was about to give up and go back to her room when she heard it- a faint scratching noise. This wasn’t exactly unusual because Katie had four cats, but this sounded different. Today she was on edge thanks to the slowly darkening sky and lack of her family.

It sounds like it’s coming from outside, Katie thought, maybe I should go look- just in case. 

Yet she hesitated; her parents had warned her about going outside when they weren’t there. However Katie was a curious (and slightly disobedient) girl. So when she heard a small meowing sound she couldn’t stop herself from running to the front door. She had a soft spot for lost cats.

Katie could barely believe her own eyes when she opened the door and saw a small white puffball with a pink bow on her head. The kitten looked exactly like Katie’s favorite Disney animal. She wondered if it was she was imagining this.

The cat trotted past the frozen-in-shock Katie and into the kitchen. Katie instantly shut the door and followed, only to find the cat meowing at the fridge. “Do you want some milk?” Katie asked the Marie-look-alike. 

“Meow,” the cat replied, the tags on her bright pink collar jingling. 

Katie nodded slowly. “Okay, I’ll get you some milk... Just let me see your collar.” Katie wasn’t using any common sense as she picked up the cat and checked the tags on her collar. She’d had all her shots, but that wasn’t what Katie cared about. She cared about the name on the tag- Marie.

“No way,” she breathed, stunned. Marie meowed again and Katie set her down so she could get the milk and a bowl. She was acting on instinct, not thinking about what she was doing. She was too surprised about the appearance of her Disney obsession- Marie.

Katie set down the bowl of milk and Marie instantly started lapping it up. Katie smiled fondly at the cat. “How did you get all the way from the Walt Disney Studios in California to my little town in Texas?” Katie pondered aloud. She remembered the long drive when she had moved from California- there was no way a small cat could walk that far. Maybe it was fate- her favorite Disney animal appearing at her door. Or maybe she was going insane... Either way, she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Katie spent every day for the next week with Marie. When her parents had returned home from the movies, they had insisted on finding Marie's old home and a man from the Disney Studios was coming down to pick up Marie as soon as he could. Katie was dreading that day, even though she knew it was approaching quickly.

Katie watched from her bedroom window as a truck drove into her driveway with a Disney logo painted on the side. Any other day, this would have brought a grin to her face. However, today it was a grim sight that told her Marie was going to have to leave. Marie was currently wrapped in a ball on Katie's lap and Katie clutched her tightly, wishing she could keep the cat as her own.

There was a doorbell ring downstairs yet Katie stayed where she was. A minute later her door opened and her twin brother poked his head inside. "Katie, the man from Disney is here for Marie."

"I'll be down in a second." Katie muttered, not giving her annoying brother a second glance. Sometimes she wished she had the caring brothers that Disney girls did. Scratch that- it was always her wish.

"Whatever," Ryan replied nonchalantly before going back to his video game. Katie sighed, if he’d been the one losing his best friend, she’d have been a bit more sympathetic…

Katie hugged Marie close to her as she finally made her way downstairs, whispering the cat, “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“Meow,” somehow that one little sound broke Katie’s heart more than anything she could imagine. She loved this kitten more than her older Italian boyfriend.

Katie carried Marie into the room where a man stood, waiting for Marie. He toke the cat from Katie and stroked her fur, happy to finally have his prize actress back. “Thank you for returning her,” he told Katie in a Scottish accent.

“No problem,” Katie lied. She wanted her cat back. Yet she stayed silent as the man carried her kitten away. And as the truck pulled out of her driveway, she made a promise to herself.

I’ll become the best actress ever and then I’ll be in a movie with Marie. I’m going to make this happen, no matter what I have to do.

And suddenly Katie forgot all her past rejections, stood up a little straighter, and went up to her room to memorize her lines for the school’s upcoming play auditions. It just happened to be AristoCats. And she was going to play Marie- she was sure of it.

I was bored in dance so I wrote this in my best friend's notebook; she's the main character.