Starlight Souls ✦

00:07

Half of the shops had been closed, but the other half were just being opened. The day had ended and the night was about to begin, but the nights in Mirae Town were just as hectic as the day. The reason being tourist behaviour; the markets went on all night, and full-time workers usually worked in two shifts: day shifts and night shifts.

'Denzel!' A red-haired boy yelled from behind, which made Denzel turn to see the boy, who was wearing an apron with a company logo made in the top-left corner. The boy handed Denzel a watch. 'Here, you forgot your watch.'

'Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't realise I had forgotten it.' Denzel took the watch and wrapped it around his right wrist. 'I knew I was forgetting something while I was leaving the restaurant. Thanks, Leo.'

'No problem.' Leo smiled, showing his dimples. 'And yes, Boss told me to tell you that you'll have to work an extra shift tomorrow.'

Denzel frowned. 'But isn't it the weekend tomorrow?'

Leo nodded. 'I know, but Boss was saying something about an important person visiting us because the person planned for one of his business meetings to be happening at the restaurant over lunch with one of his clients. I think that's way they aren't closing the restaurant tomorrow. But don't worry, I'll be there too!'

Denzel smiled back at him, 'Okay, then, no problem. See you tomorrow.'

'Goodbye.' Leo waved at Denzel, and Denzel waved back at him before both of them turned their backs to each other to walk away in opposite directions.

Denzel walked for a while before stopping in his tracks to see something clearly that he got a glimpse of from the corner of his eye. He started at the dark part of the alley, where nothing was visible except pitch blackness. From the dark, he saw two golden eyes staring at him. A chill ran down his spine, and he froze on the spot for a second. When he finally was able to move, he was about to run away but stopped when he realised that those two golden eyes were moving towards him. As the figure got closer and closer to him, Denzel let out a giggle before bending down to pet the kitten.

He extended his hand forwards, not quite expecting the kitten to come forward, as he had heard that the cat species doesn't really make friends at first impression, but was left shocked when he realised that the kitten had come very close to his legs and was extending her head to be petted. Denzel smiled as he ran his hand through the kitten's black fur—quite the reason why he wasn't able to see her in the dark. The kitten also seemed to be enjoying the way Denzel was petting her.

'Oh poor kitten, you don't have a home, do you?' He muttered, forgetting the fact that kittens could not talk or understand human language, 'Where is your mother? Are you lost?'

The kitten meowed, as if replying to Denzel's question. Denzel was quite taken aback by the kitten's response before giggling and holding out both of his hands in front of the kitten so as to let her climb into his arms. Much to his surprise, the kitten crawled into his arms as he stood up. The cat had her eyes closed, and that was when Denzel saw the mark on her forehead. It was a golden mark, making a design that had its meaning quite hard to unveil.

'Oh, some kids stuck this sticker to your forehead?' Denzel patted the kitten's head, 'Poor kitty.' The kitten seemed to be so comfortable in Denzel's embrace that anyone would think that she would have known Denzel for a long time, while in reality, they had just met. 'Do you want to go home with me?'

Then, an idea struck Denzel. He thought about how he could give the kitten to Sirelle once she had come back. He had heard that pets help lighten the mood and improve the mental health of the owner. The kitten would be a perfect companion for Sirelle. Especially for when she needed to share something with someone but couldn't share it with her friends or family, so she could share it with the kitten.

It was the perfect idea, according to Denzel. Bring the kitten home only seemed to have its pros in Denzel's eyes.

'You can go home with me, kitty.' Denzel said, 'Since here, you don't have anyone to feed you, and since you feel so comfortable with me, you'd be happy to be at home with us. You can live with your owner, Sirelle, when she comes back, but don't worry; I basically spend most of my waking time with those girls, so you'll see me often. Oh, wait, I forgot you can't understand me.'

Denzel got a hold of the bag that he had placed on the ground when he was picking the kitten up and made his way to the dormitory, hoping to surprise his friends with a new friend.

When he got back to the campus, he immediately made his way to the girls dormitory, as he knew that Emrys would be with Candace and Talita at that time. He pressed the doorbell, and the door was opened by Candace.

'Welcome back, and why do you have this cat with you?'

'Oh, I just found her on the street and tried to pet her. She eventually got comfortable with me, and I decided I would take her home.' Denzel replied, 'You know I've heard the pets are good for the mood of their owners; Sirelle will have a new friend she could share everything with once she comes back.'

Emrys and Talita were also listening to the whole conversation that Candace and Denzel were having.

'I guess she'll be a nice cat then.' Candace ran her hand through the kitten's fur as the kitten didn't make as much of a move. 'That's a surprisingly calm kitten.' She seemed to have noticed something: 'What's the mark on her forehead?'

'Oh, some kid might have stuck a sticker on her forehead.' Candace nodded her head, almost buying the explanation that Denzel had but keeping her suspicions with her.

Talita got up from the sofa and made her way towards Denzel, or rather, towards the kitten.

'Can I hold her?' She asked Denzel. When Denzel nodded, she tried to get the kitten in her embrace, and the kitten surprisingly came without any protests. 'How did she come so peacefully?'

Denzel shrugged his shoulders. 'Maybe she likes us.'

Talita nodded her head. 'Can be true.'

Denzel came in the living room and sat next to Emrys, who asked him, 'So, are you going to just call her kitty, or are you going to give her a name?'

'How is Gold?' Talita suggested, 'It suits the colour of her eyes and the mark on her forehead.'

Denzel thought about it for a second: 'It's creative, but I don't think it actually suits her.'

Talita nodded her head.

'How about Ella?' Emrys asked.

Everybody thought about the name but shook their heads after a moment.

'How about Zyria?' Candace suggested, and that exact moment, the kitten meowed, 'Zyria it is, then.'

Zyria slept peacefully in Talita's lap.