Ebony Vision

Chapter Two: Orphan.

I woke up to the sound of loud chirping of cardinals and the warmth of the bright sunlight. I lifted my heavy body from the cave's floor and scratched my pain-struck back with my jagged nails.

I thought for a moment and listened closely for the purrs of Melody. When I heard nothing, I began to panic frantically and felt for the fluffiness of the kitten. But I found none. Loneliness  began to overwhelm me, and I scrambled out of the cave to look for her. In the distance, I heard the crunching of leaves, branches, and the breaths of an animal.

Caution in my mind, I followed and my dirt-covered feet came in contact with a wet object. That's when I heard it. The meow of the little furball that I grew so fond of. Melody purred and jumped into my arms. I cuddled her into my arms and whispered words of comfort, not only for her, but for myself as well.

Apparently, the wet object was a fish, determined by its fins and shape. Melody held it in her mouth and pounced away. I followed her purrs and footsteps, landing me in a small area. Melody's furry body cuddled up beside me and then pranced away. It was then when I heard multiple meows and purrs. I thought for a moment and my blind eyes lit up with excitement.

Her family! Melody had a family! I felt indescribable joy for her, but at the same time, I had let my deep depression take over me. My eyes saw nothing, but tears were already pricking at the back of them. I can still recall the bloody massacre as if it was daylight and just thinking about it would send shivers down my worn spine.

I fought back tears and tickled under the kittens' chin. Smiling, I arose from my spot and and moved away from the purrs and meows. It was unbearable. Streams of salty tears ran down my cheeks to the summer grass.

I kept on running and began to walk back to the cave. I felt for the cave, but I fell violently into a ditch and sprained my ankle on a bear trap. I shrieked in agony and held my left ankle and struggled to get up, failing miserably in the end. I couldn't see the exit nor could I feel for it from the high walls. Now this, was a desperate situation.

When my fingers touched my ankle, I felt a warm wetness from a bruise I had on the corner of my foot. Slowly, I put my fingers to my mouth, and perceived that the liquid was my own blood, torn from the bear trap.

I bit my lower lip hard, and then a grasped at the stiff mud walls and lifted my body, when I realized my terrible condition. The bear trap had not only have severed my skin, but had completely trapped my thin leg into the trap. I thought for a moment.

"Well," I thought, "it is a bear trap after all. It wouldn't be a trap if the prey can escape." Sighing in frustration and pain, I struggled to remove the mechanism. As you may have guessed, I have failed once again and now was sniffling in the corner all depressed and desperate. It's shameful to believe that I am so helpless on my own.

A few hours later, I heard voices muttering in the distance. I felt so many mixed emotions in my traumatized mind. Relief, relief that I would finally be able to come out of this ditch. And fear, fear of what they would do, after finding me here, in this pit hole of dirt.