Kitten Tails (Hollstien)

Birthday Girl

5-11-2004

~Carmilla's P.O.V.~

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Sherman barreled into the room, a cake in his hands.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR LAURA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!" He practically yelled, making Laura's eyes snap open as well but she just smiled wide. There was 11 multi colored candles on the pink colored cake. She sat up on her bed, kicking her legs excitedly. Her hair tousled, the sunlight shining through her hair, making it look almost like a lion mane. I stretched belly up on my spot on the yellow pillow on Laura's bed, giving a soft mewl as Lara automatically ran her hand on my tummy. Her smile was huge as Sherman sat on the bed, still holding the cake, making us on the other end, bounce slightly.

"Make a wish." Sherman held out the cake, carefully setting it in front of Laura on her lap. Her hand stilled on my stomach as she closed her eyes, staying quiet, and surprisingly still, for about a minute before those honey orbs opened wide, her tiny lungs blowing out a large breath, blowing out the candles on the cake. The lettering read, 'Happy Birthday Ladybug'. Sherman lifted the cake off his daughter's lap. The minute it was off her lap and safely sitting on her bedside table, she immediately launched herself into her father's arms. The soft purr in my chest began as I watched the scene before me.

Laura had her arms tightly around Sherman's neck, giving a squeeze. Sherman let out a breath as she did but did nothing to stop the squeeze as he wrapped her arms even tighter around the girl. His face held joy, but there was also a tone of sadness. Sadness that I knew after all these years that stemmed from the fact that Laura's mother was nowhere to be seen or even heard about, even at the fact that its her daughter's birthday. He shook that look away quickly though as he felt Laura shift in his arms. He looked at her like if she was his whole world, and for that second I looked at them like they were mine.

My father was like this with me as well. To the point that my mother was jealous and ended up murdering him. I felt some tears sting in my eyes, zoning out, the scene in front of me becoming nothing but a blur. It wasn't until I felt a soft pair of hands pluck me up from the pillow that my attention snapped back to the present. Before I knew it, I was in a Hollis sandwich. The purring in my chest couldn't be stopped as the Hollis warmth surrounded me. Sherman patted Laura's back softly, pulling away from the hug to give us all space to breathe. We all fell apart from each other as Sherman gave one last squeeze around her shoulders. Laura gave a small glance at the picture on her table next to the cake.

I knew well it was a picture of her and her mother, Laura just a newborn in the picture. Sherman glanced down at his lap for the second that Laura looked over at it. The smile dropped from Laura's face momentarily, and it broke my heart. I didn't know what type of person you had to be to hurt a ray of sunshine, but I knew I didn't want to be that person. So I licked her hand, making her look at me, the smile blooming on her face, making me instantly proud of myself. Sherman looked at us when he saw Laura's head movement. He smiled again, getting off the bed and clapping his hands together, before picking up the cake.

"So who wants to go the the kitchen to get some cake?" Laura smiled and jumped up. Her toothy grin was wide, as she ran ahead of Sherman, her arms flailing up in the air. Sherman laughed as he walked after her, then looked back at me. "C'mon Cupcake before she chokes on some of the food that I laid out." I jumped off the bed, threading between his legs carefully as he walked. He lifted the cake over his head and looked down at me, grinning before reaching the stairs.

I jumped down them, taking a few steps at a time, my body being much longer than when I was a kitten. I could hear the scraping of plates coming from the kitchen. When I walked in, Laura was standing by the counter, on her tiptoes. It had been a while since she needed the small ladder to be able to reach the counter, showing that she was growing as the time passed. Her hair was past her shoulders now, her flannel pajamas fit her just a little short on her ankles, her frame remaining small but only slightly taller. Her eyes had also gotten slightly wider as her face thinned out. The changes were small and subtle but whenever you woke up next to someone everyday, you noticed a few things changing. Just like how her scent had become less of an innocent garden rose and began smelling of the whole garden instead.