Shining of the Four

Chapter 43

            Sunrise did not leave the house three days after Fawn's strange dream and message. Every time she got close to the door, she would stiffen and turn the other way, not wanting to face Fawn and Anna and Frog. For some reason, it seemed everything had changed now, for worse or for better.

            For three days, Sunrise remained indoors, refusing to go outside even with Holly and Polly. The boy who cared for her had grown concern, and Sunrise had been forced to go to the vet, where it was declared she was healthy and perhaps was only growing accustomed to remaining indoors.

            After that visit, Sunrise hoped no more would come, but she could not be certain. She pondered for three days, wondering what this strange prophecy meant. Never in her life had she encountered a cat who looked like her, and if she was to look, then where? Would searching the woods be an option?

            And so Sunrise became a victim of Holly and Polly's harassment again. They were the meanest in the morning. Sunrise was usually with Fawn at that time, but now, she didn't want to so much look out a window.

            Sunrise was only spared from their harassment during naptime and their forced exercising. And when the two sisters slept, Sunrise would watch them carefully. She'd notice their tiny claws, their pudgy bellies, their markings.

            Then Sunrise would glance at herself, noticing aspects she had not noticed before. She noticed her claws were longer and sharper than the others, curving in an odd manner. She noticed how her ears were longer and were more sharp at the tip. She noticed how her nose could pick up scents better than Holly and Polly's after they were unable to detect that their breakfast was ready the day before. She noticed her eyes were sharper, as were her teeth.

            Perhaps it was all in Sunrise's head, but she began wondering if maybe she truly did possess clan cat blood. It was a silly thought, but Sunrise had not noticed until now the differences between her and her sisters.

            They look different from me, that's all, Sunrise thought. She assumed they resembled her mother more than Sunrise. But then, Sunrise, with a keen memory, remembered how even her other siblings—Snowflake, Hazelnut, Tiger—they had not had these characteristics.

            When her head felt like it would explode, Sunrise calmed down, telling herself that she had been born a kittypet, and that was what she'd always be. This newfound prophecy had only poisoned her mind with stupid thoughts of clan cats and warriors.

            "Perhaps they have the wrong cat," Sunrise whispered to herself, standing up to face the outside world. Taking a deep breath, she slipped through the cat door, immediately feeling the cold presence of autumn.

            She could smell the crispness of the wind and chill from the forest. She smiled and closed her eyes, glad to be back outside.

            "Sunrise, is that you?!" came a gasp.

            Sunrise turned, immediately facing Fawn. Fawn sat on her fence, her tail swooped around the wooden post.

            "I've been waiting here day and night for you!" Fawn exclaimed, leaping down from the fence. "What happened? Did you get sick? Trip to the vet? Are you hurt?"

            Sunrise laughed, shoving Fawn away as she frantically tried to inspect Sunrise.

            "I'm fine," Sunrise assured Fawn. "I just needed some time away from everything, that's all."