One Way or Another

Beaten, Worn, and Giving Up...

People believe that there is no life outside of the Earth's atmosphere when in reality, apart from the world of humans, there exists a parallel one. The home of the extraordinarily ordinary. The home of the Anthropomorphic - animals, birds, and reptiles similar to that of Earth's - exists here; but they are different. They have the upright body of a human, the behaviour of a human, and the same intelligence of a human with the capacity to reason, feel emotions, and invent. Same with humans, they make clothes, create things from raw materials, use a common verbal language to communicate, and all that humans can do. Instead of people, they are all primarily referred to as Furries, even those species who have no fur.

Between this world and Earth, the only differences are the placement of land and sea, their inhabitants, and how the every day ordinary objects are designed to meet the needs of all furries, big or small, long or short, heavy or light, and all that anthropomorphic diversity has to offer.

It is in this world that an anthropomorphic in the image of a humble cat resides. He has washed orange fur, dark orange fur around his left eye and white fur on his underbelly. Is name is Mai Lairoc, who now 19 years of age.

He is currently in his 3rd year in college studying Business Administration major in Furry Management. (Equivalent to Human Resource Management on Earth) He has an unusual ability to comprehend difficult and vague problems, an unusual ability to learn most subjects quickly, and also has a talent in art and drawing. The downside is that he is always absent-minded, even about the most important reminders.

His past is not a memorable one. Half of his life he spent in solitude. Before coming to college, most of his peers were bullies and rejected him for being "weird".

After getting into college, some of his fears of social interaction went away as he met different furries of all shapes, sizes, and species; but he chose not to be attached to anyone or trust anyone too much, for he thought that it is a painful thing to be betrayed after trusting someone, and Mai didn't want that to happen again.

Just when he thought that things will get better, a terrible disaster struck his family - his parents divorced after Mark Lairoc, the breadwinner of the family, was diagnosed with cancer.

Mark Lairoc works as branch manager of a fast-food chain. His salary was just enough to cover monthly water bills, electric bills, and all other expenses of the 20th century.

The first symptoms of cancer showed one day while he was at work. His skin became itchy and all day he itched so much that his fur was slightly shedding because of so much scratching. This continued for a few days until he couldn't sleep at night. This was then, followed by digestive problems, loss of appetite and weight loss until he became so ill that he barely couldn't get up from bed. He didn't want to go to consult a doctor because of all he has to do at work, for he did not train anyone to be his substitute in case something like this happen; but this time, he had no other option but to see a doctor.

At first, they couldn't find the real cause of his illness. They spent huge amounts of money for check-ups and expensive medicines. This went on for a few months, until doctors finally diagnosed him with Stage IIB Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Mai was devastated, and so was his family; but there was still hope. If Mark undergoes chemotherapy and various treatments, he might still recover.

Almost halfway through the treatment, they ran out of money. Unable to cope with the sudden events and the pressures of having to provide for the family, Cheri Lairoc, Mark's wife, left.

It is now in the 3rd of March, when Mai sat on the edge of his bed, contemplating the bitter turn of events in his family. In the heaviness of his heart, with no one to turn to, no one close to vent to, and weighed down by the difficulties he's facing and not knowing what to do, he became, in a sense, paralyzed and unwilling to do anything. In the midst of this feeling of utter darkness, he remembered what his grandmother, Chel Nighy, used to tell him. In a small blue watchbox under his bed was a small, thin, chain bracelet, which Chel gave him several years ago. Each chain was made out of gold and plated with shiny silver. It also has a centerpiece - a small diamond with a very sharp tip.