In a Box

Chapter 1

What's in the Box?

Spring failed to come on time this year. It was April, but there were no showers, only snow falling inch after dreadful inch on this overrated northern city. Despite the delay of spring, winter was still my second favorite season because of how the white snow somehow turned blue in the moonlight, how the stars sparkled with every foggy exhale, and how it was the perfect match for wearing oversized sweaters in front of a marble fireplace I could never afford with my low-income job and my favorite pink anime themed mug filled to the brim with freshly microwaved hot chocolate. The thought of being warm made me wish I was in my living room this instant in an XL sweater and blankets and just... that warm, but subtle painful feeling of not being alone. Pulling away from the desire for warmth, I breathed in the crisp air and sighed. I was in the middle of the woods, I think somewhere on the edge of the many state parks around this area, and carefully followed the path of footprints sunken in the snow.

"Meow."

The familiar call made my head snap up from my careful walking. Golden eyes watched me from the window of a rotting shack in the near distance. I smiled and did my best to meow back to my precious baby. As soon as failed attempt as a cat call left my mouth, another one answered from the window. This was Moto. With a black coat turning a gray shade of navy blue in the dramatic moonlight, she watched patiently as I plotted towards her excitedly. I met her in front of her window and rubbed the bottom of her chin with my hand; my fist was barely bigger than her head. I kissed her and continued to smile like an idiot. "Did you miss me, Moto?" I asked and she purred in response. "I missed you too."

I can't recall exactly how I ended up constantly meeting with her everyday for the past few months instead of taking her home, but she was so sweet I was satisfied like this. It might have been February, possibly late January, when I left my apartment and decided to take a walk in the near by state park. I went a bit too much left, but found Moto who was inside this shack as happy as a clam. She lead me back, almost human-like in her confident walk, but refused to go home with me. She'd bat at me with her claws out every time I tried to pick her up. It wasn't the worst outcome since my apartment didn't allow animals. A few days later, when I went back out of curiosity, she was here with an expression that almost said, "you're late." From all the anime I've seen, I was partly expecting to be told I was a worrier princess with the gifted ability to save the world. After a month of coming to meet with Moto, I noticed two things: 1. Someone had been here before due to the tracks in the fresh snow and 2. whoever it was they were refilling Moto's water and food dishes.

After that, I noticed that she was getting bigger around her belly. I didn't know much about animals, but I figured that the dead of winter was not the correct time for baby kitties. I went to the nearest store and bought whatever I could use to make an insulated box for when she had her kittens. I used an old plastic bin from when I moved into my apartment, cut a hole for Moto to enter and exit, lined it with Styrofoam, set a cardboard box inside that, then set the warmest sweater I owned inside for her. Moto fell in love with her new box and two months later had seven little ones. I wanted to move her when the temperatures became cold in the times when the babies were no more than a few days old, but every time I tried, it was like spell a was being put on me keeping me from moving her.

"How are the babies, hmm?" I brushed the top of her head before walking through the broken doorway of the disheveled building. It was dark, but it was enough to function. The roof was still in place, the walls held everything together even in their horrible condition, and the cement floor was mostly intact with the exception of cracks here and there. Before running to the baby kittens, now only a week old, I was responsible for cracking the frozen surface of the water dish and throwing the chunks outside. I knelt down in front of it and realized that the water had been completely frozen. Whoever gave her water must have missed today. Making note that her food dish was fine, I nodded to myself after mentally deciding to go out after checking on the kits to bring Moto some fresh water. Turning, I went over to where the kittens where and took a peak inside with my phone's flashlight. I had never seen kittens this small before. Laying down in front of the box, thanking my thigh-length-pale-pink coat for protecting my central body, and lower central body, from the cold that was the cement flooring. I balanced my phone against the inside of the box and reached my hands in the warmth and picked up one of the fur-balls in my hands. The little kit started mewing high pitched and adorable in every way in the center of my hand.