This Story Doesn't Have a Title and That's Okay

Goodbyes

Feeling the blow to my neck, I fell to the ground. Nothing went black, like they say in the movies. It was the brightest shade of white that I had ever seen. You know, like when you see a famous white person's smile? That bright. I could still feel all of myself within myself. I felt normal, I just couldn't open my eyes.
    Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks. Years. Something. Some amount of time was going by, and I couldn't tell how much. For all I knew, time was still. There's something going on and I can't tell if I'll ever be able to feel different.
    "Hello?" I asked no one. I couldn't ask anyone. My mouth wouldn't open.
    "I hear you! Keep talking!"
    There was a voice. I couldn't place it, but it sounded familiar.
    "Who is it?" I thought, still unable to talk.
    "You ass, it's Courtney. Kyra's here, too!"
    No way! I tried my best to move my body, but at this point, I wasn't even sure I had one.
    "What happened to us?" I asked, hoping they would know more than I did in my current state.
    "Look ahead of you. Try your hardest to focus and just look." Kyra said, sounding more serious than she ever had previously.
    I focused the small amount of vision I had that wasn't destroyed by the white light. Ahead, there was nothing. Nothing but a small speck of color.
Just as I saw the color, my vision turned black. I was no longer able to hear Courtney or Kyra, yet I was able to open my eyes. My surroundings were the same as they had been before I blacked out. It was Courtney's house, but it was clean. Nothing was dirty. It was all organized and well put. I began to twist my head slowly to either side. Courtney and Kyra both had their eyes open, but they weren't looking at me.
    "Uh, guys," I asked, hoping for a response.
    "I'm gonna be honest, I'm scared as Hell to turn my head." Kyra said, her voice small.
    "Yea, me too." Courtney added. Hearing their voices was the most reassuring thing in the world.
    "On the count of three, we turn. One," Kyra started.
    "Two," My breath hitched.
    "Three!" Their heads snapped in my direction and their eyes became glossy due to tears, almost simultaneously.
    "Oh, my God!" I yelled, hugging the both of them.
    A small breeze plowed through the window. We all looked at the window, noticing that it was the only part of the room that was off. It was wide open, and there was no screen in it. We stood up to investigate and noticed the helium tanks were moved to the side of the room near the window.
    The outside of the house looked like nothing had affected it the entire time we were in this mess. There were trees that were calmly blowing, no one was outside, and the world looked calm. At the snap of a finger, though, we heard it. The all too familiar meow.
    "Bart!" Courtney yelled, beginning to climb out the window. We watched as she sprinted across the yard to the meowing. We followed the sound by looking up. In the sky, there was a bright blue light, and the reusable grocery bag blocking some of it. Within the blue light, we saw an outline of a cat, being taken away. Balloons followed the lights as the spaceship flew to an unknown destination.
    "No! Please, bring him back!" Courtney cried to the sky. She started jumping as if that would help, and the screams and sobs she sounded created a horrible feeling in Kyra and I.
    "Look at the ground! Look! There's a note!" I screamed, noticing the folded piece of paper on the ground. We saw Courtney open the note, and it wasn't until later that we were able to read it for ourselves. At that moment, we just got to witness Courtney crying her eyes out while trying to read the note.

    Dear Court,

    Don't be angry at me. I was sent here to help you get through some hard times. I'm one of the ones that you were trying to fight. In fact, I'm their leader. They weren't here to hurt you. They lost connection with me a while ago and they had to station themselves to find me. They were aware that they were going to risk their lives to save mine. They aren't angry that you killed some of my kind. They were never going to hurt you. I know that your friends, your parents, and all of your siblings can be a lot to handle. I understand. I was put in your hands to make you happy, but it's my time to go back to where I'm from. Tell everyone that I ran away. Don't tell them about this. I want you to know that I love you, I know that you loved me, and I'm going to be okay. You may even see me again someday.

    With love, Bart

    "What did it say?" Kyra asked, beginning to walk toward her.
    Courtney turned to look at us and muttered, "It, uhm, it was nothing. Nothing that you need to see. It was just for me." One more single tear falling from her eye.
    We never knew what the letter said until years later. We were camping in her yard and we heard a loud crash. Following the sound, we saw a large, metal cylinder that was silver, yet covered in dirt. Meows escaped the container and upon further investigation, we saw a litter of three, identical kittens. They looked just like Bart. With them, there was a note, explaining that it was Courtney's duty to raise these animals, and that Bart is going to come back in a year and take them. This was her life, for many years after. She ended up starting a non-profit animal rehabilitation center, where she would take in stray cats, raise them for a year, and send them off to be with Bart. It wasn't a glorious life, but it was her life. As for Kyra and myself? We worked right alongside Courtney for many years, until she got an offer from Bart to go to his planet and work with him, leaving us to take care of the animals.
    We saw her occasionally, but we knew she was happy doing what she was doing, and we were happy to help Bart out in the same ways that he helped Courtney. He was there for all of us when we absolutely needed him most, with his cuteness and the way he just lays there when you need anything from him. He was never too rowdy to handle, but he had his moments, just like any of us do. He's all that Courtney cared about, and knowing that she's going to be able to live the rest of her life helping her best friend to make his world and our worlds better places, well, that's all we could've ever wanted for her. I, for one, love all of my friends, Kyra, Courtney, and Bart, and I'll always have a memory of them trying to save each other when they all loved each other most.