Curiosity Killed the Cat

Hello! L.L Mari here!

This story is yet another cat-related one. Created by Danielle and edited by yours truly. We hope this reaches to those of you who have/had a fuzzy friend.

Before you continue, please remember to check out our on-going story, Vedma Avenue, written with the help of Danielle. 

We do hope you enjoy. Now, as always,

Onto the story.

*****

Somewhere, in the middle of the ocean, stood the delightfully unmoving, uneventful coastal town of Clovers Bay.

Taking a stroll through the busy morning market amidst the crowds of people and hollering shopkeepers was a black kitten-and quite a curious kitten at that. He loved wandering the streets of his familiar hometown. Occasionally, he would find a discarded treat or two, which he would take home-only for his siblings to rip them to shreds in mere seconds later.

Although, at the moment, nobody seemed to enjoy his presence. Worried mothers would steer their children away from him while others cast him uncertain and dirty looks.

One of the reasons for this behaviour being the general unluckiness associated with black cats, and another being Clover's Bay infamous history of witches, witchcraft, and necromancy-black cats being one of the strong superstitions in the town. After all, they represented bad luck. Many felt "bad auras" around them.

So far, nobody the little kitten passed seemed to like black cats.

Sure, he'd come across a lighthearted child at times-but only for their fun to be cut short as they would be dragged away by their faint-hearted mothers and fathers. This led to him feeling like an outcast and immensely lonely.

He would return to his home after a day of wandering and playing about which was in a deserted alley next to a fish monger's house (the fish scraps that would end up in the trash bins in the alley was his main source of food), where his mother could be seen tending to her younger kin. She often ignored-or even entirely forgot about him, deciding his siblings were her highest priorities.

*****

...In the wee hours of the morning, the kitten set off for the morning market yet again to look for treats-and perhaps someone who wanted to play with him.

He walked towards a fisherman's stall, where a great deal of people were pushing and shoving each other to buy the morning's catches, which were on sale.

The kitten climbed into a nearby trash bin, where he saw discarded fish tails. He dropped a mouthful of tails onto the ground, eating them as his lunch.

Unfortunately, his peaceful lunch was disturbed when a woman cried,

"A black cat!" she pointed a shaky finger towards the poor kitten, clutching onto her husband's coat. Several people turned to look at the kitten, either looking fearful or discontent.

The kitten had felt proud of himself for drawing so much attention. He was finally getting acknowledged!

"Hey, stop!" a girl stepped in, a cross look etched onto her face. Her name was Valerie and she had long, jet black hair tied into a half ponytail. She wore jeans, a navy-blue sweater and beige peacoat jacket. Another girl, named Danielle who was slightly shorter, with tawny-tinted, shoulder-length hair and red clips. She wore a red and black plaid jumpsuit and a brown jacket, running up close behind the taller girl.

Valerie shot a vexed look at the crowds of people surrounding the kitten as the short-haired girl let the bewildered little kitten into her palms, the kitten nuzzling affectionately against her hand. He had found a friend! He was beyond ecstatic.