T.CTo unlock the heart

Chains. When I first open my eyes I see chains. Chains with bones, chains with teeth. The ground is hard and there are fluffy things around me, pushing me away from the warmth of my mother. Everyone stares at me, like I am something rotten that needs to be discarded. He heads toward me- I don't know who he is, but he is coming toward me-, and when he is close enough to hear my breaths, he slips a chain around my neck. I have a padlock, its shiny metal mirrors my face. I have a light shade of orange in my fur and have dark black stripes. I stare into my own enchanting eyes, I lose myself and I don't when I'll find me again. He is an ordinary tiger.

My body shakes as I enter our cave. My mother is crying over the fire, she has obviously heard the bad news. I got the key, my father is the leader of the city and it is heartbreaking for him to hear he will have to exile his own daughter. I sit next to my mother to comfort her, or maybe I sit next her so she can comfort me. As night rolls on I become more aware that it is not a dream like I had hoped, it's real. She is a normal cheetah.

But they both have bigger plans for life.