A wonderful cat's life

The cat's paws tap softly on the stone ledge, trotting along as Rin keeps pace on the sidewalk. She laughs and sticks her hand out towards the cat, stopping to let it smell her. "Good kitty!" Rin says, gently scratching her new friend under the chin like the nice lady at the animal shelter taught her to do. Within seconds the cat is purring, and Rin's grinning so hard her face hurts.

Rin has loved cats as long as she can remember. She's read all the cat books in the library and memorized all the different breeds. But her mother is deathly allergic, and "when you're older" seems like so far away, seems like way too long to wait for a cat all her own. So the cats she meets on her short walk home from school will have to do. This one is particularly soft, with long black fur and pretty green eyes and a fluffy patch of white on its chest. It meows loudly, and purrs like the sound the dryers at the laundromat make. Rin has already decided it's her best friend.

"Nya, nya," Rin meows at the cat, continuing to pet it as it rolls onto its back, soaking in the autumn sunshine. She doesn't notice the other pair of eyes watching her, shyly, from behind a tree. And so Rin continues to play with the cat until it's had enough and scampers back into the bushes, and Rin makes her way home only slightly dejected.

"Kitty friend? Rin brought you some tuna," Rin calls, sticking her face into the shrub. Today it is cooler, so it makes sense that the cat might be huddled in the warmth of the bushes. Maybe. But as far as Rin can tell, the cat is nowhere to be seen. "Are you hiding, nya?"

"U-u-u-um," a tiny voice whimpers.

"Who's there?!" Rin shouts, turning around so quickly she almost falls over. Standing before her is a girl her age, with glasses too big for her face and trembling hands.

"S-sorry! Um, I just… um… well…"

"Are you looking for the kitty too?"

"Eh?" The girl's eyes go wide. "No! She's... supposed to be inside…"

"Inside?" Rin cocks her head. "Oh! It's your cat!"

The girl bites her lip, nodding. "She wasn't supposed to go outside, but I… I let her out by accident yesterday, and… You looked really happy with her…"

"Yeah, Rin loves cats!" Rin proclaims. "What's her name?"

"Komeko," the girl mumbles.

"Okay! What's your name!"

"Eh? Oh… I… I'm Hanayo… Nice to meet you, um, I think…"

Rin laughs, clasping the girl's hand between her own. "This is Rin! Nice to meet you too!" Rin's not sure why, but Hanayo looks like she might burst into tears. "Are you sad, nya?"

"I h-h-have to go home," Hanayo whimpers.

"I'll walk you there!" Rin says happily. "Don't be sad, okay? Rin brought tuna for Komeko-chan."

"Okay," Hanayo says, in the smallest voice Rin's ever heard. "My house is over there."

"Okay, nya!"

The next morning, when Rin's on her way to school, she's surprised to see Hanayo waiting by the same tree. "Whoa! Kayochin came back!"

Hanayo fiddles her hands, either ignoring or not caring that Rin's somehow corrupted her name. "I thought... um... thank you for walking me home yesterday... I could m-maybe... walk to you school?"

Rin laughs, and grabs Hanayo's hands. "It's a deal! Can I come visit you and Komeko-chan again after?"

Hanayo looks surprised, shocked, but her face quickly melts into a genuine smile. "That would be really nice... Rin-chan."

Rin smiles back, unable to contain her excitement. Today will be a good day. This year will be a good year, with a new friend and a cat and someone to walk to school with, someone to talk to, someone who likes her.

She can hardly wait.