Lost Happiness

*This story is telling about Monstercat's backstory.*

The day when a bright star flew through the starry night was the same day that my mother gave birth. It is hard to see my mother and father, but they can only hear my meowing sound. As I grow, I realize I don't have eyes like other cats, not only me but my parents too. Some of the families give us a discriminatory look because of our looks.

Sometimes I'm thinking about what my family has done to them, and they are like that with us. My mom always tells me to just ignore them, if we don't do anything to them, someday the Universe will give us a chance to have a better thing. I never thought that my mother's words would finally come true.

My father is working as a doctor in a nearby hospital, and my mother is a teacher who works at a nearby elementary school. Before going to work, they always walk with me to school. I always try my best to get good grades at school and do housework for some elderly families in the village after school, which helps my family a lot with economic problems. I always want to make dad and mom happy. Many people tell me that I'm a well-educated boy and know how to help the family, but sometimes their compliments make me shy.

Many years passed. My family is now better than before, and I'm waiting for some universities to send offer letters. At night, as usual, my father sits on the sofa and checks all the letters while I'm studying. I hear all of their conversations.

"Honey look! Our friend Henry sent us this" - Father

"What is it? It has been a long time since we didn't see him" - Mother

"It said he needed our help. His village was at war with the raiders for many days" - Father

"Oh my, we should go there immediately. I will pack our things to go there" - Mother

They are going to the battlefield again? I stop my study and look at them. Mom is running around to find some medicine and the emergency medkit, while dad is calling for more supporters. I know it is important for my family to protect the Snowy Land. That night, they both rushed out of the house and left me at home alone.

One day, two days, three days, and so on... I don't know how long they have gone, but I always check all the letters that are sent to my house. Father, Mother, I'm still waiting for you two to come back from the war. A month passed, and while I checked all the letters, I received a strange one. All of my hope for my parents is gone, the letter said that they had been missing after they won. Why, why… I don't believe what this letter said, I'm sure my parents are still alive and they are coming home. I tear the letter apart and throw it into the trash can.

Day by day, from early morning to late night, I always call my parents, call relatives, and call for help…

It is so hopeless, it's been a year since my parents went missing. I cry for them every single day. I cry until I pass out on the floor. But this time, while I'm passing out, I get lost in another dimension or something like that. I wake up on a water surface, and surrounding me is the constellation sky. I stand up and see some small lights leading me somewhere, and I follow them. I stop when I see a star in front of me. I put my hand near it, and then it explodes into many small stars. Who are they? There are eleven different cats looking at me. I almost say something to them, but I get pulled back to reality. I wake up, is it just a dream? I stand up and go to my room.

Opening the door, the light of the evening sky shines through my window. I see beautiful scenery from the window. It's been a long time since I've seen a sunset. I pick up my phone to do some random searches, and I look in the mirror. Why do I look so terrible? I shake my head, and I do look terrible. I look at the calendar, it's been a year since my parents went missing. Maybe I need a new environment to heal this pain. I go take a shower and pack my important belongings in the bag. The night comes, I stand in front of the house's door, tell myself that I need to go, and lock it. Walking in the night, the moonlight lights the way for me. I come to the train station and take a ticket to the Star Land, this is my little hope.

I can't sleep all the way from my village to the Star Land. It takes me more than eight hours to come to Universe City. Well, a new place, a new me, right? I go around the city and ask everyone for a job. I'm so surprised the citizens helped me so much more than the people in my village, and I finally accepted to work at a small coffee shop near the city center. The first day I worked there, they gave me some instructions on how to make a cup of coffee from that coffee machine and a best traditional cup of coffee by using a phin filter. I make both of them, and I also make a lot of different types. Many customers come here to enjoy the coffee that I make for them. Some of them also want to make friends with me too.

One day, while I was busy with a lot of orders from customers, I saw a person talking to my co-worker, and then he told me to talk to that person.

"Oh hi, you must be Monstercat that people here are talking about" - ???

"Yes, sir, that's me. May I know your name?"

"I'm Crowley, everyone called me Mr. Crow. I'm assistant principal of Andromeda University" - Mr. Crow

"Oh, I know that university, it is my dream to study there. But I gave up a long time ago after my parents went missing"

"I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you can find them" - Mr. Crow

"It's okay, it's been a year and I can't find them. That's why I came here to change my life"

"You know, Monstercat, the first time I drink your cup of coffee made for me, it gives me a feeling that somehow it tastes so perfect. From the smell to the flavor" - Mr. Crow

"Thank you for your compliment"

"Would you like to join the coffee competition hosted by my university? It will start this weekend" - Mr. Crow

Really, I can join that!?"

"It is open to everyone, I hope to see you there. If you win, I have a surprise for you" - Mr. Crow

"All bet, I will be there"

"Great, this is my phone number, call me if you need something. I have to go bye" - Mr. Crow

"Bye Mr. Crow"

I put his phone number in my pocket and went back to work. The weekend comes, and I show up for the coffee competition and participate as a competitor. I beat a lot of competitors in this event, and I reached the final round with last year's champion. The round begins, and I pick up some fresh ingredients and sniff them to choose the best one. This round is only one hour, so I have to hurry. Luckily, they have some dried cacao beans for me to make cocoa powder. I started to fry it while stirring the coffee grounds. After I fry it enough, I take out all the cocoa shells and use a blender to blend it into powder. I used a phin filter this time, putting coffee grounds in it, and I poured hot water in. I put a cup of melting butter under it and waited for the coffee to drop. After a five-minute wait for the coffee, I put half a tablespoon of cocoa powder into the coffee. At the end, I put the cup and the coffee spoon on the table and waited for the judges to come. First, they smell it, then they use the spoon to stir the coffee, and they taste it. My heart is pounding rapidly, and the judges have their final result.

"And the winner of the coffee competition is… MONSTERCAT!" - The judge

Everyone is cheering, and Mr. Crow is standing there, clapping for my victory. The last year's champion came next to me, they held my hand and put it into the air.

"Congratulations, winner! I love the way you make the cocoa powder" - The last year's champion

"Thank you"

Later that day, I received Mr. Crow's letter saying Andromeda University offered me a place to learn. I'm so happy that I can't express it. I pack all of my belongings in one night and move to the university dorm. Finally, I can come back to the learning environment. Some of the students there know me from the coffee event, guess I'm already famous, haha. Today, I made friends with Black Cat, who sat next to me in math class, and we became best friends after a year. Not only that, I also fell in love with another student in the physics class. Her name is Kat, but she doesn't talk much. Every day, I give her some flowers and try to hang out with her. In the middle of the semester, I took all of my courage to ask her to be my girlfriend. That's a fifty-fifty risk for me to do that, but she accepts it. Later that day, she shows me her pet dog, Monsterdog, who is kind of protective of his owner. Behind that protective face, he is a good boy, a very very good boy.

After all, I have to say my life is getting better, I'm healing myself from it. But I still miss my mom and dad, and I hope I can find them in the future.