I was sent back to reality as a passing truck honked, and sped by. There I was standing in front of the animal shelter, I looked up at the sign which read “Little Pets, we’re the best because we care” that’s the shelter’s slogan. I stood in front of it for a few moments, looking at the small kittens prancing about in the display window. When I opened the door, an electronic meowing sound greeted me, I hated these sort of bells, the ones that made a noise when you opened the door they really bothered me. A started looking around, no dogs were to be found here, no dogs for at least 200 kilometers, or save for the roadkill today. “How can I help you Sir?” A cheerful blonde worker greeted me, she had her pulled back and bunched up in a ponytail, I assumed this was because she didn’t want it to get in the way when handling animals.
“I’m looking to adopt an animal, preferably a kitten.” I said in a monotone voice.
She clapped two hands together. “Wonderful! Let me take you to the adoption section!” I nodded and smiled.
I followed her towards the back of the store, there was lots of cages here, but they all looked nicely maintained, I looked around, my eyes darting between cages, I can see a sad look on some of the animals here. Cats, rabbits, hamsters, mice, turtles, guinea pigs and two small red pandas. Not all looked sad, some seemed happy and didn’t care where they were. “These are the kittens up for adoption, now do you have any breed in mind or?” Her ponytail looked really nice as she turned to face me with a smile.
“I don’t have one in mind, no. I’ll just have a look at them, can I have a moment alone please?” I sounded fishy, though that wasn’t my intention.
“Why certainly! I’ll be over by the counter when you’re done!” She’s really perky, is it possible to be this perky? She looked like she was almost skipping and her lovely ponytail was bobbing up and down.
What I really wanted to do is have a moment, I didn’t want to pick a kitten based on it’s breed, I wanted one that gives me a sort of connection. I started inspecting them all, twiddling my finger in front of them until I came across this Black Cat, it looked directly into my eyes, something that slightly riveted me.
“Stars, Bombay cat, she was found abandoned at an old apartment, she is a little shy but has a very fun sense of humor.” As I read the small description a few things came to mind, why is it even called Stars? How does a cat have a sense of humor?
I decided right there and then that this was going to be my new friend.
I went up to the counter and with a small cough. “Aaah, excuse me?”
“Oh! You decided?” She did the hand clap again as she turned around, I really like her ponytail.
“Yes, I have, the cat called Stars.” I felt stupid calling it stars, I’m going to call her something else.
“Hah, I really didn’t expect you to pick Stars, but let’s go to her so you get to know her better.” She made her way to the cat with her bobbing ponytail.
Why didn’t she expect me to pick that cat? I followed her, she slowly opened the cage, at the same time she was making “cute” noises to calm the cat down and she carefully picked her up. She placed the kitten on a table, the table had a small raised up glass wall around it, I assume it’s so they don’t accidentally fall off.
“Why is she called Stars?” My curiosity got the best of me, ironically.
“You didn’t notice?” I felt stupid for a moment. “Look at her eyes, if you look closely you can see her iris is slightly star shaped.” She bent over a little and pointed at them.
I bent down to have a better look and this childish joy slowly overtook me. “Well that’s something you don’t see every day.”
“Oh yes she’s quite unique, though she rejected two couples and one woman so far…” She said with a slight sad tone.
“How come?” I wondered.
“Well, she just gets a little aggressive if she doesn’t like someone… Here, try your luck with her” She handed me a string.
I started to tease the kitten with the string, she didn’t seem to react, so I made a small noise to her attention and it gave me the same look as she did when she was in the cage.
“Can I touch her?” Why do I feel nervous?
“Of course, just be careful she usually gets aggressive when you try to touch her.” I sensed as if she’s already expecting the cat to get aggressive.
I held out my index finger, and slowly moved it and poked its head, it’s like I’m testing if it’s safe to go in or not. The kitten gave a small nod, so I did it again, this time slowly stroking it with my index finger. I can swear I heard a little purr, she purred, she must have! I impishly smiled. The kitten stepped back, raised both paws and playfully hit my fingers.
“She likes you! She likes you!” The ponytail lady started jumping up and down in excitement.
“Me and you are going to get along just fine.” A big goofy smirk spread across my face.
I started feeling this great joy, as if I’m starting a new chapter in my life or something. She took the kitten away, I waited at the reception while she did some checks before giving it to me.
“Sir, can I have your details please?” A not so cheerful worker, she looked like one of the rebellious teenagers but she seemed interesting.
“Ah yes sure, what do you need?” I took the pen out of my pocket.
“Just fill out this form aaaand…” She pointed at the end of the paper. “Sign here.”
“Name: Imreil Shahrizai
Date of Birth: 26/05/2049
Contact Number: 315161148974
Address: Apt 2, Montirave Building, 2522, 4805, Mohave”
I signed the form and handed it over to her.
By the time the rebellious teenager finished explaining the types of food, how to train them to use the litter-box, and few other things the lovely ponytail lady had Stars ready. I finished purchasing all the required things, I also told Catherine (the ponytail girl, yes, that’s her name) that I’ll be changing the kittens name. And with a handful of things, I couldn’t walk back to the apartment, I had to hail a cab to take me back.
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