BL I don't want to reincarnate!

Chapter 23

"Do you like it?"

I suddenly realized that Ephraim was still there and I did my best to shake my head:

"No! No, no, no, no, no. I don't like it.

-Oh, you don't? That's so bad.

-Yes, yes. Very bad indeed. What can I say? Not everyone likes adorable fur balls. Not that I find it adorable! I am sure that this little guy is very dirty. Yes. Dirty."

Ephraim extended his hands towards me:

"I am so sorry. I completely forgot that you hated dirty things. I thought that you would like it.

-No. I don't.

-Right. You always were a dog person in the first place. I found it weird that you spent so little time with your dogs lately and thought you had a change of heart. I am sorry that I read it wrong.

-It's okay."

Ephraim tilted his head:

"Sliske? Aren't you going to give me the animal back?

-I am.

-Then why aren't you giving him back?

-I... I just feel like it's tired. I can look after it for a few minutes. I don't have anything to do right now anyway."

Ephraim shook his head:

"You don't have to push yourself. It's my fault that I gave you something you didn't like."

Ephraim tried taking the kitten from me and I yelled:

"No!"

Both of us were surprised and Ephraim just looked at me for a few seconds.

"Wife? I thought that you didn't like cats.

-I don't but... This one looks cute."

I couldn't imagine giving this tiny being back to Ephraim and just hugged it closer to me. The little guy must have liked me because he curled up against me before slowly fading to sleep. It looked so cute that I thought I would cry. I wanted to pinch his cheeks and tear his nose off. Seeing me absorbed, Ephraim couldn't hold back his laughter anymore:

"I thought you said that cats were ungrateful beings and deserved to live on the streets because they couldn't be trained."

My head jerked up:

"Did he say that?"

I was ready to kill the real owner of this body. How dared he say such horrible things? He was the one who deserved to rot on the streets. I didn't feel bad for him at all anymore knowing that Ephraim would kill him.

Ephraim raised his eyebrows:

"He?"

I quickly shook my head to forget about my anger. I couldn't get lost in my thoughts with this guy around. I had to stay focused.

"I mean... Me? My mouth suddenly felt weird. I couldn't say the m sound. Anyway, did I say this?

-You did. And now that I think about it, you were right. Cats are outside animals after all. Maybe I should bring this one back where I found it."

Ephraim took out the kitten from my arms and I grabbed his hands:

"No! What are you doing? Where are you taking him?"

The kitten woke up and started fidgeting. Even he could feel that something was wrong.

"Don't worry. It's an animal. It will survive. And if it doesn't then that's just how life works.

-What?

-Thousands of cats die in the streets. Why would this one dying be any different?

-Wait! Ephraim! You can't!

-Why? It's just a cat.

-You... You monster! How could you talk about a life as if it was nothing?"

Ephraim bent closer to me:

"But I wasn't the one who said this, Sliske. This is also something you said. Don't you remember?"

I was speechless at that point. All I could think about was saving that poor kitten.

"When you saw a dying squirrel, you said: this is how life works. The weak die and the strong survive for one more day.

-What...

-You said it yourself, Sliske. You don't care about such a meaningless life.

-You...

-So why would you be worried about this kitten?"

I couldn't take it anymore and pushed Ephraim:

"You monster! You are disgusting! How could you remember what I said? You never paid attention to me! Leave me alone! You monster! You monster!"

I couldn't continue screaming because what I felt next was Ephraim grabbing my chin.