It all began with a simple date...

Chapter 7

         "Oh Kitty! What am I going to do with you?" Her mother said with a hint of mockery which had a sense of motherly affection. "Did you get hurt?" She continued. Angelica shook her head innocently.

        Her mother came and went on her knees in front of her and then moved to stroke her ears. Angelica willingly allowed her and then purred in satisfaction. She only allowed the people she trusted to touch her or even pet her.

        When she first stayed here, they had a difficult time.

        They tried to get her to talk.

        They tried to get her into some nice clothes.

        They even tried to approach in a friendly manner.

        But she was one suspicious hybrid who cannot trust anyone until she had a reason to.

        So one sudden action and they would be back to square one.

       But with the magical use of time, they managed to gain her trust with success.

          She could talk freely to them. She would do what they asked. She accepted them as her parents, something she never had. She even let them touch her.

        "Now lazy cat, are you going to go and have a bath or do you want me to throw you in?" Her mother asked with a very mischievous smile.

       She knew that cats were very mischievous creatures and they hate water. Yup, she accepted the fact that her new- found daughter is a hybrid but she didn't complain.

        She was happy with what she had. She also knew that Angelica was a special cat. She didn't follow the rules of a cat plus she was a cat with wings.

          Angelica loved water, unlike what cats usually feel. In fact she loved the feeling of the water under her skin. She shook her head.

         No, not because she didn't want to have a bath. She truly did. But because she wanted to be carried.

         True, she is a very lazy kitten.

        Her mother understood and just smiled and then picked her up bridal style.

         Angelica was very light for her tall stature and her mother thought it was because she lived all alone before coming here. So she used to force her to eat. But the kitty is always adamant and would eat only what pleased her eye which would vary from time to time.

         Her mother knew a lot about her. She finally had the guts to spill about her life to someone. Someone she trusted the most. Till now at least.

           She told her mother about what she remembered about her parents which was nothing except that they are dead. She told her mother about her life before this:- running away from a bunch of people because they think she is awfully special (her mother agrees). And she told her mother about the torture she went through when she was trapped.

        She does remember the time they tortured her a lot and the fear of it was instilled when she was just a child. They used to douse her in water and then electrocute her, leave her with no food or water for days, whip her till marks began to form, cut deep marks till she bled and that was not all but worse.

         All the proof which was supposed to be flashed on her skin was healing fast that they were hardly seen any more. They were her punishments. For nothing.

          Her mother set her down in the tub and made her child remove her clothes like how a mother would do to a baby and the kitten allowed herself to be pampered.

         She turned the tap on and adjusted the temperature of the water to her liking and then purred happily when it was perfect. The mother chuckled when she saw her play in the water, trying to sink the floatable 'fishies'. She looked a little older than what she claims to be but acts her age. She was a smart little kitty.

        As Laura (her mother) scrubbed her back, without a thought in mind, her finger starts tracing her tattoo which was inked permanently on her back.

        A full length tattoo for a pair of wings of an angel whose tips ended mid-thigh.

        She felt the kitty stiffen, taking a breath in. She knew the story about that as well. Kitty told her.

       Of how she remembered the way she was tortured to get that print on her back but she was stubborn and was playing difficult. They were trying to mark her but she didn't want it. She wanted to be normal like other kids. But she was deprived and forced to lead a completely painful torturous life. And she hated it and thus fought back. In the end, they had to force a strong sedative for her body to react towards it and marked her when she was unconscious. And then threw her out.

         Even though she remembers the memory of it so clearly, she couldn't remember the pain she felt that day.

        Laura knew how much it hurt the poor little kitty so she continued to scrub her back again, pretending like nothing ever happened.

         A moment or so, Angelica loosened up and she continued to play with her toys. Laura scrubbed her whole body clean and then moved on to her hair, her cat ears.

            Angelica is a child who would always stand away from the crowd. She was not to be mixed with them. She was unique in every way.

          She had beautiful brown tresses which had one strand of her hair silver grey. She had blue grey eyes which would shine when they were happy and thin pink lips to compliment them. The greyish-blue cat ears she seemed to have were a part of her and without them, she seemed to be incomplete. She had a slender, tall yet petite body which seemed to suit her agility and nimbleness as a cat.

       Laura felt she was really lucky to find such a daughter who was so special. Plus she was too beautiful and smart to be counted as one of the normal kids. Her neighbours were jealous of her but their kids wouldn't talk to the kitty because she wasn't like them. Angelica didn't mind as it is. She preferred to keep the company of her own by the way.

         After the lovely long bath, Laura wiped her body and made her put on the clothes she had laid out for her which she willingly allowed.

          So she ended up in a black miniskirt and blue tee-back accented in a cat chain and similar earrings and ankle-length boots.

        Now she was ready to go for a family union they were planning to have. They were going for family dinner in Scott's, one of the well-known restaurants in the city. And it was going to be amazing.

      They had been waiting for it too long to make it official. That they are one family that is now truly and completely happy.