Neko Girl Against The World

1

My name is Tae and I am a Neko Girl. I live in the Neko Underground though I don't feel it's my home. I don't belong here...

I woke up from the same dream I've been having for as long as I remember. I got out of bed, running my hand through my long, brown hair, sighing to myself. I walked to my set of drawers and quickly got dressed into my favourite sweater along with a pair of full length leggings and regular sneakers. I walked over to my mirror and sat down. I sat there dazed. What's wrong with me? Why am I so different to everyone else? I looked at the pictures stuck on the sides. In each and every picture, everyone's eyes are so dull. I looked at myself in the pictures and saw how my brown orbs were so full of energy. My brown, fluffy ears told a different story though. One is always drooped while the other is up. When my ears are like that, you can tell I'm not happy. I sighed and brushed my hair, tying it up. I stood up and ran outside, making sure my long, thin, brown tail didn't get stuck in the door, yelling "goodbye," to my granny.

I ran through the streets until I was far enough from home. I slowed my pace to a walk. I looked around before walking into an alley. I slumped on the wall and slid down, finding myself on the floor. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I let my mind wonder... what would life be like outside this place? I imagined a world where I didn't have to follow stupid rules about not wondering around at night, never leaving the Underground, not talking about the outside world. I imagined who would miss me. My mother would be too ashamed that I had left to miss me.... My father would be too drunk to even notice.... My uncle would be glad that I was gone because, "It is wrong to be rebellious. You must follow the rules, even if it means you have no individuality of your own." And apparently I'm a disgrace to the family because of my adventurous nature. As for my aunt, well. She just hates me for no reason. If there was a reason, I don't know what it is. She would be so happy that I'm gone, she would declare a feast in my disappearance's honour. The only person who would miss me would be Granny. She is the only person that hasn't put me down my entire life. 13 years is a long time to be nice to someone so it has to be genuine.

My train of thought was broken when I heard a male laugh to my right. I looked to see three boys sitting in a triangle, each looking the exact same. Triplets. They were laughing and talking about something I'd never heard anybody, except myself, talk about.

"Hey!" I said walking up to them. "Are you talking about..." I paused and looked around, "the world above here?" They looked up at me and nodded.

"Don't tell anybody though. We-"

"-could get into a lot of trouble. I know. I would never dream of telling anyone." I said smiling. They smiled back. One of them patted the spot on the floor next to him.

"I'm Milo," he said then pointed to the boy to my left. "That's Hansol," then pointed to the boy on his right, "and that's Shiro."

"I'm Tae." Shiro sighed.

"One day, I'm going to leave. I want to go explore the world above this dirt-hole."

"I know exactly what you're saying. I've had that goal from when I was three years old." I said back.

"Well, there's this place that we've heard about called 'The Unknown Lands.' Pretty original right? Anyway, since I heard about that place, that's what's always driven me to want to leave." Said Hansol.

The Unknown Lands, huh? We continued talking, the subject changing a few times, yet no matter what, I couldn't get the place out of my mind. The thought of the place made me want to go and look for it, it intrigued me that much. After what seemed like forever, we heard a voice from outside.