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„How did she get there?” Claire asks, pacing back and down right before the wall, like a caged tiger.
„It seems like she doesn’t know how to get back,” I assume, and we hear another meow from the other side as if Pi is trying to confirm my suspicion.
„How can we get there?” Claire asks.
She looks up at me with panic in her expression, and I want nothing more than to turn that face into a smile. My mind is rattled as I take a few steps back to assess the wall before us. Then it hits me.
„My neighbors! They have a driveway that’s accessible from the street. I think this wall is their garage,” I say. „But we should be able to get around it from the front.”
„Okay, let’s do it!” Claire shouts, already sprinting toward the house.
We hurry inside, making sure that the terrace door is properly closed, before we continue our way to the entry area. Claire is running ahead of me, only throwing a quick glance over her shoulder when we run out on the street and I fetch my keys, before joining her and closing the door right behind my back.
„That one?” she asks, pointing to the driveway of my neighbor to the left.
„Yes.” I nod and run past her, as my pace turns into a sprint.
The gate is open, as it usually is, because apparently my neighbor fears nothing and no one.
We enter their property and run through the large archway that leads to the back of their house.
And as soon as I reach the backyard area with the garage, I see her. A little ball of gray fur is hiding in the bushes, right next to the wall, staring at me through piercing green eyes.
„Pi!” Claire exclaims behind me, then she grabs me by the arm and brings me to a halt. „Let me. We don’t want to scare her.”
I want to protest, because everything inside me screams to run after the little kitten and keep her safe in my arms. But as we slowly approach Pi, I notice that Claire may be right. The cat is backing away at first, and the look on her face speaks of nothing but fear and intimidation.
Claire stops a few yards away from her and goes down on her knees, while stretching out her hand.
„Pi, it’s us,” she says in a low, high-pitched voice. „Come here, baby. You know us.”
Pi, craning her neck out of the bushes, moves slowly and cautiously.
„That’s a good girl,” Claire praises.
She shakes the bag of snacks, and Pi’s eyes light up.
„Oh, you like that, don’t you?” Claire chuckles and opens the back to retrieve a snack, which she throws in Pi’s direction. „There’s more where that came from.”
I stand and watch in awe as the little kitten creeps out of the bush, stretching her neck to sniff at the snack, before she finally dares to come out and eat it. I stand frozen like a salt pillar, barely allowing myself to breathe, while I watch as Pi comes plodding closer to Claire with her tail up in the air.
As soon as she is within reach, Claire picks her up from the ground and brings her close to her chest. She’s sobbing when she turns around to me, while Pi is squirming in her arms.
„We found her!” she cries out. „She’s safe!”
I go to her and wrap my arms around her and Pi, while tears start running down her flushed cheeks.
„Thank you,” I say, as I feel the warmth of both of them in my embrace.
„I didn’t do anything,” Claire says. „We were lucky.”
„I am lucky,” I say. „And I’m sorry, I really am.”
I retreat and she looks at me through tearful eyes, an unspoken question dancing across her face.
„I’m sorry, too.” She smiles at me, and I can’t stop myself from leaning down to kiss her.
After everything that happened, I was worried that she might reject the kiss, that she might remind me of what an asshole I’ve been and how she no longer wants to be with me—but none of that happens. Instead, she leans into the kiss, sighing with relief as our tongues meet.
