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If she was surprised at the change of subject, she didn’t show it. She tapped her cane and nodded. “That’s right. Her third litter.”
“Do you have homes for them?” I knew she wouldn’t but asked anyway.
“Now, Claudia, don’t go getting yourself upset. You know we can’t be overrun by cats.”
“But killing them is so cruel.” I sighed and plucked a leaf from the bush protecting her front garden.
“Crueler for them to live on the streets, unprotected and unwanted. Sometimes it’s a mercy.”
I bit my lip, my brain and my heart warring over the sentiment, but continued to twirl the leaf in my fingers, not looking up at her. “Simon hasn’t killed them yet, has he?”
“No.” She drawled the word. “The grandchildren wanted to say goodbye before they go to the farm.”
“Why don’t you give me one?”
“What do you want with a kitten?” She stared at me suspiciously.
“The doctors have suggested an animal could help Father … settle.” She didn’t look convinced. “I could pay you.” I still had a bit of money from the inheritance, plenty enough for a kitten that would otherwise die.
“Pay?” she gasped.
“Well, yes, they are your kittens after all.” I shrugged.
A gleam appeared in her eyes as an idea sparked. “Do you think other people might pay for a kitten for their soldiers?”
“They may if they have heard about the benefit of helping them.”
“What a bright idea, Miss Claudia. Saving your father and a kitten in one day in a single conversation.” She patted my cheek. “So enterprising.”
As I clutched a squirming black and white fluffy body in my hands, I sent a prayer to God.
Please let this change our lives for the better.
CHAPTER5
ZAIDE
This journey would change me forever.
Daithi believes I will meet my soul pair during this visit to the human realm. Something that hadn’t happened for my species since our souls were ripped apart and tossed across the realms, never to meet again.
It would be a momentous occasion, something Daithi and Savida were excited to see and be a part of. They wanted me to meet the other half of my soul so I could experience the same joy and love they had with each other.
The prospect of it had me sweating with nervous excitement. But I was wary too. I didn’t trust my fortune.
I was quiet as Charlie asked questions and Daithi explained. It was something many of our hosts in other realms had also needed. They wanted to know who we were and why we’re visiting. Although most of the other species in the interlinked dimensions had long lives and even longer memories, so they knew of each other even if they had met no one outside of their own realm before.
From Charlie’s reaction, the human realm seemed to have cast the many races across the realms into myth and legend.
My stomach grumbled at the mention of food, and I followed the others into the kitchen, my braid hitting the back of my legs as I walked. I paused as a curious sense of loss washed over me. A hole in my soul that was filled without my noticing began leaking. My stomach growled again, and I pushed the odd feeling to the back of my mind.
As I stepped through the doorway, I took a seat at the table and watched Charlie mutter as he threw one yellow block and a thin pink square on top of a soft white thing. He covered it with another soft white thing and put it in a contraption that burned lines in it.
Plates clattered to the mats in front of us in no time, and Savida, Daithi and I stared at each other, wondering who among us would be so brave as to try something created so quickly and pulled from packages.
“What are you waiting for? Dig in.” Charlie picked up his own meal and took a big bite. The yellow thing had melted and pulled away in long strings, which Charlie attempted to chew through.
The horrified look on Daithi’s face echoed mine, but Savida picked up his meal with a curious expression. After a few testing bites, he told us, “Not as bad as the Locus Pie, but not as good as the Ambrosia Biscuits.”
