April 14, 2009328Please respect copyright.PENANAlJ4PMrvDQt
To the outside world,328Please respect copyright.PENANAbMJJHlGUZX
My parents once surprised me with a cat, claiming she was a Bengal or something similar. She had beautiful leopard-like fur and was full of energy. When they brought her home, she already had a name—Meeko. From the moment I met her, she seemed really attached to me.328Please respect copyright.PENANAyyM4fasu1W
I couldn't understand why she loved me so much. I wasn't playful back then, but perhaps it was because I was just as tiny as she was. My parents took care of her for the most part, but just like me, she wasn't allowed outside.328Please respect copyright.PENANAUfx5T6s3KH
There were times when she would leap at the door, scramble up to the window, and press her face against the glass. I thought it was adorable, but my parents would smack her off, saying it was giving me the wrong ideas.328Please respect copyright.PENANAdDUeP6hLLi
I had her for about a year, and every day I felt more sorry for her, so one day I did what had to be done. I crept downstairs, and Meeko stared into my soul with her beautiful piercing eyes.328Please respect copyright.PENANAkPi52QCdkC
"Come with me, Meeko!"328Please respect copyright.PENANAfPPqeNEAGI
She watched as I dragged a chair near the front door, and with a click, it unlocked. I pulled the door open and Meeko stepped onto the front porch, looking back at me. "Sorry Meeko, I can't go with you. You need to get out of here."328Please respect copyright.PENANAOJHz57eQ3c
She felt a pang of uncertainty about leaving me, her gaze lingering on me as a tear rolled down my cheek. "I'll come back for you someday, when I'm old enough to live on my own. Stay healthy for me, okay!"328Please respect copyright.PENANAcJiqDBW3Qs
I softly stroked her head, while hurried footsteps echoed down the stairs. "Saira!" my mother shouted. She grabbed me and pulled me back inside. "Honey, get the cat!"328Please respect copyright.PENANAgOnCRPm9BQ
"Run, Meeko! Run!"328Please respect copyright.PENANApHGzKQwEgo
My father hurried after Meeko, but she sprang over the railing and disappeared from view. He turned towards me with anger in his eyes, and smacked me across the face. "What the hell were you thinking, letting that cat run wild!"328Please respect copyright.PENANACUxXjArXud
"She was sad and miserable being locked up for so long. She had to be set free."328Please respect copyright.PENANAUeBEq9YrNz