Dawn

• Mia Nethery, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2018

Isabella Mocrow trudged slowly through the fog, shivering in the cold night air. Her usually white fur was plastered to her side with water and covered ins o much mud that she looked lees like a fluffy house cat and more like a baby Lochness monster. Trees were surrounding her from every side and she kept jumping whenever she heard so much as a twig breaking. The ground was soft with its newly autumn blanket of leaves.
Isabella looked around hopefully. She mewed, half expecting her humans to come running so they could keep her happy. But there were no humans to help her find shelter here. No humans to help her find a safe place to have her kittens.
Then, out of the mist loomed a great cliff. Isabella trotted up the rest of the hill she was on and came to a halt in front of the cliff. There were many small rock ledges leading all the way up to almost the top of the rock face where there was a huge cave. It was large enough to fit twenty cats in it with space between them that they could all walk whenever they liked without touching each other.
She took a big leap and landed on the first rock ledge. Then the second, then the third, and up and up she leapt until she was standing at the mouth of the cave. She walked around, exploring for about ten minutes before settling herself between six stalagmites that all were bunched together to form a small circle in the middle. It was completely sheltered from wind and rain from all directions.
About two hours later Isabella had created a small nest made out of dry moss and leaves that she had found under large rocks laying around the cave. She curled up and prepared for a long night sleep.
Isabella woke up early to the sound of birds chirping happily. The sun was only just starting to rise and it was casting a golden glow over the treetops. Isabella blinked and then got to her feet, stretched, then fell back down again as her belly gave a sharp jolt. It was happening. Her kittens were coming.
She yowled and hissed. The pain was unbearable. Then out came a kitten. It mewed once then struggled over to Isabella, and flopped down next to her, asleep. Then another came out and did the same thing. Then another. Then the last one came out. It was not like the others. She already had snow white fur, and vibrantly purple stripes all the way down her back to the end of her tail. Light pink stripes were on her legs and on the top of her head. She had a pair of pinkish purple feathery wings and indigo eyes. Isabella sniffed her kitten and whispered. ‘You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I am going to call you Dawn.’