"Oh my goodness, she is beautiful" Anna squealed in glee. She held the little bluish gray kitten to her chest, rubbing the purring fuzz balls chin slowly. Her parents were there with her, talking with the volunteer about care for the kitten. Anna didn't care what was said between the adults, she had her prize. Meanwhile the volunteer was slowly speaking, outlining for the family what the cat would need both as it grew and as an adult. Suddenly she was tapped on the shoulder causing her to jump. She looked up sheepishly at the volunteer.
"You do know that you need to keep fresh water out and feed the kitten three times a day for now, right?" Anna nodded. "And you know to keep her litter box clean and play with her daily so that she gets exercise?" Again Anna nodded, now sighing exasperatedly. She had of course done all of the necessary research months ago, and spent from Christmas until now convincing her parents that she could care for the cat and that it wouldn't harm her little brother, who was at home with a sitter. The volunteer finally pronounced them all set and Anna all but ran for the door, being stopped by a firm "Anna" from her father. She walked back and reluctantly put the still purring kitten in the transport box that was being held open for her by the volunteer who was now smiling.
On the drive home Anna was eagerly wiggling in her seat, trying to come up with a name for the kitten now that she finally had her. All of the names she had thought of before going to the rescue center now seemed stupid to her. She finally settled on Glory for the kittens name, thinking of the morning glory flowers and their soft bluish purple coloring. As soon as they got home though, the excitement died off. Anna did as she had been told she had to do and took her kitten straight to the basement, settling Glory into the large kennel her mom had bought the week before. She didn't really understand why her parents were making her keep Glory down here in the damp and cold basement for the first few days when the volunteer had said just keep her confined to one room until she was settled.
After her parent finally deemed she could move Glory upstairs, she spent every waking minute she could get away with it, playing with Glory. Months passed and her little kitten grew into a large house cat who proved adept at catching rodents and spiders, much to Anna's mothers relief. Several years passed uneventfully for the small family of four.
It was cold and raining outside, Anna, now 16, was exasperated. Why did it have to be raining? There were now 8 teenage boys camped in the living room, her 15 year old brother amongst them, all whooping and yelling at the football game that was blaring on the tv. Anna had her music as loud as her parents allowed and could still hear the party downstairs. She slammed her journal down onto her bed, giving up on trying to write. Glory flicked her tail rapidly, seeming to mirror Anna's annoyance. She reached down and stroked the cat lovingly. "Why did they have to stay here today?"' she asked the cat, more as a musing than anything. Suddenly there was loud steps on the stairs. Anna sighed again, knowing it was her brother coming up.