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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀┋ P5: A SPECIAL NAME ┋
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The night passed normally. A new normal.
Jhon used to only a few days ago, when he still lived with his father, to clean up the mess that sometimes occurred after the incessant work that his father carried home, who had taken the option of becoming an accountant without a degree.
Due to his father's lack of time, he learned to mature quickly, so much of his merit as a young man who knew how to perform well was only due to those stages of his life. Likewise, he would hope never to return to this one.
On this occasion, the situation was somewhat similar. His father no longer lived with him, but instead he had with him a six-foot cat with black fur and beautiful golden eyes that never seemed to run out of energy, going from one place to another with a great restlessness that would categorize her as a child in an amusement park. Or almost almost, like the Tasmanian Devil.
Shortly after the brown cat had left, they had caught up on a few things. While he took care of cleaning up the dining room and living room, he watched in amazement as the feline made the meal with the ingredients she had brought with her in a box.
The box always kept him with her, and whenever Jhon approached it to browse, she would sneak a glance at him in silence, which made the young man learn that there were things girls didn't want him to see from them.
Jhon looked through his backpack as he went through his school things, and saw among them the picture of this same one long before, when she was just a little kitten. He put it in front of him and looked sideways at the cooking cat making a delicious stew, seeing the clear difference between the two.
They were the same feline, but it had taken him a long time to figure it out.
Trying to remember what happened a few moments ago, she approached the box where the feline was stuck, finding on the floor the collar she had put on and which had almost suffocated her.
< She picked up the necklace in her hand, and blinked slowly as she felt a strange sensation retake a space in her mind to open up another memory for her. And for the briefest of moments, she could identify the resemblance to the necklace he had given her the same day they parted, when they had rested on the roof of the pizzeria. He checked the insignia on it, but it didn't have the cat symbol he had made for her when he was younger. Clearly, it was not the same collar. But it was a very similar one, almost identical if not for that detail. "Meoooow~" A meow brought him out of his thoughts, turning his attention back again on the delicious scent sneaking up his nose, leaving him with saliva in his mouth quickly. That was another question he still couldn't get out of his mind, and one that made him wonder about what kind of life this one had been living in his absence. He stood carefully and hid the necklace in his pocket. He had changed out of his uniform into his casual home clothes a while ago, so now he could be more relaxed about getting it any dirtier than it already was. The feline served the main meal on two plates: an exquisite stew of potatoes, rice and fried beef with spices on top, adorned with a cat's face drawn in the center of the rice. It was a meal prepared with all his love, and from such tenderness, Jhon felt his heart would burst. He clasped his hands together and thanked her for the food, watching as she tried to settle into the chair across from him at the table, trying at all costs to avoid giving in to her feline instincts to climb up and sit down like a normal cat. A normal thing if she were the size of a cat for her age, but it would be very dangerous if the chair supported the full weight of a six-foot cat. However, she was able to settle herself after a few moments, smiling with a light and somewhat silly laugh, starting to take the spoon in her paw to start eating quietly, if not before putting her elbow on the table and her hand on her cheek, resting in such a natural pose that the only thing that stood out was that she did not take her eyes off the boy sitting in front of her, who felt embarrassed and blushed by the casual way she behaved. They were friends, and had been for a long time, but they had been equally distant for the same amount of time. They were almost strangers, living with the affection they held for each other for the one year they knew and lived together. But neither of them minded. They both ate happily, pointing and laughing when the other laughed stupidly at some gesture the other made, or when they tried to make each other laugh with some strange gesture. Each time, more and more strange games, but they released the initial tension in the atmosphere, until they left a satisfied dinner in every way. Jhon searched for a few moments for the necklace in his pocket and showed it to his friend, who perked up her ears as soon as she saw it in his hands. "This is a necklace much like the one I gave you when we were younger, isn't it, didn't you?" Wanting to remember those good times, Jhon showed it to her with a gentle smile. However, the result was quite the opposite. The feline let out a long sigh, looking to the side, smiling weakly. As soon as she saw Jhon's confused look, she shook her head and joined back to her usual state of happy excitement. Jhon kept quiet and left the necklace on the table, putting his doubts a little stronger in his mind. But, as he promised himself, he wouldn't do anything that would cause trouble for her, even if it meant remembering the past. He checked the empty badge on the necklace for a few moments, and even as he turned it over and looked at it from all angles, Jhon smiled. "Right... Surely you must have some name now, right? I never called you by one, and... if we're going to be living together much closer now, I think it would be nice to start keeping that in mind. Then I'd have something nice to call you by." The latter came out on its own, leaving him embarrassed and surprised by his own words. However, the feline seemed to smile in good spirits, nodding at his comment. "So... do you have a name?" Quickly, this one shook her head from side to side, in denial mode. Jhon blinked a couple of times in disbelief as he tried to get himself to think about how long this one had to be alone.... "Are you sure? You must have been living with a lot of cats out there." Again, this one again balked. "What, so... you lived alone?" Opportunely, she finally nodded at last. This answer would leave the young man somewhat shocked, who was questioning his own theories. His question what else he wanted to tell her, why she looked like that now and not like a normal cat, he still felt it was a bit early to ask her. Mostly because he wanted to make her feel comfortable and to avoid sounding like a possible malicious or offensive question. He wanted to make her feel comfortable more than anything else, and that she could rest well from that night, so he decided to ask her at another time, a more indicated one. "Meoow." The feline finished eating her meal and let out a satisfied meow, looking into Jhon's eyes curiously. Jhon looked at his plate and noticed that he hadn't eaten much, so he hurried to start savoring his meal, leaving him gawking in a few moments at how well it tasted. He thought again about the life he had had, and how sad it would possibly be to live a lifetime without a name you could be called by. At least, for a human like him, if it would affect him. But she wasn't human, she was a cat. His doubts grew stronger as he felt he wanted to thank her for the food or wish her goodnight as soon as she made a place for him to sleep in her room. He wanted to call out to her somehow, so he could look for her again if something happened. "...I wish I could call you by some name" he commented to her, sincerely. The feline opened her eyes upon hearing his request, tensing her tail with a somewhat pale expression. Which, little by little, changed to one of utter excitement. Jhon set his empty plate down on the table and smiled at her. "So, you're okay with the idea?" Shortly after asking him the question, the disaster began. And so, back to the beginning. The feline, who out of excitement and happiness was running around messing up the entire room that she had been cleaning earlier that morning, was now a mess, not to mention the racket she was making from running everywhere. Jhon tried to catch all the things that were falling, placing them in safe places on the floor. But that wouldn't end the danger. In front of him, he had unleashed an uncontrollable beast. With a smile of pure tenderness and innocence, the huge feline soon tripped over her own mess, tumbling to the ground, about to fall into a broken dish. However, Jhon was able to hold her up in time, using all his possible strength to support her weight in his hands. The feline stopped at the sight of him so close, turning her head all around to inspect the place, noticing his mess. Jhon helped her stand up and let out a sigh of relief that she wasn't hurt, checking her body for any scratches. "Relax... I'll fix the house this time. You're my guest, you know, right? Come on, let's make some room on the couch and remove the broken things so we can start talking. The house was a mess. But, placing his hand gently on her cheek, he managed to calm her down with a gentle touch on his part, making her nod with much less concern for what had happened. With a broom, he began to clean up the broken pieces of the wall, pieces of wood and broken dishes. She would have to spend a good bit of money to fix it...but she would figure out how to fix it. He knew full well what it would be like to take care of such a big cat, and he was ready, mentally, to deal with those consequences. He positioned himself on one of the red couches in the living room and removed everything on top of it, then stroked his head and smiled. "So... a name. It must be a special name." The feline looked like she was about to get excited again like before, but Jhon put a finger on her nose, causing her gaze from that one to focus on this one and calm down. Unlike the brown feline, he noticed how she still retained that ability to communicate with this one without needing to understand by words, which was useful so far. He needed to know if she liked the name he would give her. "How about... 'Shadow'?" In an instant, she's crossed her arms, shaking her head. "... Okay, let's rule out that name. Maybe something more tender. How about... 'Cherry'?" This one stuck out her tongue, scratching her head, as if she too thought of a name before hearing one worse than the other. Jhon closed his mouth, feeling embarrassed by the situation. He wasn't the most creative, but he was right. It had to be a more special name. "Meooow..." < Jhon thought of similar things that might sound like this one's meow, trying to use all his mental capacity not to think of something ridiculous again. < < < <<...>> < Jhon's eyes shot open, snapping his fingers in an instant after finding a good name among so many silly thoughts. "I know what it could be." The feline focused her gaze on him, looking at him with curiosity and expectation. He placed his finger back on his nose, and smiled gently at her. "Molly. It looks good on you." Jhon smiled graciously, doing his best so that his good-natured, gentle manner could get her to accept the name he had worked so hard to think of. However, he would be mindful of her complaints if so desired by another. The feline stared at his finger, and waved her ears when she heard the proposed name. A moment of silence filled the air, and, with a gesture similar to the one she had made at dinner, but this time with a more authentic countenance, she smiled from cheek to cheek, letting out a great happy meow, her paws about to take the road back to further clutter the house. Before she got ahead of him, Jhon wrapped his arms around her, causing her to stop and fall to the couch on her back, having the young man on top of her. "Molly..." "Meooow..." Both the boy and the cat stared into each other's eyes for a moment. And in a hidden feeling, he put his hands down her sides. And began rubbing at her soft, plush fur. Jhon was just as happy about this one, but he couldn't quite describe his excitement. For him, every new thing he could do with this one, and with a name to call her from now on, would only mean further strengthening their friendship. However, his head was filled with false moments that had not yet happened, but of which he dreamed since he was a child. "Molly, come home." "Let's go to the park, Molly." "Molly, let's hurry to school!" Things he had said in his childhood, where he simply added the name that now belonged to her. Moments he could now treasure not only in his dreams, but beside her. He looked up to meet her eyes, noticing her beautiful face confused but happy to see him so playful and friendly. Jhon stood up shortly after that and shook off the cat hair he had on him. He stretched his arms towards the ceiling and let out a long sleepy sigh, seeing before him everything he had to watch out for if he didn't want to step on something dangerous on his way to his room. "I have to go to sleep now if I want to get up early to clean all this up. I have to go to college again tomorrow." mentioned Jhon, who started looking for the broom and dustpan down the hallway of the living room. Molly, newly appointed and with a touch of reality in her actions, knew what she had done. She belatedly realized the trouble she caused Jhon, noting that even she had to be careful where she stepped if she wanted to get off the couch without hurting herself. Compared to Jhon, she wore no garment or shoe that could protect her if she took a wrong step. However, despite her fussiness, she was happy that he didn't scold her. But she knew better than to behave like that. Least of all with the time she had been striving to achieve until that moment. "........" "..........Meoow..." The feline let out a meow after a long silence, then let out a long sigh, starting to walk slowly around the room, locating with her sharp gaze any broken pieces on the floor. She was elated when she poked herself with a piece of porcelain, but kept her composure and kept walking. Jhon had gone looking for the broom in the wrong place, as he had left it in the bathroom after dusting earlier that morning. And, without further ado, he picked up the broom and started cleaning. He kept his mouth shut and his brow furrowed, as if locked in a strong thought that he couldn't get out of his head. On the other hand, the sounds of broken dishes could be heard all the way to the next room, where Jhon was looking for the cleaning supplies. Noticing that Molly had decided to sweep, he ran to the room. "W-Wait, I'll do it, you have nothing to worry about." However, her friend's countenance had changed. She was annoyed. "...Meow..." Her meow was angry, but she wasn't looking at him, she was looking at the ground. More specifically, at a piece of glass. As if seeing his reflection. "...Molly, really, that's not necessary." "Meoooow!" A louder grunt whipped his posture and made him stand still, watching as she insisted on finishing cleaning up the mess she herself had made. Jhon fell silent and swallowed saliva.... He was trying to think of what the right words might be, but it was getting tricky seeing her so angry out of nowhere. "At least... be careful where you step, okay? Maybe I can help you and we'll clean up between the two of us. How about if-?" But Molly growled again, only to let out a chagrined mewl shortly after. Without a word, Jhon nodded, heading for his room. He entered, closed the door, and dropped to the floor in a crouch. < Believing he had made her angry because of something he had done, Jhon wailed in an exaggerated manner to try to ease his sorrows and doubts. His cries were heard all the way to the living room, where Molly jerked after hearing him. However, the wailing stopped. Molly continued sweeping for quite a while, until a couple of hours had passed where most of it had been cleaned up. She dumped the trash into large black bags and placed them in the trash can outside the house, careful not to let anyone see her. Soon after, she locked the door and shook all the dirt off her body. She let out a long sigh and shook her head, looking at the door to John's room. Without further ado, she decided to walk over to see him. He grabbed the handle, turned it, and walked inside. Quickly colliding with this one, who all that time in silence had fallen asleep on the floor, about to fall through the hole he had made. Molly stared at him, and wagged her tail, opening her mouth slightly and meowing softly. She settled John on his bed, stretched out with her arms at her sides, and turned toward the door. To, of course, close it, staying on the inside.