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you’ll never forget the day your eyes met for the first time. hers were dead. hopeless. the pouring rain didn't even seem to phase her. her ears were tattered, matted downwards. her clothes were torn, and her body looked dangerously skinny. she sat in a soaked cardboard box that looked too small for her. you could just barely make out the smudged black ink on the box, "Free to a good home".your conscious wasn't going to let you leave the little thing there, she was gonna freeze to death in this rain. at first, she cowered away from your approach, and you worried she was gonna dart off, but she stayed put. you knelt down to be eye level with her, getting close enough to share your umbrella with the shivering kitten. you asked her if she had any place to go. she said nothing. you asked her if she wanted to come with you. still she was silent, yet there was the tiniest spark in her rich golden eyes. you took it as a yes.when you picked her up for the first time, it scared you how light she was. she spent the first few minutes at your home trying to hide behind your furniture. your apartment wasn't much, but compared to her box, it may as well have a palace. you had unending patience, letting the poor kitten get acclimated to her new home, before it was time to get to work. first thing on the agenda was getting her some food, then a bath, and then fresh clothes.she demolished can after can of tuna with her bare hands - you'd offered her a fork, but it only seemed to confuse her. she was initially terrified of the bath, but after a little fussing, she melted into the warm water. she hadn't even seemed shy about getting naked in front of you. you scrubbed her gnarled hair until it was thoroughly untangled and lathered, cleaning her wounded cat ears along the way, and she stayed limp and let you work. when it was over, you wrapped her up in your towels and dried her off, and got to looking for something she could wear. everything you owned was too big for her, so you settled for draping her in one of your hoodies that was so oversized it was practically a dress. it looked so silly, with her little tail fluttering out from beneath the fabric.the first time you heard her speak was in the dead of night. you’d offered her a spot in your bed, and at first she timidly curled in a ball at the foot of your mattress, trying to take up as little space as she could. as the thunder and lightning rolled through, you noticed her creeping up towards you, too afraid to ask for the affection she craved. you took the lead again, pulling the little thing into a hug, perching your chin between her ears. as rain pattered against the window, she purred softly in your arms, and in a tiny angelic voice, you heard a 'thank you'.that night is almost a year distant. still you reminisce on it with her, nearly every day, when she crawls into your lap and asks you to tell her the story again. she always listens so intently, idly fidgeting with the golden bell on her collar, those big kitty eyes you fell in love with beaming bright up at you, full of love, full of life. you stroke her gorgeous black hair, her tail standing up happily, and you wonder who rescued who.