And then one day, you sold me to a ruthless man for a fistful of money. You put me in a cage, together with all of my little brothers and sisters and let that man throw us in a lorry. A lorry full of little, hungry and thirsty kittens like me. I begged you not to let him do this. I begged you to let me stay. I'd be a nice girl and I wouldn't complain about anything. But you didn't listen. You were counting the few Florints in your hand and didn't look back at me anymore. The big door of the lorry closed and everything became dark. A darkness filled with the incessant cries of dozens of little kittens. I was so scared. I wished so hard that this was only a bad dream and that I would wake up in your arms again. But every time I opened my eyes I could only see the many cages filled with other kittens who shared my fate.
The journey was long. Very long. The air was filled with the stench of our poo and pee because noone brought us a box with cat litter so we could do our thing. We didn't get any food or water either. For some of my unfortunate brothers and sisters, the suffering had been too much and they gave up. Soon, a different and much more horrible smell mingled with the foul air in the back of the lorry. And everything remained dark. The lamenting faded away. As did the life in my veins.
When I was about take my last breath, the lorry was opened. The light was blinding and I opened my eyes in spite of them being nearly glued shut with pus. I didn't have the strength anymore to resist but nevertheless the man dragged me out of my cage by the skin of my neck. Even though that hurts so badly. For a glimpse I saw the devastation in the back of that lorry. I wish I hadn't looked. The man put a cold hose on me to wash most of the dirt off. My whole body trembled. I barely weighed 60% of what a kitten of my age and race should. Could you, a man of 80kg, imagine that you'd suddenly weigh 48kg anymore? Even worse, since I'm a kitten, I desperately needed food for my development because that's something I would have lost forever. And yes, you did give me food. A few scraps and some kind of stinking jelly that you wouldn't even feed to the rats. But again, I didn't complain. I even pointed my paw at you because I believed that also you are good and that you'd want me to be your friend. But you ignored me and left me in a small cage in a strange building. Yet, I was grateful. Grateful because the cage you had put me in was bigger than the one in the lorry and at least the air wasn't as foul. Yes, I was most grateful to you.
The night was long and cold. To my surprise, after this one night you already came for me to bring me to yet another destination. I wanted to see a vet because I didn't feel very well. I was so hungry. But all you did was printing a self-made note saying that a vet had declared me as healthy as a horse and signing it under the pretext that you're a vet. You shoved me in a small bag and threw me in a van.
The journey was again long. But fortunately not as long as the one you had made me undergo when you had come to drag me away from my mother. I shivered of fear and exhaustion. I made myself as tiny as possible in a corner of this bag, hoping that noone would notice me anymore.
You stopped the van and waited. Waited for over an hour. You were tired of driving and even though you had been paid to deliver me at my new destnation, you prefered that my new owner would drive through the snow in order to collect me. My new owner was called Christine. How could I ever imagine that fortune would turn so dramatically in my favour. Christine was nice to me. She smiled at me when my frightened eyes looked at her from the corner in my bag. She said gentle words to me and even caressed me on my little head. When we arrived at her house, she immediately saw in what state I was in and she did everything in her power to make me feel better. She called me "Flora", a name which I liked a lot. At least once every week she drove with me to the vet for a check up. She did make me swallow these nasty little pills. But I realised it was for my own good. I also got to know her husband Peter. Yes, I had found a new mum and dad. I even received two sisters, Canelle and Blu, and one brother, Thomas! Sisters and brothers with whom I could play the whole day long. I had finally found a place full of love. A place where I could be happy. And I showed them my appreciation in abundance. I started playing again; something I hadn't done in a long while. I started feeling better and gained a lot of weight in just a couple of weeks. I happily chased my little, green ball and made surprise attacks on the "mice" that were hidden under the large piece of cloth that Christine had given me as a present. Peter was so furious about what you had done to me, that he immediately claimed the small fortune back that you had made him pay for me. And even your bank agreed that you had committed fraud and immediately withdrew the small fortune from your account again to return it to Peter.
This made you mad. You wouldn't listen to reason. Your ego was so large that you believed that you had done nothing wrong at all. You were so mad that you went to court to complain about how unreasonable Peter had been with you. A courtcase that is still pending, but for which Christine and Peter are no longer afraid.
In your rage, have you ever thought about me? Have you ever wondered how things are going for me right now? Have you ever considered that the suffering you caused will have its effect throughout my entire life? Last week, my nose started leaking again and my breathing became once more difficult. So Christine and Peter took me to another vet yesterday in order to have a second opinion. On the x-rays you could clearly see that the infection on my lungs for which you are responsible has grown dramatically. The antibiotics with which I was treated last month, had only had a very limited effect and now the infection has developed into a full-size pneumonia. Soon, Christine and Peter will bring me to a specialist who'll have to take a sample from my lungs in order to determine whether it's a virus, resistant bacteria or fungus causing the disease.
But one thing's for sure. I'll keep on fighting. See... I'm still running about as if nothing's wrong with me. I'm still hissing at Blu and clawing playfully at Thomas' fat, black tail. Christine and Peter have lost three cats in less than a year. But they're not going to lose me. I truly realise now how beautiful life can be. I enjoy it way too much in order to let go. I've forgiven you for everything you've done to me. I consider it as the necessary pain someone has to undergo in order to find true happiness. Why can't you just be happy for me then?
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