TILLY AND THE MORNING GLORIES CHAPTER ONE
TILLY AND THE MORNING GLORIES
by Christine Macielak
CHAPTER ONE
Tilly walked slowly among the huge brick and wooden buildings that made up the big city where she lived. Tired and hungry, she wondered if tonight she would meet up with a nice person or a mean one. Last night she had been lucky. Rummaging through a big metal bin that people threw their garbage in, she found the leftovers of someone’s chicken dinner. Pulling pieces of meat and skin off the discarded food, she was able to fill her stomach. But halfway through the meal, two people had caught her in the bin.
Frightened, she had backed up into a corner and was trapped. But they just looked at her and went on their way. She heard them talking about her, saying she was just a stupid stray cat. Sometimes the people got mad when they found her in their trash cans. They would throw things at her, and chase her away. One time she was hit by a stone that was as big as she was at the time. Running from the attack, she darted into a street and was almost run over by a car. Seconds after reaching safety, she collapsed in exhaustion in a small clearing between a woodpile and shed. Now she was more careful about watching out for people.
Coming up a little side street, Tilly saw a house with a cat sitting in the window. She knew that some people liked cats enough to keep them in their homes, and make them a part of their family. It would be nice to live like that, Tilly thought, especially in the winter when the house would protect her from the bitter cold. For a few minutes she allowed herself to think about life as a housecat, with a caring person who would love her and keep her safe. After a few minutes of her daydreams however, she knew there were things she had to do. She was hungry now, and there were no big bins in the neighborhood. Past experience told her that people who had cats in their homes were usually nice when they saw her wandering around, so she headed for that house.
Walking around the house, Tilly searched for a trash can. Then she walked through a small flower bed that also had some green bushes in it and ended at a concrete step. The step led up to a porch that was attached to the house. The inside cat watched her from his perch on the windowsill. Sometimes, the housecats would get alarmed at the sight of a new cat near their home. Tilly assumed that they were afraid of street cats, just like some people who lived in houses were afraid of people who lived on the street. This one was no exception. He growled and yowled at her so much that the noise attracted the attention of the lady who lived in the house.
“What is it, Freddy?” the lady said to her cat, as she came toward the window.
Looking outside, the lady spotted Tilly on the porch, and went to her front door to open it. Tilly ran when she heard the front door opening. While it was true that people with cats were usually nice toward her, she could never be sure they wouldn’t throw something at her. The lady looked around her porch. She couldn’t see Tilly who was hiding under the bushes. The lady began calling out to find out where Tilly was hiding.
“Here, kitty, kitty,” the lady called out. “Where are you, little kitty?”
Hearing the calm, friendly, voice calling to her, Tilly came out of her hiding place. A voice that was as kind as this one guaranteed a good meal and maybe even a few minutes of affection. Tilly’s heart was beating fast with glad thankfulness.
Sure enough, the lady turned out to be very nice. She petted Tilly. Then she went back into the house to get a dish of food for her. Tilly was so hungry that she gobbled up her food within a few minutes. The lady then brought a dish of cold water out on the porch. Taking a deep drink of the water, Tilly said a short, heartfelt, prayer to the God Who watched over all animals. This was the same God Who watched over all people. While Tilly was praying however, her mind traveled back, and she found herself thinking about all the bad things that happened to her and others like her. Why do such bad things happen, she thought. I always try so hard, but look what happened to me.
Thinking back, Tilly thought about her first home. Her mom had been a stray, just like she was now. Wandering through a street, she had come upon a man who opened his door, and let her in. He had two other cats in his home, and Tilly’s mom was soon a part of the family. It seemed the man, and his family, liked them all very much. Mom had been a part of this family for no more than four months when she had her first litter of kittens, including Tilly. The man and his family said the kittens were beautiful, and held them gently. After a few weeks, Tilly and her brothers and sister were playing, and learning to be good housecats. Two of her brothers were taken by kind people who wanted a special cat of their own. It was sad when they left, but joyful too, because they were going to homes that were safe and happy.
Then mom had another litter of kittens, when Tilly was only about a year old. The man was just as kind and gentle toward the new kittens as he had been toward Tilly and her siblings. He seemed to have lost interest in the older kittens. He no longer paid any attention to them. He often complained to his wife that there were too many cats in the house now. His wife told him she would try to find new homes for the older kittens, but she didn’t.
Then one day the man came home angry about something that had happened to him while he was at work that day. He slammed the door behind him when he got home. Then he began yelling at the cats and kittens. He opened the back door of the house, and began chasing Tilly, her brother and sister, and the other cats, out of the house. He even threw out Tilly’s mother, and the new litter of kittens. He chased them, throwing rocks and dirt at them.
In the fear and confusion of the moment, they all ran in different directions, never to find their way home again. Even if they had been able to find their way home again, Tilly thought sadly, what good would it have done? The man didn’t want them anyway.
After that, Tilly lived on the streets. She got used to being cold, hungry, and afraid. She made many friends among the other homeless cats. Sadly, she lost many of her friends to sickness, accidents, and hunger. Some of them disappeared, and no one knew what had happened to them. They came in all sizes, colors, and breeds. Some had been pampered show cats, abandoned when they could no longer win in the pageants. Some were born on the streets, and managed to survive in spite of all the odds against them. Sometimes, newly homeless cats would show up, each with a story of their own to tell.
Some of them adjusted to a life of hardship. They learned to rummage for food, and find shelter in abandoned buildings and under porches. Others would find someplace and just stay there, staring into space. They were unable to accept the fact that they were on their own now. Tilly was a survivor. Determined to make her way, she formed close friendships with streetwise cats. She listened to their advice, and learned by watching them.
Now, grooming herself after the nice lady had taken the dishes back into the house, Tilly thought about why a God who was supposed to watch over all animals would let things like that happen. Sometimes, in her fear and loneliness, she cried out against the unfairness of it all. She was a good cat. She thought the man and his family loved her. They had let her down.
When the nice lady tried to get Tilly to come inside the house, Tilly backed away. The meal was good, and Tilly was very grateful for it, but she preferred to sleep under the porch. She didn’t even know why she preferred to stay outside. The only thing she could think was that even nice people can’t be trusted all the time. She was afraid to get her hopes up. It was better to stay outside, and be satisfied with a little food and kindness, than to allow yourself to become completely trusting, only to have your heart broken if they betray you. Tilly liked the nice lady very much. She could never love her, though, because that would be risking a broken heart. Once she got under the porch, Tilly curled up to sleep. She felt very alone inside.
The next morning, Tilly heard a voice coming from above the porch she was sleeping under. It was the nice lady, and she was looking for Tilly. The nice lady called out for Tilly to come and eat. Tilly watched her from under the porch, and for a minute her heart swelled with longing to run up to the nice lady, and become a part of her family. Tilly wanted to be loved, and to love in return. She forced herself to remain still. Was it worth being hurt again, she asked herself. Was it worth the risk of someday being chased out? She waited until after the nice lady had placed a dish of food on the porch, and retreated back into her house, then came out to eat. At least she could get a good meal before going back out on the streets.
Tilly began eating, and as she did, she began to think about life as a street cat. It was dangerous out there. She thought about all the things that could happen to her out there. Would she live through the next winter? Would there be enough food for her? Would she be able to avoid the cars that claimed so many of her fellow cats’ lives? She finished eating, and instead of going out toward the streets, she returned to her hiding spot under the porch. As the hours went by, and the sun began to fade in the sky, Tilly made a decision.
Maybe, she thought to herself, it was better to try again to be part of a family.
Looking at the door of the nice lady’s house, Tilly drew in a deep breath. She was a survivor. She would try again to be a part of a family. She called out. She called out with all her might.
“Let me in,” she said in her own way. “I want to be loved again.”