CHAPTER TWO
TILLY AND THE MORNING GLORIES
CHAPTER TWO
Tilly was glad when the nice lady opened the door and let her into the house. Once inside, she looked all around. From the peoples point of view it would be considered small, but to Tilly it was a wonderful mansion. She felt the warmth of the house, and couldn’t wait to lay her head down on one of the soft pillows of the couch or bed. She would finally be able to sleep without the constant noise of the streets coming at her from every direction. The old porches that she had often slept under were drafty and didn’t keep out the cold. It could be miserable, on cold and rainy days, to feel the chill of the air while trying to sleep. Here it was warm, and not drafty at all. Because of her past experience living in a real home, Tilly knew that bedrooms were usually comfortable places with soft beds, and chairs with fluffy cushions. She decided to head for one of the two bedrooms in the house.
It wasn’t long before Tilly had settled into an overstuffed chair that fit her small body just perfectly. She let out a big sigh of relief, and closed her eyes. It occurred to her, as she drifted off to sleep, that she hadn’t seen the cat named Freddy since she came in. She wondered for a minute where he might be in the house, but she was just too tired to spend much time thinking about him. Her head began to feel very heavy. She couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. Within minutes she was sound asleep.
That night Tilly had a dream. She dreamed that she was back at her old house. She was with her mother, and her brothers and sisters. She dreamed she was a small kitten again, and knew nothing about the fear and loneliness of the streets. In her dream she was happy. She played with her siblings, while her mother watched over them. In her dream everything was perfect and safe, and would stay that way forever. As the night passed, Tilly slept soundly in the big chair that fit her small body perfectly.
Tilly awoke while it was still very early in the morning. She got up, stretched and yawned. Looking around the room she was in, she noticed that the nice lady was still asleep in the bed by the window. Not wanting to disturb the nice lady, Tilly decided to take a look around the rest of the house. She went out into the hallway that led from the bedrooms to the rest of the house. Since it was so early in the morning, the house was still dark. Tilly was glad that the God of all creation had blessed cats with the gift of being able to see very well in the dark. Her good night vision allowed her to walk very quietly, without bumping into anything. She came to the end of the hallway, and into the living room she remembered from yesterday. The faint light outside told her that the sun was just coming up. She wanted to watch the sunrise, so she jumped up onto the windowsill behind the closed curtains and sat down.
Suddenly, Tilly heard a loud growling that terrified her. She stood up, and all her fur stood on end. She looked down, and saw the cat named Freddy. His face was very mean, with his lips curled back, his teeth showing, and his ears laying flat against his head.
Tilly ran in fear to the end of the windowsill. She jumped onto the little table that sat next to the couch. She was trying so hard to get away from Freddy that she slid on the table, and knocked over a picture frame. She bumped into the lamp, and almost knocked that over. Tilly looked behind her only long enough to see that Freddy was chasing her. She jumped to the floor, and raced back toward the room where the nice lady was sleeping. She was almost there, when Freddy caught up to her. He tackled her to the floor, with loud, vicious, screams and snarls. The nice lady came running out of her bedroom, wearing her nightgown, and got hold of Freddy. She picked him up, and carried him off to another room.
Tilly sat alone, panting and shaking. She was frightened and confused. She didn’t know what to think. She didn’t know what to do. Why did this happen to me, she thought. What did I do?
Slowly, Tilly got up, and walked back to the bedroom where she had spent last night. She could feel tears beginning to run from her eyes. She had tried so hard to be quiet. She didn’t want to disturb the nice lady this early in the morning. She just wanted to live in peace, and be warm and loved. She wanted to try again to have a real home, and a family. She didn’t want to cause any trouble. She wanted things to be like they were in her dream. She knew in her heart that she could never be that little kitten who didn’t know about the life of a street cat. She knew she would never get to see her brothers and sisters again. She was ready to let go of the past, and make a new life that was safe and secure. She was ready to love and be loved again. Overcome with sadness, Tilly began to cry as she slumped down in the big chair that fit her small body just perfectly.
A little while went by, when the nice lady came into the bedroom where Tilly was resting on her chair. Tilly was unsure of what would happen after this morning’s loud ruckus, and was afraid to move. She didn’t know if the nice lady would still be so nice. The lady spoke gently to Tilly, and petted her. Still nice, Tilly thought. The lady picked Tilly up, and took her to the kitchen. Tilly saw that there was a bowl of food for her, and a bowl of fresh water. She looked around, worried about Freddy, but she didn’t see him anywhere. As soon as the nice lady put her down, she ate her food, and had a drink of cool water.
The nice lady then showed Tilly where the litter box was in the little bathroom next to the kitchen. Tilly still remembered the first house she lived in, and seeing the litter box reminded her of how mother had taught her to be a good housecat. Her heart felt a little broken whenever she remembered those days. She prayed a little, silent, prayer to God that her brothers and sisters, her mother, and her friends from the streets, would be as lucky as she was in her new home with the nice lady.
When Tilly was done in the bathroom, the nice lady picked her up again, and took her back to the bedroom. On the way there, Tilly saw that the door to the other bedroom was closed. So that’s it, she thought. Freddy must be in the other bedroom.
After Tilly got back in her chair, the nice lady closed the bedroom door. Tilly heard the other bedroom door open, and knew it was Freddy’s turn to be let out. Again, she wondered why Freddy had been so mean to her. At least the nice lady likes me, Tilly thought. She was sure the nice lady liked her. She was sure that everything could be worked out. She was sure they would all be able to get along together very soon. She yawned deeply, and stretched out on her big chair that fit her small body perfectly.
Soon, one day became like another. It was the same routine of the nice lady bringing out Tilly, then Freddy. She did it three times a day for both of them. Every few days, the nice lady would try to let Freddy and Tilly out together. No matter how much Tilly tried to be nice, Freddy would growl and hiss, then come at her with his teeth showing. It was becoming obvious that things were not working out. The nice lady was getting tired of the routine. Tilly was getting tired of Freddy. She wanted to stay in her room, and be away from him.
One day, after Tilly was safely in her room, with the door closed, the nice lady let Freddy out of his bedroom so he could eat. Then the nice lady left to go shopping, leaving Freddy free to roam around the house. When Tilly heard Freddy’s footsteps through the small opening under the door, she tried to talk to him.
“Freddy, why don’t you like me,” She asked him.
She heard him stop walking, and for a minute he said nothing.
“You get out of here,” he finally said. “You don’t belong here.”
“But, I like it here,” Tilly told him. “It’s safe and warm, and the nice lady likes me.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Freddy answered loudly. His voice sounded angry. “She likes me, just me. You’re going. You’re leaving. I’m getting rid of you.”
Tilly heard him walking away from her. She wanted to call out after him, but she knew he wouldn’t answer her. She sat alone in her bedroom, wondering if he really could get the nice lady to send her away.
Tilly began to think about her first home, and how she was chased out of it. She began to think about life on the streets. During those hard times of looking for shelter and food, she had forced herself to forget what it was like to have a real home. Those memories had just been too heartbreaking for her. Since coming here, she had forced herself to forget what it was like on the streets. She didn’t want to remember those days of being so lonely and afraid. She got up on her chair to rest, and to wait for the nice lady to return.
The next morning, while Tilly was having breakfast, a gentleman showed up at the front door of the house. The nice lady let him in, and brought him to the kitchen, where Tilly was just about finished eating. He was very nice to Tilly. He spoke to her, and petted her gently.
“You’re a good cat,” he said very softly. “You’re a real beauty. You’re going to make someone a wonderful companion. I’m sure you’ll find yourself a good home.”
The words he said confused Tilly. She thought she was already home. She became even more confused when the man picked her up, and put her in a plastic cage box. The cage box had holes cut out of both sides, and a metal mesh front, so Tilly could see out of it. She looked around for the nice lady, but the nice lady wasn’t there. Tilly felt the cage being picked up. The man carried her out of the kitchen, and through the living room. Looking through the holes in the sides of the cage, Tilly could see the couch by the window, and the table next to it. She saw the open curtains, and the windowsill behind them.
As the man carried Tilly through the front door of the house, she looked down the hallway, and saw the door to her bedroom. It was open and she tried to see inside it. It was the room where she had spent the last few weeks sleeping on the big chair that fit her small body just perfectly. Somehow, she knew that she would never sleep in that chair again, and never eat breakfast in the nice lady’s kitchen again. She just wanted to see it one more time.
She heard the front door close. The man walked out onto the porch, down the step, and put her into the backseat of his car. The man got into the front seat, and soon they were driving away. They drove to the front of a large brick building, and parked near the door. The man got out, and picked Tilly up. The minute she saw the building, with it’s fenced in yard, Tilly knew what it was. It was an animal shelter. She knew about these places. She heard about them when she was living on the streets. They were places where people sent unwanted animals. Looking at that building made Tilly feel so frightened and alone. She could feel her little heart breaking inside her. She thought she would never find a real home. She didn’t even want one anymore. She would never trust anyone ever again. She would never let anyone hurt her like this again.
Once inside the big building, the man carried Tilly down a long hallway. She looked through the holes in the cage box, and saw many doors leading to many rooms. Some rooms had windows, so she could see into them. Tilly saw that they were small rooms, with playtrees, boxes covered with rugs and blankets, and perches built into the walls. Tilly saw that these rooms held cats and kittens. Some of them looked frightened, like she was. They sat on top of the boxes, or curled up inside them. They looked like they were worried that someone was going to suddenly make them move from their hiding places. Others seemed more relaxed, just resting on small, rug covered perches that stuck out of the walls, and were higher up than the boxes or playtrees. They looked down at Tilly, curious to know what was going on, but not at all worried or concerned. A few of the cats were very friendly. They walked up to the windows that separated the rooms from the hallway, and lifted their paws in a little wave. They looked like they were right at home.
Home was all Tilly could think about. She remembered her first home, and how she was thrown out like trash. She remembered her second home, the streets, where she was made fun of, laughed at, and driven by hunger to eat out of garbage cans. Now, the nice lady had sent her away. She was filled with shame and confusion. She knew she wasn’t a bad cat. Still, it seemed no one wanted her. Maybe, Tilly thought, the nice lady and Freddy knew I was a street cat, and that’s why they didn’t want me. Maybe they thought I wasn’t clean, and ate out of garbage cans, and that I really didn’t like or appreciate nice things. I’m so ashamed. I wish I could have found a way to tell her that I’m not a street cat. Not really. I’m not a street cat on the inside.
The man walked, carrying Tilly, to the very end of the hallway. He turned into the last small room. It was the smallest room of all the rooms they had passed, and had only two other cats in it. One of them was an orange and white cat who looked like he was hardly older than a kitten. The other was an older, black and gray striped cat who was asleep on the blanket covered top of one of two boxes in the room.
Tilly felt the cage box being lowered to the floor. She saw the man’s hand reach down toward the front of the cage. She backed up, afraid he might try to grab her and drag her out of the box. He lifted the latch that held the cage door shut, and opened the door for her. The man stood behind the cage box for a few minutes. He seemed to be waiting for Tilly to get up the courage to walk out. She was too frightened to move, and made no attempt to leave the cage. She felt like she had no where to go. Suddenly, she felt the back of the cage box being lifted up. The man was trying to force her out. She felt herself sliding forward on the slippery plastic bottom of the cage. She couldn’t hold herself back, no matter how hard she tried. She slid right through the open door of the cage, and into the middle of the small room they were in.
Tilly quickly looked around the room. The white and orange kitten was asleep on one of the perches high up on the wall. The striped cat was on top of one box. There was another box in the room. No one was in it, or on top of it. It was a perfect hiding place, and she ran to it. She got into it through an opening that had been cut into the side of the box.
The inside of the box was dark, and there was a pile of clean rags providing a soft place to lie down. Tilly heard the man picking up the cage and walking away. She heard him close the door of the small room she was in. She peeked out the little opening of her cardboard box. The other two cats were still asleep. They didn’t seem to have noticed her arrival at all. She retreated into her box, and lay down on the clean rag bed. She was exhausted after everything that had happened to her this morning. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep.