Circles of ice

She stared down at the frozen ice. She wondered what had caused the designs on the surface. They were pretty but were they strong. In the middle was a slipping and sliding kitten. The kitten looked scared. She did not like ice skating. The young girl was crying for the kitten. Who would have been so unkind to have placed it out there? The girl leaned over the edge of the ice. She couldn't reach it. She crawled over the ice and pulled on the poor animal's leg. The kitten fought but moved closer to her. The young girl heard a crack and felt some water on her arm, but she kept pulling the kitten. The girl went and sat by the edge of the water and pulled the kitten. The cat was shaking and wet. She was scared of this person who had saved her. She ran off down the street. The young girl did not seem to notice the rejection, she was just happy to no longer have the stranded kitten crying in front of her. She stared at the road ahead of her. She could not walk forward. She didn't want to crawl across the whole patch of ice. Her house was on the other side of it. She headed back to her friends. She was house-sitting she had the keys. She looked over at her house. Nobody was there. She went into her friend's house. She practically lived here. Maria was a good friend. They would stay up watching vintage movies, dancing to Elvis. But for some reason, it was not as fun when she was here alone. She left a message on her mother's phone. Hopefully. her mother would pick her up on the way home. The heat of the car would melt the ice. She turned on the huge tv and then she thought she heard it. A little meow by the front door. But Maria didn't have a cat. Was it the same cat as earlier? The girl opened the door. She thought she saw a shadow of a man so she quickly closed and locked it. But the kitten had had time to slide in. She wondered if the kitten would eat dog food. The girl went and checked all the doors and windows. Everything was locked. It was the same kitten it came and sat on her lap. The girl watched a mindless game show, but really she was listening. She had thought that was a shadow of a man. A nice man would have just knocked, a creepy man would have lurked in the corners. A scared man might not have knocked, but she was not going to open the door to investigate. The kitten actually ate some of the dog food, Outside the window, she saw shapes walking around with flashlights. She wondered if they were looking for this kitten. She fought with her family's rules. Don't talk to strangers, help people who are in need. But she curled up with the kitten and said nothing. She didn't even notice that the internet had gone out. The electricity was still on. She turned on the radio. The blast of noise made her jump. It was dark out. Her family should have been home. She redialed her house. Glad that they still had a landline, but no answer, She called her mother's cell phone. A young girl answered the phone. It sounded like they were having a party. She tried not to sound nervous when her mother answered the phone. She explained where she was, and explained about the ice, and asked for a ride home. She tried not to show her nerves. She did not say anything about the shapes with flashlights, the shadow by the door or, the kitten who she kept saving. Logically there was no reason to be scared. But her mother, being a mother said she would be there in five minutes. She had just started the car. The young girl sighed turned off the radio, switched on the outdoor light, and grabbed the kitten. Nobody was out there, no shadows and no flashlight. She saw her mother's car, closed the front door and ran. Her emotions made her want to curl up like a ball, but she babbled on about the kitten. The car slid a little as they crossed the ice. At one point the car stopped, but after sitting for a few minutes they continued to their house. Under the car the ice prison was now water. The driveway made them slide, but the heat of the car allowed the car to pull up and park. She calmly walked in the house with her mother. The house was warm despite the cool air outside. The young girl did not want to show her fear but she wanted the whole house locked up. Her mother thought the house was too warm and left the back door purposely open. They turned on the radio. A prisoner had escaped from a jail in their immediate area. The young girl wondered if that had been the shadow. There was a message from a neighbor about the kitten. They called the owner back. The kitten's owner walked over with a flashlight. The young girl handed the kitten to her owner, Were you looking for her earlier with flashlights she asked. She had been caught on a slab of ice, I saved her and gave her some dog food. The owner thanked her and the young girl started to relax, but she was still worried about the shadow. I saw the flashlights but it had never occurred to me that you were looking for the kitten. Did they catch the prisoner? She heard her mother chuckle. The kittens owner hadn't heard about the prisoner. She said goodbye, and the young girl closed the door.

The young girl went to the kitchen and made a pastrami sandwich. And then they said it. The prisoner had been caught. The young girl felt her body relax. She did not listen to the details. She did not need to know if that shadow had been the prisoner. According to the young girl's logic, she was safe.

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