The Escapee
                                                                                                               6-8
     4 pages	                                                           
      “Come here, kitty, kitty! Here Fuzzy Boy!  It is time to come and get your dinner!” I shouted, wandering through the house thumping a tin of cat food loudly.  
      The kitten was my birthday present and I spoiled him rotten, giving him everything a little indoor kitten would want.  He was a spunky little guy with grey fur and a big white tummy.  His bright yellow-green eyes were watchful and he always came when I called for dinner.
      	That was odd. He was no where to be seen.  I gave the can another good thump and kept looking.  Then I froze.  A cool breeze was drifting in my window.  The curtains flapped softly and the screen was up.  I took one look and knew.  Fuzzy Boy was gone.
      
      An open window? Now who would have done that for a little kitten like him? Maybe it was his girl. His girl was much older than he was.  Thirteen, she said.  She had brown hair that reminded him of the squirrels. She wasn’t very tall for a human, but to Fuzzy she looked like a giant.   She was kind and cared for him, so it was possible she had left it open. Fuzzy Boy wondered as he sauntered over to give it a sniff.  It smelled like clean, fresh air with a hint of fish.  The fish smell came from a nearby silver treasure pail and Fuzzy Boy knew he simply had to investigate. 
      Mmmm…he wasn’t allowed treats like that at home.  He wondered what else was in the silver treasure pail. He dug around until he found some more yummy scraps.
      Now he wasn’t hungry anymore. That meant one thing to Fuzzy; it was time to explore this wonderful new world.
      
      In my state of panic, I did four things: grabbed a bag of kitty treats (to be used as Fuzzy Boy lures), called out to my mom, grabbed my phone, shoes, coat, and flashlight, and said a short prayer, “Please God,” I prayed, “Keep my little Fuzzy safe.  I know it’s kind of silly, but I love my pet. Don’t let him get hit by a car. Amen.” With that I dashed out the door and into the night.
      	
      Fuzzy knew almost nothing about this new big place, but he thought it was kind of fun.  There were lots of open areas to run around and play. 
      Suddenly he smelled something new.  He whirled around to look.  A large, angry looking cat glared at him.  
      “Meow?” offered Fuzzy in a friendly manner.
      “HISS!!!!!” went the big cat and he got bigger and bigger! Fuzzy got smaller and smaller.  The cat finally whacked out with his paw and scratched Fuzzy’s nose.  He got the message.  He left in a hurry.
      Behind him in he heard his name being called, but he was by no means going back to that big mean cat.  He ran the opposite direction.
      
      I knocked on doors and checked trash cans. No one had looked out the window, let alone seen a little grey kitten. Most neighbors were grouchy about me asking so late. It was getting near ten and mom had called to tell me to come home.
      “One last house, Mom,” I begged. “Please, you know Aribelle watches from her window at night.  Maybe she saw him!” 
      Mom relented.  I knocked on my friend Aribelle’s door.  Her mother answered the door dressed in a baby blue bathrobe and fuzzy pink bunny slippers.
      “Yes, Melinda dear?” She asked, surprised to see me there. I could hear the TV playing in the background and could tell she wanted to get back to her show.
      “May I speak to Aribelle, ma’am? I know this is late, but this is important!”
      
      Fuzzy licked his nose which was stinging were he had gotten scratched.  He thought about going home, but decided against it.  He was having a good time-besides the mean cat-wasn’t he?
      He set off again in the opposite direction of the big cat.  No need to go that way again. He liked the way the tickly green stuff felt on his paws.
      Fuzzy stopped quickly.  Before him was a big, flat black area.  No tickly green stuff at all.  He decided to try it out, but just as he got to the middle a huge monster ran toward him at top speed! Fuzzy ran as fast as his little legs would carry him to the other side.  The monster went by him bellowing that it had lost its prey, thought Fuzzy Boy, proud but a little shaken.  Now he thought he was ready to go home.
      
      She allowed me to run upstairs to Aribelle’s room.  It was a mess of socks, shirts, and projects Aribelle had tried.  Her desk looked like it had spit papers all over the place, and her walls were doodled on. Her hair was in big black knotted curls. She sat near the windows in her blue “Save the Whales” pajamas studying her yard below.
            Aribelle had read this book about a boy who had a house–trained pet raccoon.  The raccoon just went around as he pleased.  Now, after reading about how great they are, she wants a pet raccoon.  She has one of those cage traps set in the backyard to catch one.  She watches the cage a lot.  I think she’s a little weird.  I’ve always wondered what she’ll do with the raccoon when she catches it, and what her mother will say.  I don’t think Aribelle realizes how fierce adult raccoons are, especially when trapped.
      “Hi-ya Mindy! What are you doing out at…” she paused to check her watch, “9:43 at night?” Aribelle asked, greeting me with a grin.
      “Hey, Aribelle,” I sighed. “Say, have you seen any cats wandering around because… because…” I broke down and cried.  Crying is something I don’t do often. “Fuzzy Boy is gone, Aribelle.  I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t find him!”
      “I am sorry Mindy.  I haven’t seen any cats.  I’ll keep my eyes peeled though.  Don’t you worry about your Fuzzy Boy.” Aribelle comforted me, laying her hand on my shoulder.  I felt a bit ashamed for calling her weird.  She was being so kind to me.
      “Bye, Aribelle.  Please, watch for Fuzzy Boy for me.  Hope you get your coon.” I said with a dejected wave goodbye.  I trudged home. Flopping into bed, I kicked off me shoes and stared at the ceiling till I fell asleep.
      
      Fuzzy wanted his warm house and girl.  He didn’t want to go across the black again though.  Hmmm… what if he just walked along a little?  Perhaps he would come to a place where he knew or could cross.  Satisfied with the idea, he began to purr a little.  
      What was that smell? After all his adventures he was getting hungry again.  He could try to get home after he had this little snack.  It was near one of those treasure cans.  Yum, it smelled like the tuna his girl had for lunch.  He had always longed for some of that.
      He stepped toward the smell carefully and to his delight he saw it was tuna! He gave a little squeak of joy and rushed forward. Behind him came a snap and Fuzzy whirled to face his foe!
      
      I woke up to Mom yelling “Melinda! Get out of bed and get the phone; it’s for you!”
      I shot out of bed like a rocket, barely noticing I was still in my coat from the night before.  “Fuzzy!? Have they found my Fuzzy Boy?” 
      Mom handed me the phone.   I barely got out a hello when the person on the other end cried, “Melinda Reed, you get over here to my house right now and get this cat out of my raccoon trap! How am I supposed to catch a raccoon with your fuzz ball in there?” Aribelle giggled “I guess he likes tuna.” 
      I zipped out of the house and ignored my mother’s shouts to put on shoes. Before I knew it, I was in Aribelle’s backyard. There was Aribelle, still in those “Save the Whales” pajamas, kneeling on the ground next to the cage.  Inside was my beautiful little kitten, purring and rubbing on everything.  He had no idea how much trouble he had caused me.
         I scooped him out of the cage and over his purring, thanked Aribelle about fifty times.  I carefully took him back to my house and the very first thing he did was trot over to eat his dinner.
      
      Fuzzy knew she would rescue him from that awful beast.  She had pried open it’s mouth and saved him! He was home with his girl and cozy bed.  The big cat could not get him here.  Which meant it was now time for his favorite thing in the world.  Meal time!