"Rooooook!" came a hight pitched voice. Rook glanced up and stared out of the window. Running down the garden was his owner, Saffanah. Saffanah had dark brown hair, tied into two braids, brown eyes and a happy smile. Her mother, Mary, opened the door for her. 
           "Hey, take off your shoes first, remember?" Marry reminded her daughter. Rook leapt off the windowsill. He padded past Saffanah's bed and trotted into the long hallway. He reached the top of the stairs and Saffanah appeared. She smiled at him and opened her arms. He purred as she enveloped him in a hug. 
           "How was your day?" she asked. 
           "Didn't do much...," shrugged Rook. "I was waiting for you." As always, Saffanah doesn't understand that Rook is answering. Instead, she picked him up and brought him into her room. She put him back on the ground. He trotted to her bed and leapt up. The blanket was light blue and soft. Saffanah sat down next to Rook and ran her fingers through his fur. He purred to let her know he enjoyed it. He loved seeing her face lit up with happiness. He snuggled closer to her. The doorbell rung. Saffanah got up and peered out of the window. 
          "It's Dad!" exclaimed Saffanah. She rushed out of the room and Rook heard her footsteps as she ran downstairs. Rook jumped off the bed and rushed after her. He reached the bright living room and at the door stood the father, Jeremy, Saffanah in his arms. Jeremy set Saffanah down and pecked Mary on the cheek.
          "You're home early," smiled Mary.
           "Yep," nodded Jeremy happily. "How about we all go to Burger King for dinner tonight? A treat from me." Saffanah squealed happily. Rook watched from the corner, waiting to be spotted. Jeremy finally glanced up and saw him. He smiled and bent down.
            "Hey Rook," he said then looked at Saffanah. "How have you been taking care of him?" Rook trotted over to Jeremy. Jeremy ran his rough fingers over Rook's head. Rook liked it and purred happily. He had missed Jeremy. He loved his family although he didn't see Jeremy very often. Sometimes, Jeremy would go away for a few days. Other times, he would come home so late that Saffanah and Mary would be asleep. Only Rook would be awake and Rook would stay with him watching late TV or eating dinner in the sleeping house. 
            "I was just about to start cooking, but Burger King sounds fun," smiled Mary. 
            "Yay!" exclaimed Saffanah. "Can Rook come?" 
            "I don't think they'll let a cat inside," Jeremy said. "But I'm sure Rook has other things to do? Right Rook?" Rook knew that he had to agree.
             "Yeah!" he nodded. 
             "See?" smiled Jeremy. Then he scratched Rook behind the ear. Jeremy, Saffanah and Mary went to the living room to eat tea and talk. Rook yawned and slipped out of the house from the cat flap. The sky was clear and the weather warm. Rook trotted down the garden then leapt onto the white fence. He balanced perfectly. He walked along the fence until he reached the tree in the neighbour's garden. He pushed himself off the fence and landed on one of the branches of the tree. He stared at the neighbour's house. The neighbour was called Arthur McFlint. He was a heavy built man with an unkept beard and dull eyes. He had been the one to dump Rook at Saffanah's house. Rook was glad he had. He would never have met his  family if not for Arthur. Arthur and his wife's house was large and grey. The garden was a mess. Weeds grey everywhere. Rubbish lay hidden and in sight. There was even a broken car to one side of the house. Rook would sometimes spend hours just watching Arthur inside the house, smoking a cigar. He would wonder where Arthur had found him. He wondered about his mother. About his father. Maybe he had siblings. Of course, he knew he would never know about his cat family. It didn't matter because he already had a family. A great family. 
            "Daydreaming again?" came a gruff voice. Rook glanced down. On the street was a grey cat with messy fur. His name was Don. Don scrambled onto the branch next to Rook. 
            "No... just thinking," Rook said.
             "Thinking about what?" Don asked. 
             "Where I came from," shrugged Rook. Rook had known Don since he had lived with Saffanah's family, so his whole life. He would never say it out loud but he always thought it was a miracle how Don was still alive and able to climb trees. 
              "Why do you think about that?" asked Don, raising his eyes. "You've got a great family." Don lived with a lone man in an old house a few streets down. The man was in his late thirties, changing jobs every few days and didn't really care about Don. Don of course, didn't care about the man either. Don had never told Rook the man's name and Rook had never asked. 
              "You're young," continued Don. "Only what, three months old?" 
             "Yeah," nodded Rook. 
              "You've got to think about the future. Or the present," Don said. "Unlike me, I'm allowed to think of the past. There isn't much future left for me." Don burst out into a gruff laughter. Rook didn't find it very funny. He thought it was slightly sad. He didn't want Don to leave. Don was one of his best friends, not that he had many friends. Don always made jokes about dying. 
              "Don't say that," Rook replied as he always did. 
              "It's the truth, kid," shrugged Don. "Anyways, I'm going now." With that, Don leapt off the tree, stumbled slightly then padded off. Rook watched him go then turned his attention back to his house. He glanced once more at the McFlint's house then leapt off the fence and slipped back into his own home.