It has always been hard for Dafita.

She couldn't recall the number of times she just wanted to shut down, to die, to un-exist.

And no, before you start thinking that maybe she has a dark dark dark, horribly terribly traumatizing past, nope, she's just a regular teenage girl.

It was always so funny, how she would look back at her younger and sigh, saying "I wish I could go back to that time, when everything was simple"

But the thing was, she never appreciated what WAS happening, always caught up in the past, trapped in the fear of the future. She was deemed to be unhappy for the rest of her life if she continued living with this kind of attitude.

That all changed one day. 

It was raining heavily when she was walking home from school, an umbrella propped on her shoulder, walking daftly in the puddles. She heard a faint whimper, stopped, and cocked her head to listen, there it was again. She turned and started to slowly creep around the corner where the sound became more and more clear. And there it was, the love of her life, the moon in her sky. A tiny, scrawny little kitten.

Crumpled under a soaked carton box, the kitty was mewing ever so slightly, its voice getting smaller by the second. For some reason, Dafita felt the urge to bring it into her arms, get her washed and cleaned up, and take care of it. This strange gut feeling was in her, and a voice in her head said "Maybe, it's fate". And so she did exactly that.

She approached the kitty softly, cooing and murmuring under her breath as she gently lifted it into the cuddle of her arms. The kitten didn't even put up, not with how exhausted and hungry it seemed to be. This worried Dafita as she rushed home, bathing Lil kitty with warm water, drying her on a fluffy pink towel, and feeding her some milk formula that she kept in case she ran out of milk. 

After she was sure that the kitty wasn't in danger anymore, she booked an appointment for the next day at the vet as it was Friday, and she would get the day off the next day. Completing all these made her feel tired, but looking at the black and white kitten snoring softly on her pillow made it all worth it.

As sleep overcame her,  her mind drifted to the thought of this newcomer with fondness that was strange for her, since her usual pre-sleep thoughts were depressing and made her feel worse than she started. Not tonight tho was different, a tiny angel was right next to her, and she fell deep into slumber without a care in the world.

When Dafita woke up, she was surprised, that was the best sleep she had had in years. Her stress made it hard for her to fall asleep, and when she did, it was never pleasant. She would wake up with a headache, feeling foggy and wishing she never slept in the first place.

She leaned over to check Taffy, which was the name she had decided on, and smiled as the kitten turned over with a yawn and continued to chase butterflies in its dreams.

Careful not to wake up Taffy, Dafita made her way to the kitchen, cooking up breakest. Not forgetting to warm up some milk for Taffy before their trip to the vet. 

As she was washing the dishes after her meal, she heard a mew from her room. Dafita dashed there faster than she ever had as Taffy groggily opened its eyes. Grinning, Dafita cooed:
" There you are! Now let's get you some milk before we go to the vet to check you out, ok?"

Taffy just stared at her, the sleepiness still not lifted yet. It was adorable. 

After, feeding Taffy and her check-up at the vet, Dafita signed up to be Taffy's official owner, as Taffy had no nametag on her neck, and was quite young. Speculated to be the offspring of one of the many alley cats that lived in the area.

And as Dafita remembered back many years later, she could never forget the day they officially became family. It was still raining, but the cold never reached her as Dafita had a sense of responsibility, fondness, and happiness that filled her heart. 

They lived together, Dafita growing to be happier than she previously was. Maturing with time, and accepting the changes that time brought, as long as she had Taffy with her.

Even when Taffy disappeared one day, though sad, Dafita moved on and lived happily with the fond memories of her first cat that brought joy and love to her life.

The end