April 14, 2009309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaq4iwkpxWE
To the outside world,309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkF8rJjoJIR
My parents once surprised me with a cat, claiming she was a Bengal or something similar. She had beautiful leopard-like fur and was full of energy. When they brought her home, she already had a name—Meeko. From the moment I met her, she seemed really attached to me.309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXg37qVcBT
I couldn't understand why she loved me so much. I wasn't playful back then, but perhaps it was because I was just as tiny as she was. My parents took care of her for the most part, but just like me, she wasn't allowed outside.309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlz7eNVKu5H
There were times when she would leap at the door, scramble up to the window, and press her face against the glass. I thought it was adorable, but my parents would smack her off, saying it was giving me the wrong ideas.309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBO6eazVc7d
I had her for about a year, and every day I felt more sorry for her, so one day I did what had to be done. I crept downstairs, and Meeko stared into my soul with her beautiful piercing eyes.309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUUtW5sbPE
"Come with me, Meeko!"309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRT3Uq6QJr8
She watched as I dragged a chair near the front door, and with a click, it unlocked. I pulled the door open and Meeko stepped onto the front porch, looking back at me. "Sorry Meeko, I can't go with you. You need to get out of here."309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPoX8UmcxB
She felt a pang of uncertainty about leaving me, her gaze lingering on me as a tear rolled down my cheek. "I'll come back for you someday, when I'm old enough to live on my own. Stay healthy for me, okay!"309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKDXwGIhq2
I softly stroked her head, while hurried footsteps echoed down the stairs. "Saira!" my mother shouted. She grabbed me and pulled me back inside. "Honey, get the cat!"309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiE47yN3cqH
"Run, Meeko! Run!"309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJ5qUbhICi
My father hurried after Meeko, but she sprang over the railing and disappeared from view. He turned towards me with anger in his eyes, and smacked me across the face. "What the hell were you thinking, letting that cat run wild!"309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhwFJw9SKS
"She was sad and miserable being locked up for so long. She had to be set free."309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPXACyLj6k
