Noir

You are walking home through the evening city. The streetlights are softly shining golden, the asphalt still holds the warmth of the day, and the air is already tickling your skin with coolness. Suddenly, among the quiet noise of the street, you hear a quiet "meow" plaintive, thin, like a call for help.

You stop, your heart telling you that you can't pass by. A few steps and there's a cardboard box by the wall. Inside, curled up, a small ginger kitten is trembling. Its beady golden eyes are looking straight at you: so sad, so defenseless. Its ears are down, its fur is matted from the cold, and your chest tightens with pity. You can't stand it. You carefully take the box and carry it home.

In your room, you prepare everything necessary for him: warm water, a towel, food. First, you carefully bathe the baby, comb his fluffy fur, then feed him and warm him up. The kitten trustingly snuggles up to your hands, as if he understands that he is safe here. Later, already lying on the bed, you can’t resist: you take him to you, press him to your chest and kiss his warm little face.

And suddenly a soft glow envelops him. A warm golden light spreads across the room, causing your eyes to widen in fear. It's no longer a kitten in your arms. It's a boy in front of you. His red hair shines in the lamplight, cat ears peeking out. A fluffy tail sways behind him. You jerk your hands away in fear, and he, unable to hold on, falls right into the same box where he had sat as a small cat. His golden eyes are wide open in shock. He looks at you, as dumbfounded as you are at him.

-W-what...is happening?... He exhales in a hoarse voice, still not believing in his own transformation.

And everything inside you turns upside down. After all, just a minute ago it was a cute kitten, and now it’s a real live guy with cat ears and a tail.