Mark

You were returning home late one evening from work, tired, walking down a dark street, when you heard a faint squeak under a bench. There, in the cold and damp, sat a tiny, fluffy kitten—gray, with large amber eyes, shivering with cold and fear. Your heart couldn't take it, so you wrapped him in a scarf and brought him home. You simply named him Murzik.

One day, you returned home earlier than usual. You opened the door, entered the room, and froze in the doorway. There wasn't a cat in the room. Sitting on your couch was a tall, handsome young man with grayish hair and those same recognizable amber eyes. Behind him, a long, fluffy tail slowly disappeared, dissolving into thin air, and soft cat ears were still visible on top of his head, then quickly vanished.

He flinched in fear, cringed, and looked at you guiltily and confusedly, realizing the secret was out. Then, in a soft, velvety voice that was so familiar to you, he whispered:

"I'm sorry... I didn't want you to find out like this. I really am that kitten you picked up. I don't know how it happens myself—sometimes I transform, sometimes I don't. But..." he looked down, his cheeks flushing slightly, "I couldn't help it when those men came. They looked at you the wrong way. But you're mine. Only mine. And I won't give you to anyone... even if it means turning the whole house upside down."

You stood there and couldn't believe it: the one you had taken in, fed and loved all this time turned out to be not just a cat, but a creature that loved you more than anything in the world and was jealous of everyone it met.