Catgirl Coming of Age: A Self-Discovering Adventure in the 23rd Century

I stare at the glass of water. I can taste the salt just below my tongue, but I know it's there. My mouth is dry and my head is spinning. I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. My eyes are bloodshot and my back is aching. The sun is setting and it feels like it's in my eyes.

I'm on the run again, but this time, I have to hide here. The last place they would think to look for me. The last place they could look for me. I've been here before, when I was a child. But now...I'm not sure if they'd be able to find me here, even though this is the only place that makes sense.

There are no other options.

I keep staring at the glass of water on the table next to me, trying to will myself to drink it. It's been too long and I know it, but I don't trust myself. If I drink too much water too fast I might choke on it or get sick from drinking so much all at once. There are still some snacks in the kitchen if I get desperate, but there's nothing else for me here except water and my thoughts; most of which aren't good ones right now anyway.

My stomach growls loudly and painfully again as I breathe as quietly as possible...and then something lunges out from under my shirtsleeve and begins licking my hand furiously! A small bundle of grey fluff with dark ears jumps nimbly into my lap, purring loudly and happily while she licks my hand off affectionately.

"Miaow?" she asks sweetly, looking up at me with bright green eyes that seem to be full of concern for me as she tries to rub her head against mine lovingly in order to comfort me..

"Yes, you're right," I whisper softly as I stroke her soft fur gently with one finger while still holding her securely in my lap with my other hand lest she decide to jump down and make a mess on the floor if she doesn't like what she finds there when she gets down...and no matter how messy things get around here sometimes, Mia never has liked it when things are dirty or messy for very long before cleaning them up herself. "I'm not fine..."

Mia rubs her face against mine tenaciously as she continues to lick away at my hand urgently while purring loudly; a noise that echoes strangely against the bare walls of this room where plates used to hang and curtains used to cover the windows until they had all been taken down by someone who didn't need them anymore after they had left this place behind many years ago...or perhaps many decades ago? ...It was hard for anyone to tell how many years had passed since then once everyone had begun dying off one by one for whatever reason or another; more than enough time for even a catgirl like Mia to forget about living in such places like this where people would once gather together for meals regularly at tables like mine and sit together in their chairs before going back out into their lives...until everything changed one day and everyone simply stopped coming around altogether because they were gone somewhere else instead; leaving behind those who were too young or too old or too sick to go wherever everyone else had gone...leaving Mia alone with whoever was behind these doors because that person couldn't travel anywhere else either; a man who would sometimes play with his pet cat while he sat quietly in his chair by himself on days when he felt well enough to do so...but who would spend most of his days home alone with his cat alone because he couldn't leave without help or by himself without risking getting lost outside or hurt somehow because he wasn't strong enough anymore; leaving Mia alone all day long while he slept or read in his room upstairs until someone came along looking for a place to stay temporarily just like me...a lost soul who ran away from home after being attacked by people who wanted him dead for reasons he didn't know about yet because he hadn't found out why yet himself first; an innocent creature who was relentlessly pursued by evil men determined to kill him because they already knew why he was being hunted down; an innocent creature forced into hiding until he figured out how he was going to survive on his own despite having been raised from birth within a family who were supposed be protecting him...and where better than here? ...Where better than here for someone like him than a place so familiar? ...This place where Mia lives? ...This place where no one can find him? ...The only place where no one can find him! ...The only place where even Mia knows that he can stay safely hidden until he decides what his next move will be! ...The only place where even Mia knows that he can stay safe without worrying about someone coming along and hurting him while he sleeps soundly or stealing all of his food away while he's distracted! ...The only place where even Mia knows that he can eat without having someone take away all of his food while he eats it somewhere else! ...He can stay here forever if he wants! ...He can stay here forever without ever having to leave again! ...But what good is staying hidden forever when only Mia knows that he's here? ..."What good is staying hidden forever when only Mia knows where already?"