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For Beach City, the arrival of spring usually came the return of fair weather and along with is, tourism. However, for this year, even with the departure of the billowing mounds of shoveled snow, there still lingered winter’s ghost. The trees still naked with no sign of budding due to the persistent chill the air. The skies above still remained as dull and grey as those of winter, with no sign of the sun anywhere above. It served as a reminder for those outside that they had to wait just a bit longer before the long, hot summer-like days and along with it, the sun’s long awaited return.
The gloomy scene outside seemed to perfectly mirror Rose’s mood within the Temple. For days, it seemed, Rose just simply couldn’t feel happy. Though she tried to hide it as best she could around Steven, he could tell moments when she would appear sullen and lost in thought.
This wasn’t new by any means, he knew that. But whenever she would become trapped in her own head as such, Steven always struggled to reach out to her. Usually, the chance to leave the house and mingle with the public helped. But with the persistence of such dour weather, the boardwalk was as silent as the grave.
The other gems seemed hesitant in intervening, not wanting to dig up dark memories from the past that they felt ought to stay if they tried. Steven supposed that he couldn’t blame them too much, but it certainly burdened his heart to see his mother trapped in a state of seemingly perpetual melancholy.
He tried his best to brainstorm some solution, anything to help lift her spirits. As he looked outside, he could see the rhythmic pattern of rain drops splatter against the window, the ocean casting waves that crashed against the shore as thunder rumbled in the distance. As he gazed out, he felt something soft and fuzzy brush against his leg. He jumped, spotting a small calico kitten purr as to demand his undivided attention on her.
Steven recognized this cat, the kitten he and Garnet had found huddled in a bush with her siblings. Garnet having affectionately named her ‘Cat Steven’. He smiled, inviting the small creature to hop up onto his lap.
He remembered how nice it was to spend that day with Garnet. Though she hid it, she too was trying to keep her burdens unknown from Steven. Finding these cats and helping to bring them to the shelter helped give Garnet clarity when she was feeling troubled.
Finally, it hit him, the spark of inspiration that he had been agonizing over had finally struck. With a few quick phone calls and some planning with his father, he was sure what he had in mind would help summon a smile to her face once more.
That following night, he told Rose of a surprise trip for the two of them in the morning. Excited as always to spend time with her son, she had miraculously lit up with joy and agreed to join him.
Just before the light of the dawn could become filtered through the thick, dark curtains of rain clouds that hovered over the Temple, Rose was already wide awake. He could see that she had followed his advice to come prepared with a set of old clothes that were borrowed from Amethyst, as there wasn’t much that fit her otherwise.
On the drive over she sat beside him, giddy as she could be. As per Steven’s instructions, she had covered her eyes to keep the suspense until finally, they had arrived.
“Okay, Mom. You can open your eyes!”
As she moved her hands, the first thing she caught sight of was a brick building set at the top of a small hill. At its center were large glass windows decorated with paper cut-outs in the shape of paw-prints underlining the word emblazoned over the front door ‘Delmarva Animal Rescue Shelter’.
“Steven, what is this place?” Rose asked.
“It’s a pet shelter!” He responded with excitement, “When people find dogs, cats, and some other animals that are lost and don’t have a home, they bring them here to take care of them until someone comes to adopt them.”
Rose raised an eyebrow, “And, it’s common enough to warrant a whole building?”
“Oh, there are tons of places like this! This is where all of Cat Steven’s siblings are!”
“Oh…” Rose’s reaction worried him. Once again, it seemed she became lost in thought, cut off from the world around her as she stared towards the ground.
“You’ll have fun, I promise!” Steven quickly reassured, desperate to try and salvage what positivity remained.
A glimmer of optimism seemed to resurface as she listened. She smiled, “Of course I’ll have fun. I get to be with you.” Steven grinned, flattered by her words.
As they entered and approached the front desk, they were greeted by the sight of a large cat. Already, he could see and improvement to her mood. It was no surprise, after all, as Steven long knew of Rose’s love for animals. Well, of everything, but especially animals.
Before long, a tall, thin young woman stepped through the door, wiping her hands upon entering behind the desk, “Oh, hello!” she said cheerfully, “Welcome to the Delmarva Animal Rescue Shelter! I’m Chloe, how can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Steven Universe. And this is my Mom, Rose Universe. We’re the ones that called to come volunteer yesterday?”
“Oh, awesome! Just sign these, and we’ll get ya started right away!” Chloe said, handing each a slip of paper secured to a clipboard. Once they had finished, they were escorted towards a heavy metal door. Already, Steven could hear the faint echoes of barking on the other end.
“First, we need folks to come and give our dogs plenty of exercise.” She stated as she handed each of them a leash.
It was left up to the two of them to choose which dog to walk first. Most barking incessantly either out of aggression or general restlessness. As they walked past each kennel, some dogs timidly elected to retreat to a corner, an action Steven saw made Rose’s heart sink. Finally, upon passing one in particular, Rose froze in place.
Stars danced in Rose’s eyes as she peered into the kennel within. The dog, a full grown Labrador, perked up from the sight of the new visitor as he looked back with deep, dark eyes. Jolting to the door of his room as his tail shook back and forth with such ferocity that it appeared as a blur. He leapt up and down along the door with excitement, his tongue drooping out the edge of his mouth while he panted heavily with unbridled anticipation.
As the door swung open, the dog wasted no time. He rushed to Rose’s side, each one seeming to share in each other’s positive energy. He shook, small threads of his light tan fur sprinkling the ground and leaving specks all over Rose’s dress. “Oh my stars, Steven!” Rose squealed, “He’s so cute!”
Chloe smiled, “Oh, that’s Doug. You’ll like him, he’s a marshmallow.”
“He’s adorable!” Rose chirped.
“Hey, if you’re gonna take him, I recommend his little neighbor here…” Chloe suggested. She opened the door to the next kennel over, a small Papillion springing forth and rushing to Steven’s side. Though much smaller than her companion, the light outlines around the black patches of fur over her eyes revealed her age.
“Her name is Sprinkles. They came in around the same time and like to do everything together.”
“Wait, how did they come here?” Rose asked, restraining Doug from serenading her with kisses.
Chloe struggle to answer, “Well, sad to say. But they were abandoned.”
Rose’s expression shifted to anguish at her proclamation, “W-what!? Who would do that to these poor things!?”
“Unfortunately, it’s the truth.” Chloe stated solemnly, “Their owners moved away and couldn’t afford to have them anymore. So they… let them loose.”
Rose looked to Doug once more, her brow furrowed as she looked into his eyes, “Oh, you poor baby…” she whimpered before wrapping him in a hug.
The walk, Steven felt, was good for both parties. Even with the weather still perpetuating the glum atmosphere, their new animal companions certainly helped Rose cope. Doug pulled with all his might against the restraint of his leash, refusing to waver until his curiosity had been satisfied. Sprinkles, predictably, followed close behind, just and eager to inspect every inch of the outside world. Thankfully, Rose was more than willing to aid them in their pursuit as she stood by and waited patiently until they saw fit to depart.
After finally returning, Steven was glad to see Rose eager for the next activity. Chloe led them to a series of rooms further down the hall. As they entered the room, they were greeted to the sound of high-pitched mewing from leagues of kittens. Upon seeing their new visitors, they galloped to Rose and Steven’s feet and pawed at their legs, begging for their attention.
Steven grinned from ear to ear to see Rose look almost overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of needy kittens that came to huddle around her. “Steven….” She struggled to speak as she turned to face him, a gaggle of purring kittens in each arm, “Please?” she begged, unveiling her ‘puppy-dog’ eyes.
Steven knew what she was trying to do, but felt himself at a loss. He knew they couldn’t just adopt what was easily a dozen kittens at once! But already, he could feel his will crumble as they stared at him with their tiny, innocent faces.
“Aren’t they so cute, Steven?” Now it was clear Rose knew what she was doing. Steven almost wanted to chalk this up as karmic payback for the instances in which he would use the same coercion tactic on others. Already, he could feel his resolve begin to crumble as he desperately tried to change to subject, “Hey, so… are you having fun, Mom?”
Rose smiled, “I am. I never knew there were so many companion animals that needed homes.” She said, watching the kittens she held claw their way up her shoulder as their tiny claws clung to the fabric of her old t-shirt.
“Yeah, there are actually lots of stray cats around, so it’s important that when people find them that they socialize them so they won’t be scared of people.”
Once more, Rose looked towards Steven utterly perplexed, “Why would they be scared of humans?”
“Well…” Steven said, struggling to find the right words, “Some people see them as pests instead of pets, they can carry diseases, kill birds, stuff like that. So those people go and try to… exterminate them…”
Rose quickly understood what he meant. She clung to what few kittens were still in her grasp as she held them to her face, “That’s… that’s awful…” she said. Once again, Steven saw he smile disappear as she looked to hoard of small kittens around her.
Her mood seemed to recover a bit as they stayed to play with them longer. Each kitten exhibiting a boundless well of energy and enthusiasm. Unsurprisingly, as they had finally exhausted themselves, they were quick to cuddle up to Rose. Rose, in turn, was happy to oblige.
Outside, Steven could see the sun’s filtered light begin to fade into darkness. Although he didn’t think that much time had passed, he reasoned needing to exercise as many dogs and cats was as time consuming as it was entertaining. As he looked to see his mother, he was greeted with a smile. It seemed some of what she had learned today had troubled her, but he had hoped that her smile was out of genuine sincerity.
As they approached to the front desk once more before departing, they were greeted by a man barging into the front door, a pet carrier in hand, “Hey, do either of you know where Chloe is?” he asked.
Before Steven could answer, Chloe returned, her attention almost exclusively focused on the carrier, “Oh, I was wondering when you two would be back from the vet, let’s see how she’s doing…”
She darted towards the back room, try her best to avoid bumping the pet carrier into any walls before returning, “Hey, you two have been really great, is it alright if I ask for a quick favor? I need someone to help keep this dog calm while I get her medicine.”
Of course, they complied, following her into the back room. As they entered, Chloe presented them with plastic gloves and facemasks. Steven could tell Rose was confused as to why these would be necessary for her, but none the less complied. “Okay, so… this is the quarantined area.” Chloe stated, “Basically, this is where we keep pets that are sick so they don’t spread what they have to the others.” She placed the carrier onto a metal table, carefully opening the tiny door, “And this poor girl has had the worst of it.”
A small terrier began to crawl out from within the carrier. Already, Steven spotted the reason as to why she was here. What was left of this dog’s hair remained in small patches, exposed skin and scabs laying bare for all to see as she shivered either from a chill in the room or from nervousness around he and his mother, but more likely it was both.
Steven could hear an audible gasp from Rose as she laid eyes on this poor canine. He turned to her, not surprised to see her on the verge of tears. “Oh my stars… what happened to her?” she asked, he voice trembling.
Chloe seemed hesitant to say, as though whether telling Rose would really help, “Well, we rescued her from a puppy mill a while back…”
Rose appeared completely befuddled, “What’s a puppy mill?”
Once more, Chloe seemed uneasy to continue further, however, it seemed she felt this was something Rose needed to know, “Puppy mills are used to breed dogs in large quantities, the animals are never given any proper care. Tight confinements, unsanitary conditions, no life for anyone.”
Rose’s face grew red, without uttering a single word, Steven could almost physically feel the level outrage and anger Rose exuded, “That… that’s despicable!” she cried, “Never in all my life could I imagine that such cruelty would even be possible, and you’re saying there’s an entire facility centered on such a heinous practice!?”
“Several, actually.” Chloe cut in. Rose’s indignation turned to shock at Chloe’s statement. Steven knew this was only making her more upset. He tried to think of something that would help, until once more, he came upon an idea. “Look, I really just need you two to help calm her nerves while I get her antibiotics. She can be pretty jumpy. I’ll be back in a sec…” Chloe stated.
The moment she left, Steven informed Rose of his plan, “Mom, could you help distract this dog for a bit?” Without a word, Rose appeared to understand what he had in mind.
Carefully, Steven removed one of the gloves from hands and wiped his eye. Rose, meanwhile, placed her hands under the dog’s face. The frightened canine shivered with even greater ferocity as she seemingly shrunk from Rose’s approach. “Shhh, it’s all right. We’re here to help you…” Rose whispered, trying not to startle the dog any more than it already was.
With his ungloved hand, Steven stoked the dog’s back, and waited. First, her skin seemed to glisten like polished tile until suddenly small threads of hair began to sprout. Where once shown irritated, pink skin now showed a dense, fluffy coat of fur.
Steven gave a sigh of relief. Truthfully, he feared that the fluctuation of his powers would have worked against his favor here, but thankfully, it seemed good luck prevailed. The dog leapt into Steven’s arm, burying her face into his elbow seemingly as a sign of thanks.
From behind, Steven heard the door to the room open, “Guys, she has mange! You don’t want to touch-” Chloe became quickly silenced as soon as Steven turned to face her. She crouched to more closely inspect the dog as she stared in utter disbelief, “Did you do this?”
Steven wasn’t sure how to quite respond as he gave a sheepish grin, “Y-yeah… It’s a kind of trick I picked up from my Mom…” Chloe’s gaze shifted to Rose, “You can do this too?”
“Well, I used to…” Rose admitted, nervously fidgeting with her hands, “It’s rather complicated…”
Steven saw that Chloe was still clearly trying to process what she was seeing. He couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, would we be in trouble? “I’m sorry” He frantically exclaimed, “it’s just my Mom and I couldn’t stand to see this dog look so scared, and I just wanted to help, and…”
“No… hey… its fine” Chloe stated, “Admittedly, I was kinda bending the rules too. Staff is meant to keep an eye on volunteers back here. But I had a feeling you guys wouldn’t do anything. Let’s just keep this between us for now…”
Steven sighed, “Thanks, and be sure to call me if that dog, uh… turns pink…” she said sheepishly.
With their visit over, they departed. Steven sending a text to his father to pick them up. They sat there and waited as the last of traces of daylight drowned in the sea of gray above. Steven looked once more to Rose. She once again seemed absent minded as she quietly stared off into the distance, lazily resting her head on her hand. The same troubled expression persisted. Steven really hoped this would help but it seemed to have almost had the opposite effect. “Mom? Are you okay? Did you have fun today?” Steven asked.
Rose jumped, his question seemed to have caught her off guard, “Well, yes, I did. I had a lot of fun, Sweetie. It’s just that… hearing about what all those animals had endured. Abused, scared, and alone in the world. It feels just so overwhelming. As though for every good thing that happens, ten atrocities appear in tandem. What we did today… was it really making things better? Are we really making a difference? I really do want to do something to make the world a better place. But…. You know me, Steven, I’m too stupid to trust myself…”
Part of him knew she would have been upset about where these animals came from, but he hoped she would be able to see passed that. Thinking about places like this reminded him of the good people could do, and he had hoped she would have seen passed all the tragedy to understand that. “Mom, you’re missing the point! There are tons of people that care about these animals as much as you do! That’s why places like that exist all over! That’s why I wanted to bring you here, I thought seeing something like this would remind you why you loved Earth to begin with and help make you happy.”
Rose looked completely stunned, unsure of what to say. Steven leaned in to give her a hug, “And you’re not stupid either.”
With a smile, Rose returned his hug in kind, “I love you, Steven.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
“So… could we go next week?” Rose asked timidly. At last now, it seemed the ever present dark cloud that loomed over her had begun to pass. Her smile was different than the ones he had seen yesterday. Where then it was hollow and false, like a mask that she wore only keep appearances. But now there was no missing genuine sincerity. Not to mention this could serve as another means for them to bond. “Sure, maybe Dad could tag along too!”
Before the two could become engulfed completely in darkness, Steven could see his father’s van in the distance, “You know, Mom. I kinda expected you to try and walk out of there with half the animals inside…” Steven admitted.
Rose grinned, “Oh, I already have the cutest thing there!”
“What?”
“You!” Rose exclaimed before giving him a kiss on his forehead. The trip back, Rose breathlessly recited what the two of them had done through the day until they reached home. When Steven came to greet the day the following morning, he could see the first rays of the morning light pierce through the thick blanket of clouds above. Spring, it finally seemed, had come.