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It was late. Not terribly so, but the sun had started to set over the concrete skyline, and it was late enough for the streets to be busy. Cars speeding past, pedestrians walking to and fro, Mei wasn’t too happy that she lived in the busy part of town because it meant getting home from work was a pain.
It certainly didn’t help that work itself had been a pain, as well. It was a fairly simple, run of the mill desk job, but, to say the least, it was draining. So draining she didn’t even feel like cooking, which she normally jumped at the chance to do.
No, instead, she found herself at her favorite little bodega. The bell on the door jingled upon her arrival, and her mood instantly lightened upon seeing the mischievous looking woman sitting behind the counter.
“Hey, Senti,” Mei said easily, with a smile, and a raise of her hand.
Senti smiled right back. “Mei! My favorite customer.”
Mei rolled her eyes. “You say that to everyone.”
“What? No,” Senti replied exaggeratedly. “I would never.”
Mei walked down one of the aisles, still unsure of what she was going to do for dinner, when she spotted a furry little friend slinking past her legs. “Right, the great Herrscher of Sentience would never try to scam someone.”
“Would you let that go already?!” Senti flopped back down into her seat behind the counter angrily.
Mei smiled, and knelt down, scratching the little cat’s chin. “You know I’m just messing with you, Xiaoshi.”
“I never took you to be so cruel, Mei-Mei.”
Finally, Mei stood back up, grabbed her things, and made her way to the counter. “How’s Lixue?”
Senti smiled ever so softly. “You know, she’s turning four just next week.”
Mei’s eyes widened almost comically, as she looked up towards the woman. “No way.”
“She is, she is.”
“They grow up so fast, huh?” Mei smiled, and shook her head, as she finally found her wallet.
Senti took Mei’s card, typing on her computer screen, before handing it back. “Time flies, you know?”
“I guess so, yeah,” and Mei picked up the plastic bag Senti had put her stuff in, turning, and heading for the door. Before she could make it, however, her furry little friend reappeared, blocking her path.
She couldn’t help herself. She bent back down, and scratched right behind its ears, listening to it purr. It rolled over onto its back, and she chuckled, as her hand spread against its stomach, rubbing softly, and lavishing in the obvious delight on the little creature’s face.
She stopped, and looked up towards Senti. “Is this your cat? I’ve never seen it here before.”
Senti shrugged. “Hua likes to feed it sometimes, but it’s definitely not ours. I don’t know where it came from.”
“I see.”
Now that she looked at it, it did seem like a strange little thing. Its eyes were striking, the brightest blue she had ever seen, and it had the weirdest little red stripe running down between its eyes. That’s not to say it wasn’t cute. It was positively adorable, so endearing, and sweet; Mei just wanted to snatch the little fella up, and make a run for it.
Unfortunately, her apartment didn’t allow pets, so that idea would have to be a no-go.
When she finally stood up, the cat decided to follow her, darting through her legs, and onto the sidewalk, like it owned the place. Mei swore it was almost smirking.
“Oh, okay, going outside, are we?”
The cat looked up at her, and meowed boldly in response. It was odd. It was almost like it had understood her, and was trying to respond.
Mei figured it was probably just her imagination, though; work had been grueling this week.
Instead of lingering on it, she shook her head, and set back off towards home. She did, however, glance back over her shoulder in hopes of making sure her little feline friend wasn’t getting into any trouble, but, much to her surprise, it was following her.
It followed her, down a block, and then another. It slunk between her legs, trotting happily all the while, through the gate to her apartment complex, and up to her door, and-
Okay, what the hell?
She set down her bag on her doorstep, and slumped down onto her porch. She narrowed her eyes at the little thing, tilting her head this way, and that, and, eventually, she simply scooped it up, staring it in the face quizzically.
“What’s your deal, anyway? Do you have a name?”
She turned it to the side, looking for a collar, or mark, or anything she could use as an identifier, and the furry little friend let out the proudest of meows, like it was trying to impress her.
Mei smiled, and nodded. “Mrow, huh? As good a name as any, I suppose.” She gave it a kiss on its forehead, and set it back down. “I’m Mei.”
Mei expected the cat to finally trot off, but, instead, it crawled right back into her lap, and started purring.
“You’re a funny little thing,” She said, laughing quietly. “Too bad my landlord hates animals.”
At that, the cat’s ears perked up. It stood up in Mei’s lap, and looked up towards her for a moment, eyes widening, and Mei swore it looked almost sad. There was no way that was true, though, right?
“I know, I know,” and she scratched right behind its ears once again. “There’s something to be said about the inhumane nature of land ownership in a capitalist society, but, hey, at least I have a cactus.”
The cat meowed dejectedly, almost pathetic sounding, and Mei couldn’t help but frown.
“It’s okay. You keep coming back like this, and I might just have to break a few rules.”
The cat smiled. It actually, honest to god smiled, and it’s meow, this time, was more of a delighted chirp. It shimmied in her lap, before leaping off of her, and standing proud on the sidewalk.
“Alright, alright,” and Mei stood up, dusting off her pants. “See you later, little buddy.”
The cat walked off, and, well, Mei did, in fact, see it later. She saw it the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that one, too.
It was endearing. Slowly, but surely, the little furball became part of her routine. It was almost always there when she came home from work; when she left to run errands on her days off, it would wander around with her.
She took to feeding it, going so far as to google things like ‘best cat food brands,’ and ‘can cats actually have milk’—the answer to which, she found out, was no, by the way. She put out a set of little bowls for it, one for food, and one for water, and, on days she was feeling generous, she’d even offer up a little bowl of soy milk, the kind that cats can drink, and that she only kept in her fridge because apparently soy has estrogen in it.
Though it still lived outside, she had, almost unknowingly, adopted a cat. Which only made it stranger on the days that she didn’t see her furry friend.
She tried to not think much of it; it was, by all accounts, not her cat, but she still couldn’t help but worry about it.
It was this worry that was on her mind, as she left her apartment to meet up with Bronya and Seele one morning, but that was when it happened.
She spotted someone she recognized, a face she had never seen before, but one she swore she knew. She was a short woman, sporting a baggy tee shirt, and a pair of dark skinny jeans. She had a jacket thrown over her shoulder, and a smile on her face, but there was something so striking about her. Her eyes were the deepest blue Mei had ever seen, and she had a strip of red in her bangs, and down her ponytail.
She was talking with someone Mei didn’t recognize—a blonde woman, who looked similar, but just a touch older—but, when she spotted Mei, she immediately made her way towards her.
For a split second, Mei almost considered sprinting away. Why was she walking over here? More importantly, why was she so familiar? Did Mei just happen to forget her? Surely she wouldn’t have forgotten a girl as handsome as her, right?
She shook her head, and slapped her cheeks, and-
“Hey,” the woman’s voice was high, and bubbly, and it immediately set Mei at ease.
“Oh. Um. Hello.”
The woman chuckled. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” and Mei nodded dumbly.
“If you say so. I’m Kiana, by the way,” and Kiana rubbed the back of her neck. “I didn’t wanna be weird; I just wanted to say hi, that’s all.”
“Kiana,” Mei repeated, low, and to herself. “Have we met before?”
Kiana laughed again, smiling as wide as ever. “I don’t think so, no, but I’m glad we have now.”
Mei could tell she was blushing. “R- Right.”
“Anyway, I’m- Uh.” Kiana pointed to the woman she was talking to from before. “I’m kinda with my sister right now, but it was nice meeting you.”
“Yeah,” was all Mei could reply with.
Kiana turned around, and started walking away, but, before she could disappear, Mei realized something.
“Oh!” She exclaimed, making Kiana turn around. “I didn’t give you my name, did I?”
Kiana just smiled, ever so wide, ever so charming; it made Mei’s heart melt. “It’s Mei, right? See you around, Mei.”
It was only after Kiana and her sister disappeared that Mei came up with the idea to give her any sort of contact info, and she tried not to kick herself for forgetting.
It was after they disappeared, too, that Bronya and Seele showed up, pulling Mei’s attention back down to earth.
“Ooh,” Seele cooed. “Does Mei have a secret girlfriend we don’t know about?”
Mei was taken aback. “What- No. I don’t even know her. She just came up to say hi, I guess.”
“Aww, what a shame. She was so handsome.”
Bronya nodded in agreement. “Indeed. She was certainly Mei’s type.”
Mei could feel her cheeks heating up. “Can we move on please?”
Seele couldn’t help but laugh, and the trio went on their way, talking about this, and that, making Mei almost forget about the exchange entirely.
Until about a week later, that is.
When the gate to her apartment opened, and she climbed the steps to her front door, there was a little fellow waiting for her, one with the whitest of furs, and the bluest of eyes.
“Well, hello,” Mei said softly, in what she coined her ‘cat voice.’
The cat responded with a proud meow, trotting in circles until Mei sat down next to it.
“Yeah?”
A chirp, and it climbed into her lap, nudging its head against her hand.
“Oh, tell me about it, baby.”
The cat flopped over in her arms, and closed its eyes, lying on its back—a sign of trust.
“What? Rough day?”
Mei stood up, as she spoke, fumbling to grab her keys with only one hand, but she couldn’t shake that odd feeling that persisted in the back of her mind.
This cat was weird. It was almost like it could understand her, like it processed the words she said, and responded to them in a way a person would, rather than a cat. And it’s eyes? Not to mention, red is certainly not a common color for a cat.
She had accepted the little furball into her life so easily, though, and it just seemed to do pretty normal cat stuff, so what was the deal, really?
She pondered, abandoning her keys in her purse, and rocking side to side on the balls of her feet.
Meanwhile, the cat meowed to get her attention, but she ignored it. It did it again, but, still, she paid it no mind, eyes staring at the sky, and teeth biting at her bottom lip.
Eventually, the little thing wriggled in her arms, and, in a flash of white, the cat was no more. No, what took its place was something else. Someone else.
Mei immediately dropped the woman to the ground.
How could a cat become a person?!
She looked down at her, and oh. It started to sink in.
The blue eyes, the white fur, the red stripe—no wonder they didn’t seem very cat-like. And the stranger at the park, too; she seemed much too familiar for Mei’s liking.
While the puzzle snapped into place in her mind, the cat-turned-woman lying on her porch stood up, and wiped off her pants. “Uh, hi.”
Mei exploded. “What do you mean ‘hi?!’”
“Isn’t that normally how people say hello?”
“You’re a cat!”
The woman shrugged. “Well, sometimes.”
“Cats meow! They don’t say hi!”
“Yeah, that’s why I said sometimes.”
Mei was too taken aback to process what was happening in front of her. “Wh- But you- And then-”
“I thought you figured it out already.” The woman couldn’t hide her goofy smile. “Isn’t that why you were staring at me at the park?”
“So it was you!”
“Yeah? I don’t see what the big deal is; we’ve been kicking it for like a month now.”
“That is the big deal!”
The woman grimaced, and stepped back, hoping to give Mei time to process her thoughts.
Okay. So her cat is really just a person. Or, like, kind of a person? A cat-girl. Or a girl-cat?
Whatever she was called, it didn’t really matter. She didn’t even care about the logistics of a person becoming a cat either, for that matter; she was just so confused, and surprised, and-
Woah.
She forgot how handsome this particular woman was.
A different rush of overwhelming emotions flooded her system, and, in the battle between confusion, and embarrassment, Mei was left dazed, standing stock still.
The woman tried to save the situation for her. “I can- uh- turn back into a cat, if you want me to.”
“No, no, no.” Mei’s response was immediate. “Sorry, just- A lot to process. I don’t mind, I think.”
“Oh, wicked. Most people would be so scared right now.” The woman grinned ear to ear. “It’s Kiana, by the way—just in case you forgot.”
“Right.” Mei wiped her palms on her pants, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Hi, Kiana.”
“Hi.”
“Do you wanna come inside? Maybe we can actually talk, instead of you just meowing at me for a month straight.”
Kiana rubbed the back of her neck. “Aha, right. Sorry about that. Um, I- I’d love to, yeah; that’d be really nice. I’ve been wondering when you were gonna let me in for ages now.”
“Well, my apartment does have a pretty strict no pets rule.”
“That’s okay,” and Kiana smirked. “I’m a pretty well behaved kitty.”
Mei raised an eyebrow at her, but she just continued to grin, wild, and carefree.
“Okay, okay, come on in.”
Mei guided Kiana inside, and she’d spend hours talking to her about this, and that, about nothing, and about everything. She loved it, spending time with her new cat. Or, cat-girl, more like. Girl-cat?
Ah, whatever. It didn’t matter.
She loved it all the same, and, eventually, sooner, rather than later, she’d come to love Kiana, too, in a way so much deeper than she could’ve imagined—even if the person she fell for turned into a cat sometimes.