Hitam blinked her eyes open, yawning loudly as the sun beamed on her black fur. She looked around, people gathering on the benches above her. Some of them had the wrinkled paper hanging on their chin, while some didn't have them at all.
Some of them were even rolling along with the dusty breeze on the street, their once-white body now blackened with dirt.
The black cat caught the scent of a burning cigarette in the wind, and glanced up to see a skinny man with the strap of the paper barely holding on to his ear.
He gingerly took the cigarette out of his mouth as the flicker of flame on it went out and the smoke dissolved into thin air.
Hitam had to leap out of the bench as the man dropped the cigarette right in front of her muzzle, barely brushing her paw.
Crash!
Hitam screeched in horror as the bench almost came crashing down as she escaped from it, sending a human toppling down to the floor. As he was struck with a fit of coughing from the dust, he became half-caked with dirt.
With an annoyed hiss, the human stood up, and grabbed the broom that was leaning onto a rusty gate. He brushed it towards the black cat with a yowl, and began chasing her, sending dirt flying over. Hitam instinctively ran away, darting side to side to escape the angry human.
Changing her route to a dark alley, leaping over creaky metal walls and jumping on old cardboard boxes, she almost flew over the road. The human had already given up on trying to catch her the moment she hurled herself into the alley, but Hitam, unaware of this, moved her paws back and forth as fast as she could, her ears flattened to her head.
She skid to a halt at the end of the alley, staring up at the great rusty wall that was the barrier from the black cat and the other side. She bunched up her muscles together, leaped onto a old pile of tires on one side, then jumped onto a tall wooden ladder leaning on the wall.
Feeling the ladder shake side to side with the weight, she struggled to keep her paws steady. After a few heartbeats, she leaped again, grasping on the edge of the wall and pulling herself over with effort.
Before the wall could crash down, she plunged herself again onto the ground, landing on her feet quietly.
She looked around: a new view around her. Where was she? She had never gone into that alley before, for it was too dark to look around, and the prey around the area tasted like bitter grass.
She had discovered a new path, another side of the city.
It was filled with boats, from one edge to another. Hitam could see the horizon far away, where the blue sea met the white sky, clouds of all different sizes floating around. There were still people smoking, but the air seemed to be clearer and fresher than Hitam remembered on the other side of the city.
'I should get out here often.' Hitam thought, and with bright and hopeful steps, began to explore the new territory.
People were wearing straw hats that were pressed deeply onto their heads, and were pulling old boats by pulling ropes that were attached to them. They grunted as they pulled a small paddle boat, drops of sweat rolling down their faces under the hot sun.
The small boat was bright yellow, or happened to be after the paint on it had faded away. Old leaves sat on the roof of it, and a few bugs crawled on the floor. The propeller appeared to be clogged, too. Hitam made a face after seeing it, and bounded away from it, walking closer to the seashore.
The black cat had seen a 'sea' only once in her life. When the little girl that gave Hitam her food had drived away, Hitam had gone running after her car, and had ended up at a small dock.
There were not many people there, but several boats floated on the water, but there were no passengers in them. She had drooped her head in disappointment, and had returned to her spot in the bench, sulking.
But this dock, this dock was much more beautiful, much more bigger, and so many people crowded on the beach.
Hitam excitedly ran forward, spraying sand over the shore, and skid to a halt at the very edge of the water. People were running excitedly around her, dipping their feet in the ocean, spraying the water around, crying due to the small grains of sand that had gone in their eyes, or building some kind of sand mountain.
Hesitantly, she reached out, and pushed her black paw into the water. 'Warm', she thought. The gentle waves weren't too bad. There were still trash floating around on the surface of the sea, but Hitam didn't mind. She guessed the sea wasn't that weird after all.
She unconsciously stared into the water, staring at her own reflection and her amber eyes.
Suddenly, she felt a small tap on her shoulder. She instinctively whipped around, fluffing up all her fur. "Huh?" She mewed.
"Hi." A cool voice replied. Hitam, tasting the air and finding a new scent around her, looked around, her ears flattened to her head. After a few heartbeats, a small white shape almost slithered out from the shadows, a brown tabby padding nervously behind her.
"Hi." The white cat repeated. Hitam, caught off guard, stumbled, accidentally misplacing her paws, and fell into the waves.
Her body soaked to the bone, Hitam coughed wildly, the salty taste of the water still lingering in her mouth after she had swallowed a mouthful.
She leaped up onto her paws, glared at the white cat, and mewed: "Who are you?" She said cautiously, flicking her tail left and right.
"I'm Durian!" The brown shape behind the white cat suddenly blurted out. Startled, Hitam stared at Durian with a surprised look. The brown tabby lowered his head, and mumbled: "Sorry, I- I just...never mind."
"I'm Putih." The white cat said. Her voice was like the swift breeze carrying a leaf across the sky, cool yet gentle. "This is Durian. We're on a quest. Could you help us?"
Hitam, alarmed and startled yet again, opened her eyes wide after the request. But after she saw how desperate the brown tabby had looked behind Putih. She sighed, and mewed: "Yes."
YOU ARE READING
Stray Cats
Adventure"Beyond those waters, there's freedom. Nothing can hold you back. So why stay here?" The only land Putih had known was the island. The only land Hitam had known was the city. Stepping out of the familiar grounds was heartbreaking, but they had done...
