terminal

Purr

When they started asking the kids if they would prefer

a cat or a dog, Aviana did not hesitate to say 'cat,'

there simply was too much going on to have pets to

care for; Aviana always wanted a cat, and she draws

pictures of her perfect cat every day after the hospital

staff asks; It did not take much to learn that they would

be bringing shelter animals to visit the children for a

therapeutic group session - Aviana could hardly wait!

Picture after picture depicts calicos, tabbies, and cats

with huge blue eyes every time, Aviana knew that not all

cats would keep their blue eyes, since most cats have

yellow or orange colored eyes when they grow up;

On the morning of the group session, Aviana wakes up

full of energy and almost feels like herself again,

Her mother comes that morning and gives Aviana a

small stick with a feather to use to play with the cats,

which only adds to the thrill of the animal therapy;

Aviana can hardly stop bouncing during her blood draws

and medicine at lunch; She is zooming through the halls

when it is her turn to go - and once in the room she

spots a cat set off from the others, all alone, and Aviana

demands to know more about him and his patchy

grey fur; The shelter staff tells his story - a stray that

they believe was abandoned by someone without

his claws, and that he accepted help readily when

he was picked up, but never bonded with anyone after,

Aviana smiled, "Does he like pets?" she needed to know

because she loved him already and wanted to make

sure he felt it; The staff shrugs, "Sometimes, if he is

in the right mood," and that's all Aviana wants to hear

before bounding over to him in the corner; She greets

him in her softest tone, "Hello, they say your name is

Franklin, and my name is Aviana, so we can be friends

now and forever," he looks at her with bulbous eyes

and wiggling ears, unsure how to receive her, but when

she lays flat on her belly and looks at him patiently, it

is almost as though he sees it as a sign of trust, and he

moves closer to sniff her, and then rubs his head on her arm,

and then boops his head into her cheek, and then starts

purring, practically confirming that he feels safe and wants

to snuggle with Aviana, so she sits up and sits with her

legs criss-crossed so that Franklin can crawl into her lap

where he proceeds to roll his belly up which Aviana

scratches and rubs the entire session; When it is time to leave

Franklin won't budge and hisses when they try to take

him away, and so Aviana refuses to give him up, too, but

when it is all said and done, her parents come to help coax

her into letting Franklin go, only for them to see their bond

and to say that they'll take him home, actually, and could they

call their hotel to see about having a cat in the room, and -

just like that - Franklin becomes part of the family; Aviana and

Franklin; Franklin and Aviana; Together in their oddness; how

could anyone see it as anything other than perfection?