Katyush, would you go to the store for bread? – floating glance of a forty-five-year-old lady, could not focus on the thin silhouette of a seven-year-old girl who greedily swallowed at the mention of bread.
-Of course, Mommy…
The girl obediently waited for money, for which the saleswoman of the local round-the-clock shop, Aunt Lyuda, oohing and ahaya, sold Katya a loaf of bread, and sometimes shoveled a milk chocolate or a handful of candy into a hungry fist.
— That’s grief, that’s a baby. Such a pawn of these drunks grows, lamented Lyudmila, sipping instant coffee.
Katya, trying not to inhale the breathtaking smell of fresh crispy crust, rushed home with all her legs. If she behaved well, then her mother always tore her crust, and two or three fatty spratins were laid on top of the bread, from which sweet butter dripped, soaking the flesh. The girl ate slowly, biting off and carefully chewing her simple delicacy. Judging by the number of bottles, the parents were expecting guests today, so no other dinner was expected. The most important thing now, sneak out of the house, and not catch anyone’s eye, otherwise it could fly in. Last time, her father slapped her so hard that then she had a headache for two days, and periodically bleeding from her nose.
Katya left the entrance. She had a quarter piece and a whole fish. It was quiet outside despite the warm spring weather. There were few people, there was cheerful music playing somewhere, and two chocolates were waiting in the girl’s pocket. It was so good. Today it is not cold to wander the streets, and if anything, you can visit Aunt Lyuda, she will certainly buy coffee with cream and sugar. And Katya walked, slowly looking at the evening windows, dreaming of having a girlfriend. Then Katya will be very happy. She will have someone to share her dreams, thoughts, and sometimes just silently wander when you can’t go home. But a complaining squeak from the bushes that grew near the garbage cans stopped the girl. She looked carefully into a pile of old smelly rags. In a torn box of shoes sat a small striped kitten, and quietly meowed. Katyusha stretched out her hand and he smelled it. The delicious smell of sprat made the baby angry, and he began to greedily lick his fingers. From the delicate tongue, the girl giggled.
— Are you hungry? Look what I got! Katya solemnly put the whole fish in front of the nose of the kitten, pushing the remains of bread into her mouth.
— Here you go. Eat.
The future predator with appetite pounced on the treat. He rumbled amusingly, swallowing whole pieces, and hissed as Katya tried to pet him.
— Take your time. You need to take a little, or your stomach will hurt, because I’ve already been through this — she smiled at a new friend.
— Do you want me to take you in? I will call you Stripe and always, always share food — Katyusha lifted a lung like a feather, a baby, and carefully put by the sinus.
Yellow as May honey, the lanterns lit the sidewalk on which the little girl walked and chirped animatedly with a purring muzzle peeking out from behind the jacket gate.
***
It was calm at home. Only empty bottles, dirty plates and a full ashtray were left in the kitchen. The boiler was buzzing, the clock was ticking carelessly. Katya sat down on a chair and put the kitten on the table. The animal fearfully sniffed an empty glass.
Ugh! Strip, don’t! That’s not a good thing. If you want to drink her every day, then we can no longer be friends! she grabbed the baby and pinned her face, not wanting to let go. The cat in response only murmured pleasantly, resting soft paws on her nose, as if calming: “Don’t worry, we are together!”
Katya slept very sweetly that night. She dreamed of something very good, with the taste of banana ice cream and cherry pies. The stripe settled comfortably under his side, singing his cat lullabies to the girl.
But the next morning, my father, saw a kitten, and began to scream wildly so that this “creature” was no longer here. The mother smoked another cigarette, putting a wet towel to her head. In a hoarse, sick voice, she asked her daughter to take the cat away from sin.
The girl, swallowing bitter tears of resentment, sat at the entrance with Strip in her hands. She didn’t know where to take him, and she didn’t want to leave such a wonderful friend on the trash. She wandered to the store, to Aunt Luda. There, confusingly telling what and how, Katyusha begged to shelter the Strip, promising to visit him daily, feed and educate him. The compassionate women could not refuse the child, left the kitten to live in the back of the store. Stripes were allocated an old linen jacket and a cropped plastic bucket from under mayonnaise.
All spring and summer, Katya ran to her Strip, breaking off the “piece” from the purchased loaf, for which she was beaten at home more than once. Does it matter if you have a true friend? The girl spent hours talking to the cat, talking about everything that happened to her. The stripe settled on thin knees and purred sweetly, squinting his purple eyes. Aunt Lyuda, scooping the leftovers of dinner into his bowl, once looked at and splashed her hands:
I’ve never seen a cat like this before! His eyes don’t look real. Look, Ol, and both saleswomen looked with admiration at the bottomless eyes, in which there was a sea of warmth and understanding, and he only cunningly purred — full and contented.
By the fall, Stripe had turned into a real handsome man. Big furry cat with fabulous eyes. More than once, customers tried to take him away, but he did not even approach anyone, waiting for his little mistress.
Katya was gone for several days. She didn’t come for bread or visit Strip. Aunt Luda began to worry if she was sick. But Katyusha came. Her pale cheekbones are already bruising yellow. There was an ugly brown crust on the lower lip. To the surprise of the saleswomen, she briefly dropped:
— Fell.
But behind the store, covered with a swollen face from tears in a soft fluffy side, the girl told her friend something for a long time. She fell asleep hugging a large attentive cat. Aunt Lyuda carefully lifted the baby and shifted to an old sofa in the back room, covering Katya with a shabby blanket. Then she called Nikolaich, a local police officer, but he only sighed, saying that it would be difficult to prove the beatings. He didn’t want to get involved with these drunks. The woman burst into tears. She felt sorry for the little girl she couldn’t help. She had no children of her own and Lyuda repeatedly thought that she would like such a daughter. Strip nervously wound circles around the sofa, carefully sniffing Katino’s face, and then completely disappeared. All night the girl slept in the store, no one came for her. In the morning, when she woke up, her aunt Luda fed her sweet tea sandwiches and told her to look after the store with Aunt Oley while she went “on important business.” Katya happily agreed, and the woman, determined, went to her parents. But already at the entrance the road was blocked by Nikolaich.
— Where are you going? We’ve got a murder here, so you better stay out of it. Would you rather tell me, did you see little Anokhins last night?
Katya? Who was killed? Lyudmila excitedly ran her eyes through the windows of a multi-storey house.
— Here’s her murder parent. Looking for her, we could have taken the girl.
— No, she slept in my back room, she’s fine. Who did?
— Who knows? Lud, why don’t you keep the baby for a few days? While we look for relatives, so as not to register in the shelter. We’ll just finish the paperwork, so there’ll be some grandma.
— Yes, of course, no problem — Aunt Lyuda’s heart beat with joy. She did not feel sorry for Katie’s parents. She was happy to go back to the store.
After joking with their partner, they decided not to tell the girl anything about death, just said that Katina’s mother allowed her to stay with Aunt Lyuda a little. Katyusha was very happy, asking if she would be taught how to use the cash register.
Since that day, Stripe hasn’t appeared again. He was long and persistently called by a girl, bypassing the nearest garbage cans, but the cat did not come. The food in his bowl remained untouched.
Aunt Luda took care of Katya, afraid of the moment when she would be taken away. One day, she decided to go to the local guardianship and apply for adoption. But she was refused, saying that she was not suitable for many things – single, unmarried, working at night. The woman shrank from her social inferiority and retreated to try again. It’s been two months. Katya got used to Lyudmila, learned to cook eggs, read syllables and restore order to please a tired woman from work.
When the first snow fell, and it was November 3, Kate was 7 years old. She blew out the bright paraffin candles on the store medovik and loudly said, turning to Luda:
I want you and I to always – always live together, and that you become my mother!
“That’s all I dream about too, Katyushenka,” whispered Lyudmila.
There was a knock on the door. Today, guests were not expected, so when a representative young man appeared on the doorstep, Lyudmila was very surprised.
— Hello, I am a representative of the Department of guardianship and guardianship of the city of Moscow. Your petitions and documents came to me, so I came to meet him personally, so to speak.
«Come in, we just weren’t expecting anyone,» the woman invited the guest into the kitchen.
— Do you want some tea? Aunt Luda, do you know what you bought? It tastes like tropical fruit. You’ve never tried this before, Katya put a mug in front of a man.
-Please. Is this your cake? he smiled.
Yeah! I’m 7 years old. I’m going to school next year, she’s a big nod.
— School is a good thing. How’s your life here? Tell me! he snorted from the mug.
— All right, the girl’s animated.
They talked for a long time, sitting in a small kitchen, eating cake, washing it down with lipton tasted tropical fruits. A little girl and a polite young man in an expensive suit. Lyudmila listened to them, backing her cheek with her fist, she was so comfortable and calm.
Well, unfortunately, I have to go, the man got up. He pulled a tight folder out of his briefcase.
— Here, Lyudmila Alekseevna, with these documents you will go to the district court tomorrow, contact the secretary and write a statement. Don’t worry, they’ll tell you everything. Consideration of the case in court is a simple formality. And you can take Katyusha.
— Take it? — Lyudmila is lost. She couldn’t find a word for this kind man. And the girl happily hugged him, clasped and repeated:
— Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
— Thank you, — squeezed, trying to hold the hot tears of joy, whispered Lyudmila.
Take care of her, the man turned to Lyudmila. She froze with surprise — she looked at the bottomless purple eyes, in which there was a sea of warmth and understanding.
Author of the story: Alina Sysoeva
The Holy Land Charitable Foundation
Soul investment!
Orthodox stories from life
