Leah’s mother found the trail at the end of the development and pushed her way past the sawhorses, bull dozers lined up like circus elephants. “Leah! It’s me, Mom,” she called until her throat was hoarse and she could not press on any further, the path dead-ending at a boulder. She called to her daughter, half expecting a reply, hearing only her echo, tracking along the stream near the blackberry thickets, looking for footprints, any sign. Her chest heaved and sweat rolled down her neck. She’d been running in circles for a half hour. Karen heard a rustle in the bushes and looked around, ready to grab Leah and hug her and tell her that she was sorry and that she could keep Ms. Meow as long as she wanted. Her eyes scanned the area. She never thought that the noise might be a deer or even a bird looking for insects, and certainly not Ms. Meow who had just gotten up from a nap, licked herself clean, and decided that even though she was not fond of Karen who had called her all sorts of unflattering names, (she was an Abyssinian cat with a pedigree going back to the Pharaohs of Egypt!), she was still Leah’s mother and hoped that by this time, the woman had learned her lesson and would not continue in her bird-brained insistence on giving her to Goodwill. Ms. Meow ran out in front of her.
“Where did you come from?” She bent down to pet Ms. Meow’s head, giving it a few scratches. “I’m tempted to bring you home for my little girl.”
Didn’t the woman realize who she was? She rubbed herself against Karen’s feet, believing in giving her a second chance. With Ms. Meow’s nose and Karen’s help, they’d find Leah and deal with all this broken wing business.
Karen decided to hurry back to the house and hoped that the police hadn’t arrived, thought about notifying the Home Owners Association. Putting up posters, all that stuff. She tripped over the cat again. Why hadn’t she ever thought of getting Leah a real cat? Maybe she’d open the door and Leah would be laughing with Shep. This had been a misunderstanding. She’d hug the girl in her arms and everything would be fine.
Ms. Meow watched Karen turn back toward the development. Well, she’d tried …The woman needed to drink a pot of that herbal tea she liked to brew, and as for herself, Ms. Meow climbed up a tree trunk and leaped past the boulder. She’d spent most of her time inside Leah’s backpack or resting on her bed. She liked being outside. But finding Leah wasn’t going to be easy.