Meet Mira

My brother found a baby kitten—I mean a teeny, tiny little kitten. He waited for hours for Momma kitty to come back. When she didn’t, he brought the baby to me. He sent me photos of her, and I knew she was small. But it wasn’t until I saw a video and heard her cry that I knew that she was practically an infant. She wasn’t just a kitten. She was a baby kitten. She was so small when I first met her that she could fit comfortably in the palm of my hand.

I fell in love with her the instant I laid eyes on her.

According to our vet (I might have panicked a bit when I realized just how young she actually was and rushed her to the vet on my lunch break.) told us that she’s about two weeks old. Without a Momma kitty to take care of her, the vet said she would have a 50/50 shot at survival.

Did you know that with baby kittens, they have to be fed once every two hours? If they don’t eat as often as they should, their blood sugar tanks. Baby kittens also have to be kept warm. Warmer than you and me. If their temperature drops too low, they won’t make it either. They don’t even know how to use the bathroom on their own. Momma kitty has to stimulate them to go. Without stimulation, they’ll eventually go on their own, but it’s much harder on them and could lead to bladder infections. Also, you can’t feed them just anything. They need a special formula that acts as a replacement for Momma kitty’s milk.

I learned how to be a kitty momma in under 30 minutes at my vet’s office. They supplied me with the information and the supplies necessary to take care of her. And I have to admit, I was terrified. A fifty percent chance of survival isn’t very high. What if I did something wrong? There was suddenly a cute and cuddly, teeny, tiny baby that was dependent on me for her survival. Was I capable of keeping her alive?

I honestly wasn’t sure at the time, but I sure as hell was going to try. My other options seemed far too bleak. I could have left her at a shelter—but shelters are full of cats without homes. They’re understaffed just like everywhere else, and at best, kitty would have been given to a volunteer who would do just as I was planning on doing. We could have taken her back to where she was found and kept waiting for her momma kitty, but we didn’t know how long she’d already gone without eating.

The vet and her tech said that kitty looked healthy for her age. They encouraged me to keep her. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her. I just wasn’t sure if my fiancé was going to let me keep her. He loves animals too, he just doesn’t take to them as quickly as I do. Especially when there’s a chance that the animal might not make it.

I had to go back to work, so my husband-to-be faithfully attempted to feed kitty. Of course, when I got back to work I had to tell my coworkers about her. She’s an adorable kitten and my coworkers all love animals—cats especially. One coworker told me her daughter’s boyfriend has a Momma kitty that just had kittens. They were just about two weeks old as well—and suddenly, baby kitty’s chance for survival increased.

If we could get my friend’s Momma kitty to adopt my kitten into her litter, she would be looked after by an expert cat momma. It was a chance we simply couldn’t miss out on. So we set about creating a plan. My coworker and I both had the following day off work. We would introduce baby and momma the next day.

When I got home, I found out kitty wasn’t latching well to the bottle. If kittens don’t latch to the bottle, it makes it much harder for them to get a decent amount of food.

Luckily, I have a friend who has fostered young kittens before. I remembered seeing her Facebook Live feeds of her taking care of very tiny kittens. When I realized we were having troubles with our baby girl, I Facebooked her right away asking for help. This friend is so amazing that she skipped a class to come help us out. She also left me with a lot of really good resources. One of which is the Kitten Lady. If you ever find an abandoned kitten, or want to help out your local shelter, check out her website: http://www.kittenlady.org/savekittens/

Despite our best efforts, kitty still wouldn’t latch. The best we could do at that point, was to force feed her 2 ml every 2 hours with an eye dropper. We just had to make sure that she was getting enough food to keep her blood sugar up until we could introduce her to Momma kitty.

I went to my local grocery store to purchase some eye droppers but I couldn’t find them. When I asked the Pharmacist about where they were located she told me that they didn’t sell any. When I explained what I needed it for, she began rummaging around in a few of her drawers. She came up with a syringe and offered it to me for free. When I offered to pay for it she waved it off and wished me luck with kitty.

My heart melted yet again. There were so many different people that were dropping everything to help me rescue this kitten. My vet clinic, my coworkers, my kitten fostering friend, the pharmacist—all people that didn’t have to help me, but did.

I know I write a lot of dark stories, but I want you to know that this little kitten made me see just how amazing people can be. She reminded me of all the little miracles that exist in our world. She reminded me of the light. I named her Mira, short for Miracle (or Mirajane--she has quite the fighting spirit!), because of all that she has taught me.

It was a miracle that my brother found her during her time of need. It was a miracle that my vet clinic saw us without an appointment and provided us with the information and supplies we needed to keep her alive. It was a miracle that when I was struggling, I had a friend that had already fostered kittens her age and was willing to stop everything she was doing to help us. It was a miracle that my coworker’s daughter’s boyfriend’s cat had just had kittens two weeks prior and that they were more than willing to help us out. It was a miracle that the pharmacist gave me what I needed when she didn’t have to. It was a miracle that my brother found her and brought her to me. It was a miracle that she had survived on her own for as long as she had.

And it was a miracle when, at 2 o’clock in the morning, she finally latched to the bottle and began actually feeding. She had finally eaten her fill after hours of only getting the bare minimum. In her glee, just as she was falling asleep, she began purring. It was then that I named her Mira, my little miracle.

She purred from then on out, whenever I picked her up to take care of her. I loved her when I first set eyes on her, but I was so afraid of hurting her, of failing her, that it wasn’t until I actually managed to help her that I realized just how much I loved her.

For those of you that are curious, Momma kitty accepted Mira almost immediately. She sniffed her when we first placed Mira near, but she didn’t make a single fuss when Mira snuggled in for a feeding. Afterword she even gave her a bath! Just like that, baby Mira was adopted and her chances of survival sky rocked in comparison to her staying with us.

Just thought I would share a positive post with you! Isn’t she just adorable?

-Larkynn 

Sudden Darkness: a short story

Everything about our meeting was so rapid. One minute it was just gloomy and over cast. The next, it was pitch black.

The sudden darkness left me reeling. I put out a hand for balance and felt the cool, smooth plastic of the manikin’s bare chest beneath my palm. I tried blinking once, twice.

Nothing happened. The darkness remained.

I dug around in my pocket with my other hand, searching for my phone. A sudden jolt of panic raced along my nerves as my hand came up empty. I checked the other pocket and only found my wallet. Had I dropped my phone?

“A TORNADO HAS BEEN SPOTTED ON THE GROUND IN DOVER COUNTY. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.” I could hear a weather radio droning on somewhere near the fitting rooms, but with no phone to light my way, there was no way I was going to be able to safely navigate the store, let alone find suitable shelter.

I had been standing near the checkout counter. It was just beyond the manikin. I reached forward, expecting the touch of the cool, smooth glass.

Instead, my hand made contact with a very hot substance that felt eerily like human skin. I couldn’t help it. I screamed bloody murder.

“Liam?” A light flashed from the direction of the weather radio. “Everything okay up there?”

In the glaring light I took in a tall, lanky boy with dark hair. He wore a vest embroidered with the store’s name and his right below it. He made eye contact with me and smiled, patting my hand gently as it rested against his bicep.

I had screamed, but not pulled away.

In my distress, my fear of the dark had surmounted my fear of unexpectedly touching another human body.

“Liam?” The light was slowly making its way toward us. Now that my eyes had adjusted, I realized that the light was rather far off. The voice calling out was suddenly muttering something under its breath. From the tone, I assumed he was cursing.

Liam patted my hand again and pointed in the direction of the light before slowly pulling me toward the back of the store. He didn’t say a word. And he didn’t forcibly move me. He just began walking and I didn’t let go of him.

The warmth of his arm, now that I had verified that it belonged to a normal human and not some ghoul that resided in my darkest nightmares, was suddenly calming. With his guidance I no longer felt like a passenger overboard, adrift in the sea of darkness. His presence moored me and I was lulled into a sense of contentment despite the torrential storm pounding on the roof of the department store.

Before I knew it, the flashlight beam was no longer dancing along in the distance, but glaring directly in my eyes.

“What kind of dark magic is this, Liam?” Once my eyes adjusted, I read the vest of the man calling out to Liam. His name was Dan and he was apparently the store manager. “Only you could scare a girl half to death and still have her clinging to you like you’re some kind of savior.”

I expected Liam to respond, but again, he didn’t say a word.

I wanted to tell Liam’s manager that it had been an accident. But before I could, Dan started talking again. “Don’t give me any of that crap. I heard her scream and I know it was because you were creeping around in the dark not saying anything.”

Confused, my gaze passed between Liam and his manager. Liam wasn’t saying a word, and yet Dan was responding as if he had.

Dan’s eyes narrowed as he spoke again. “Don’t get smart with me, boy! I am well aware that it wouldn’t have done you any good to try saying something in the dark.”

Liam moved his hands and suddenly it clicked. Liam was signing.

“No. Don’t worry about it. I will locate the rest of the stranded shoppers. Just escort her to the shelter and try to detach yourself from her at some point. Preferably sooner rather than later. You’re still on the clock, not a date.”

I felt my face flush indignantly. I was standing right in front of the man! Out of sheer frustration I snatched the flashlight from his hands and flicked it off.

“Let’s see how you navigate in the dark, Danny Boy,” I retorted hotly.

“Give me back my flashlight this instant!”

I dropped it forcefully on the floor before tugging on Liam’s arm. “Come on, Liam. Let’s go make out in the fitting room.”

Dan cursed darkly from behind me. “I have half a notion to toss you out into the storm, you little punk!”

“First you’d have to find me,” I responded darkly. “Besides, isn’t that against the law or something during a tornado?”

Liam squeezed my arm gently before dropping his hand to mine. He gently attempted to guide me away from Dan. He was probably trying to steer me toward safety, or the fitting room.

I lowered my voice and whispered in what I hoped was the general direction of his ear, “Just so you know, I was kidding about making out in the fitting room.”

He squeezed my hand and kept walking.

Eventually we made our way to a door, adjacent to the fitting rooms. A small emergency light was lit above it, allowing me to read the sign that read, “Employees Only”. There were a few other people huddled around a small camping lantern. Some of them were wearing employee vests like Liam and Dan. Others were customers like me.

Liam squeezed my hand once more before pointing at the small circle of people. I tried to pull him toward the circle with me, but he shook his head and dropped my hand. His hands moved rapidly, signing something I couldn’t understand.

One of the other employees translated for me, but I didn’t take my eyes off of Liam. “He says he has to go back and find Dan.”

“You could just leave him out there,” I offered.

Liam smiled, but shook his head again, hands moving once more.

“He says he has to go make amends. He really can’t afford to lose his job. But he will be right back.” Liam nodded to his coworker, seemingly satisfied with her translation, before waving to me.

I wish I had known then that it had been a wave good bye, and not see you later.

I never did see him again. Liam, my anchor in a stormy sea of darkness...
Maybe he lost his job because of me—one he couldn’t afford to lose. Maybe he got a better job. Or maybe, like Dan, he lost his life in that storm.