Chapter 1: A Kitten’s Summer in the City

2085, Mid-July

Night

Weather: Clear

Temperature: 30°C

In the city, a scorching summer night brought no relief. The whole city felt like a giant steamer. Even the wind carried a hot, rolling breath.

Summer in the South was muggy and hot. Most people outside looked listless. No one wanted to suffer in this weather. Everyone on the street quickened their steps, trying to cross that terrifying stretch without air conditioning and get back where they belonged.

People were like this. Cats even more so.

In a dark alley, four or five cats were scattered in different corners, guarding their own territory. After enduring a long day, these little spirits who lodged in the human city finally had their home field.

The rare two-legged beasts on the street were in a hurry and would not respectfully offer food as they sometimes did. But an excellent stray cat knew where food could be found easily in the city.

Yes, the big bins standing on both sides of the flat roads. Their shapes changed by district and even by time, but whether square or round, they did not stop cats from finding what they needed.

Still, when rummaging through the bins, a cat had to be careful not to scatter the contents everywhere. Otherwise some irritable two-legged beast would come and scold them.

They also had to watch the time. The bins did not always have food. Near dawn, some two-legged beasts would feed everything inside to a moving monster. That monster was terrifying. Every time it stopped by the bins, it made snorting sounds. Maybe it was angry because it had caught them stealing from its bins?

“Meow~”

Today the cats that had scavenged early from those strange bins were mostly full. The food had been richer than yesterday. It seemed to have something to do with the crowd of two-legged beasts who had gathered in a square yesterday, making noise under the summer sun. The cats did not understand why these beasts, hot as they were, liked standing together in the sun. But after they left, plenty of food remained in the bins around the square.

The cats were quite satisfied with this result. They hoped the two-legged beasts would come again tomorrow.

While the other cats ate their fill, played with companions, rested, or went into heat, one glossy-furred cat with white paws picked up a chicken leg that had been bitten once by a two-legged beast. Alert, she hugged the wall, crossed under a streetlight, and darted through the alley. After climbing over a pile of junk, she carefully slipped into a dark corner.

Once there, she put down the chicken leg and sniffed the surroundings. After confirming no other scent had intruded, she relaxed and carried the chicken leg deeper into the corner.

“Meow~”

She reached a small nest and put the chicken leg down again. She pushed her nose into the nest and sniffed. After she sensed a familiar scent had returned, a series of milky mews came from inside.

It was a litter of newborn kittens.

When the mother cat heard her children’s eager calls, she did not rush. She began eating slowly and methodically. She was hungry too.

After giving birth, the mother cat had felt much weaker. She still had to go out and forage, but with a litter of newborn kittens at home, she worried when she stayed out too long.

Luckily, the food left behind by the two-legged beasts had been unusually rich lately. Not far from the nest, she had found a big chicken leg abandoned in a corner. It had only one bite mark. Clearly some two-legged beast had dropped it and then discarded it. To save time, the mother cat had carried it straight back. After checking that the nest was safe, she ate without worry.

Today was lucky.

After her elegant meal, the mother cat climbed into the nest and lay on her side to nurse. At the smell of milk, the kittens’ instincts drove them to crawl on weak little legs toward the nipples and swallow greedily.

Just then, the mother cat noticed one kitten did not seem eager to feed. She nudged the slightly dumb-looking little one and carried it to a nipple with her mouth, so it got a mouthful too.

The mother cat felt a little worried about this child. ‘This little one looks dumb. Will they fail to find food when they go out? Will they be bullied?’

When the kittens had eaten their fill, the dumb little one let go of the nipple too. For a moment, the mother cat could not tell whether the child was full. Forget it. If they were hungry, they would cry.

After nursing, the mother cat felt tired. As the sky outside began to brighten, she narrowed her eyes and rested in the nest she had made.

****

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was mid-September.

The hot weather had not changed at all with the arrival of autumn. The days were still cloudless, and the harsh sunlight filled every corner. Humans called this the autumn tiger.

This damned weather. Only those humans who ran around for some unknown reason would walk under this sun.

The cats crouched in shady places, enjoying every bit of coolness they could get. This was the two-legged beasts’ territory. For some reason, their territory always had a cool breeze. Cats could not go inside, but it felt good to enjoy the breeze outside.

If they were lucky, some good two-legged beasts might even offer them tasty food. But sometimes luck ran out.

“Go on, get out! Chase these cats away! What are you people being paid for? The general manager is coming soon. Clean the entrance right now!”

“Yes, yes…”

The sudden noise caught the attention of the cats lying on the ground enjoying the breeze. Some wary old cats half rose, ready to run. But some kittens, just weaned and driven out by their mother, had no idea what was happening.

In one kitten’s view, a two-legged beast all in black, with a shiny bald head and two gold wire arms holding two round little lenses on his ears, was pointing at them and shouting. The kitten did not notice that the siblings beside them had already fled. Only they remained, staring blankly at the two-legged beast, not knowing what he wanted.

Soon his actions made it clear.

“Meow!”

Seeing the other cats already gone, one cat still lay at the entrance, seemingly unafraid, watching him. The man could not stand it. He stepped forward and kicked. The sudden kick made the kitten yowl and run, turning quickly.

Only then did the glasses man straighten his collar with annoyance. He did not notice that his behavior had been secretly filmed and posted online.

The kitten did not understand what had happened on the human side. They only knew one thing now: their mother did not want them anymore.

Not long ago, when the kittens began to grow, the mother cat had led them around, teaching them the city survival manual for cats. After all the kittens could eat hard food, the mother cat left the nest one last time and never returned.

At first, the kitten had hoped to find their mother with their siblings. But after braving the sun and arriving here, the coolness felt so good that none of them wanted to leave. They all planned to stay and enjoy the breeze.

Then the sudden human chased them away. When the kitten came back to their senses, they found that they had lost their siblings.

They searched everywhere. They meowed loudly on the street. They even tried to ask the tall two-legged beasts whether they had seen their siblings. But no matter how hard they tried, there was no response.

Oh, plenty of two-legged beasts did keep petting them and feeding them. The kitten remembered their mother saying that food from a two-legged beast could be tasted first. If the beast did not grab them, they could eat more.

Clearly, these two-legged beasts petting their fur were not trying to grab them. So the kitten ate the food with peace of mind and kept meowing anxiously.

But by night, none of their siblings had answered. The kitten could not help guessing: maybe they had gone home first?

With that thought, they sped up and began running along the road. But when they returned to the old nest, what waited for them was not their gentle, strict mother and their siblings. It was several big cats with unfriendly faces.

They had been driven out. And beaten.

Someone had taken over their home.

The kitten walked unsteadily down the street and looked back at the familiar alley. Their heart ached. They wanted to cry.

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