"You took my family away you evil cat!" Sasha finally spoke and accused as she tugged on the poor cat's whiskers.
"Lisa, help." The big, black cat Luca whimpered.
Lisa sat shocked on one corner of her shabby house and raised her hand to help but is too far to stop it so she stood up to forcefully separate the two. Before she could grab them though, Luca's eyes glinted and it growled. Lisa ran in panic and shouted.
"Stop!" She positioned herself in between the little girl who won't let go of her grip and the panther who's ready to pounce on the kid.
Luca smelled Lisa's scent and retracted it's fangs but it still got her sandwiched in between its teeth. Sasha loosend her grip when the big cat turned aggressive but she still gave them an angry glare.
Luca released Lisa from it's bite and walked away, slouching on the floor as it held its precious whiskers. 'That kid is a monster! Why did I even try to save it! I'm so stupid!' it thought. Lisa sighed and checked on the little child.
Apart from the bruises on her palms and knees, which they've already tended to, the little girl looked fine. Remembering her previous mistake, she grabbed a bread from the table and offered it to the little girl.
"Would you like to eat?"
Sasha smelled the sweet bread and started drooling but she held it in. She instead looked at her straight in the eyes and asked,
"Are you the Authorities?"
Lisa looked confused and gazed at the panther for clarification. Their eyes met and understanding showed on her face.
"No." Came the curt reply.
"Did you take my family?"
"No."
"Then why are you at our house?"
Sasha blurted every question she could think of while Lisa stayed silent. Contemplating the best response to give, she finally gave her a simple answer.
"You're family went somewhere faraway." But this further agitated the little girl.
"You're lying!" Sasha shouted.
"No, it's true. Where they went, that's where we came from."
"No!" Sasha covered her ears and continued to shout. The irritated Luca finally opened its mouth and coldly spoke,
"Kid, it's true. You're family went somewhere faraway and that's where we live. You think we'd lie about something like-"
"Shut up! No!" Sasha cut it off. Luca looked offended and wanted to retort but kept its mouth shut, grinding it's teeth in irritation.
"Little girl, it's true. They left for-" Lisa tried to explain but Sasha also cut her off, her voice wailing in anguish.
Luca growled, it's one thing to cut it mid sentence, it's another if she cut Lisa off. What an ungrateful brat. It wanted to smack the child but Lisa saw its raised paw and stopped it. It closed its eyes and harrumphed.
"Are you telling me that my family abandoned me? Am I really a bad kid? Don't they love me anymore?" Waaaah! she cried. Baba, I won't do it again. Don't leave me here. Nana, I'll be good. Mani, Ino. Hik.
Lisa's face lit up in understanding as the little girl started crying her heart out. She reached out her hand and pulled the child in her embrace, letting her bawl as she gently tapped her back to comfort her. Luca looked at the little girl in shock. So that's what she meant, poor child.
"I'm sorry. I did not mean it like that." She consoled.
Sasha cried some more until she felt out of breath and gasp for air. She continued sobbing but her cries are softer now. Lisa tried to explain again.
"Your family did not abandon you." Then she pulled her away from her hug and looked at her in the eye.
"It's true. They never abandoned you."
Sasha sniffled but she kept staring at this beautiful lady's eyes. She needed to know. She wanted to believe. That she was not forsaken. When Lisa maintained her gaze, she cried again.
"Is it true? T-they don't hate me?"
"It's true. They love you."
"So-so where are they now? Why am I here? Alone?" She kept asking in between her sobs.
"Come. Drink something first. Luca. Oh, he's name is Luca." Lisa guided the little girl to sit and offered her some water while trying to introduce themselves to the little girl.
Sasha drank the water in one go and looked at the beautiful woman again.
"I'm Sasha."
"Princess." Luca sniggered. Lisa also raised her eyebrows and looked at the cat with understanding.
'Are you deaf?'
Sasha pursed her lips and looked at the big cat in annoyance. She wanted to correct it but Lisa waved her hand.
"Don't mind him. I'm called Alessia but you can call me Lisa." Finally, she's able to introduce herself.
"Lisa." Sasha spoke softly.
"Eat something first then we'll talk about your family later." Lisa gave her the bread again and encouraged her to eat.
Sasha recognized the sweet smell of the bread and readily accepted it. She wolfed down the bread much to the shock of both woman and cat. When she started to cough, Luca jumped as it shrank in size and raised its paws to tap the little girl's back.
"Easy. No one's going to get your food, kid." Sasha responded with a glare since she can't speak while making big bites. Luca looked offended and walked away, throwing disgusted look at the child. 'What a glutton!'
Lisa sighed in acceptance and pushed some water towards the little girl. She then looked at Luca and spoke in her mind.
'Come on, big guy. Time to eat.' Luca made a face and turned away. Lisa held her temples and continued.
'Are you gonna act like a little child, too? Do you want some sweets?' Luca looked back and started eating in discontent.
Sasha found the cat eating bread trivial so she intently watched it but Luca noticed her gaze and spat,
"What are you looking at? Eat your food. I'm not giving you mine!"
Sasha rolled her eyes and continued eating. After a whole day of walking and eating only snacks on the way, coupled with her intense running in the afternoon, she felt extremely tired and hungry. She wanted to eat fast so she can talk to Lisa about her family but she immediately fell asleep after having her fill. Luca looked at her in disdain as it also closed its eyes to sleep. Lisa found their interaction funny and after cleaning up, she went to bed and fell asleep.