16My new cat Anna
Chapter one
An unexpected guest
The rain poured down outside. Not that Elsa particularly cared.
Oh, it sounded like an impressive enough storm, all right. The apartment creaked in the wind, and the sound of the rain against the roof was loud enough. It was simply of no concern to her.
Elsa stared at her phone with half-closed eyes, idly scrolling through her feed. Various images and memes flew by, with her briefly registering each one's presence before scrolling to the next. Old jokes retold for the fifteenth time, someone's travel photos, jokes about some celebrity scandal – all taking up space in her mind for a couple seconds, then vanishing off the top of her screen.
She heard her stomach growl. Had she missed lunch? She checked the time on her phone.
4:30
Ah. Yes, then.
Briefly, she considered boiling the water necessary for ramen, then decided to pass. Microwave macaroni it was.
Knock knock knock
Elsa turned towards the door. This was unusual – she never had anyone knocking at her door. She wasn't expecting any packages, so who would go out in this weather just to knock on her door?
Knock knock knock
"All right, I'm coming," she called at the door. Whoever they were, she wasn't going to make them stand out in the rain.
She threw off her covers and looked down at her attire – a gray tank top and panties, the same ones she had been wearing yesterday. She considered throwing on something else.
Nah, she thought. Maybe when they see you answer the door like this, they'll just leave.
Elsa considered the evening ahead of her. After she dealt with whoever was at the door, she'd make that macaroni, and she wasn't going to eat it in bed, not again. She booted up her computer before exiting the bedroom. If she was out of bed, she might as well be on the computer instead of her phone.
As she shuffled towards the door, rubbing her eyes, she considered a few oddities. Firstly, her apartment had a doorbell, yet the person had knocked. Also, they had knocked rather softly, as if they hadn't used their knuckles.
It was a good thing her ears had stopped ringing at this point, or else she might not have heard it at all. She had really been blindsided by that.
What, are you seriously complaining about that?
"Yes, I am," she muttered to herself as she reached the door, peering through the peephole. "They warn you about all the other stuff, there's no reason not to-"
She stopped abruptly. She stared though her peephole, not believing what she was seeing. She opened the door and confirmed it.
A cute, redheaded girl was standing on the doorstep, shivering in the rain. She was wearing cat ears.
"Hello," the girl said in a trembling voice.
Elsa didn't respond. She stared, wide-eyed, at the girl, who she now noticed also had a tail.
"Can I come in?" the girl asked. "It's cold out here."
Elsa shook herself out of her trance. "Uh, y-yes. Of course!" She stepped to the side.
The girl perked up immediately. "Thank you!" she said, running inside. Elsa could've sworn she saw her ears prick up.
Once inside, the girl stood in the middle of Elsa's living room and shook herself, sending water droplets all around the room. Elsa didn't notice, as her eyes were still wide and locked on the girl.
The girl turned to her now and smiled widely. "Hi!" she said energetically. "I'm Anna!"
"Uh," Elsa said, "Hi, Anna. My name is Elsa. Elsa Vanderijst."
Anna tilted her head to one side. "Van…da…rees…" she said uncertainly. "Van…duh…"
"Just Elsa is fine," Elsa said. "So, Anna, where do you live?"
Anna's smile faded, and her head drooped. "Nowhere," she said sadly. "I'm a stray cat."
"Uh…" Elsa repeated.
Nice job, Elsa. You just let a crazy person into your house.
"Okay, Anna," she said, digging out her phone. "Tell me a little about yourself."
Anna perked up again. "Well, my name is Anna, and I'm a tabby cat. I like warm hugs and head scratches. My favorite food is milk, and I love sleeping all day long!"
Elsa snapped a photo of her. "Well, we agree on that last one, at least."
She posted the picture to Facebook, with the caption: Does anyone know who this girl is?
"So, Anna, why don't you have a seat?" she said, gesturing at the couch.
"Okay!" Anna said. She ran over to the couch, hopped onto it, and perched herself in a squat on all fours.
"Yeah, make yourself comfortable," Elsa said distractedly. She opened her browser and started to search for the phone number of her town's police station. Before she found it, however, her phone buzzed with a notification – someone had already responded to her Facebook post. She switched over to the app – and then stared at her screen, puzzled.
Aurora Finsen "Aw, what a cutie pie!"
Elsa scratched her head. This made no sense. Aurora was straight as a board, why would she say something like that?
Before she could ponder it further, another comment popped up.
Jaz Din "If she doesn't have any tags, I guess she's yours!"
Tags? What was she – wait a second.
"Stay right there," she said to Anna, making a dash for the bathroom. She flung open the door to the bathroom closet and fished around in the clutter. Eventually, she found what she was looking for and yanked it out.
She was half hoping that she would return to an empty living room, but no, Anna was still there, perched happily on the sofa. She was attempting to scratch her neck with her left foot and, more surprisingly still, succeeding.
Elsa put the scale on the floor. "Stand on this, please," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Anna dutifully stepped onto the scale. The needle barely moved.
Elsa stared at the scale. 8 pounds? Impossible!
She motioned for Anna to step off, then stood on the scale herself.
115 pounds. It's accurate.
"Are you okay?" Anna asked timidly. "You look a little worried."
"I'm fine, Anna, I'm just…" She trailed off, unsure how to finish her sentence.
She looked down at the floor, and noticed something else. There were wet prints on the carpet, leading from the front door to the sofa, then to the scale. They were pawprints. A cat's pawprints. She looked at Anna's feet. They looked very much human.
She closed her eyes, and breathed deeply. When she opened them again, she tried to assume a neutral look on her face.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't really introduce myself fully, did I? My name is Elsa, and apparently I'm a fucking lunatic!"
