Moving In
Kali took a deep breath, and looked around. This is my new home, she thought. It smelled faintly of the dogwoods which blossomed in the park not far from her home. She couldn’t wait to go there and take pictures of the trees before their blooms fell off in winter. It would add a touch of beauty to her home, which she needed greatly.
Her choice of residence was decided mostly by finances. She hadn’t intended to leave so suddenly, but she could not take her old home any longer. Not with him living there. So she had packed her bags and chosen the first house she could afford. It was a small place, just slightly larger than an apartment. There was no real “living room” to entertain guests, or to even lounge around in. No matter; she didn’t think she’d be having many people over any time soon. When you walked in, there was a small hallway which led into the dining room. If you could call it that. It was simply a small, square table surrounded by two chairs that looked like they were just old fold up camping chairs. The table too, had seen far better days. Perhaps a cheap cloth would hide the unsightly stains and dents in the wood top…
What appeared to be the kitchen was a small corner room with a refrigerator with a broken light, a stove that hadn’t seen a wash cloth in months, and a couple of counters that didn’t even match the cabinets above them. One of the cabinet doors was falling off. Kali thought about fixing it, but realized she didn’t even have a nail or a screw driver to attempt it. Instead, she decided to go to her new bedroom.
Luckily, the bedroom, which she ultimately decided she would spend the most of her time in, was small but in good shape. It had a single queen sized bed with a mahogany bedside table and matching dresser beside it. Aside from a few dings here and there, all of the furniture looked decent. The rest of the room was empty, except for a small door that led to the even smaller bathroom, and a closet just big enough for the few outfits she had grabbed when she left. As she sat down on the bed, it creaked loudly. Despite the house’s small size, somehow the sound echoed, resonating throughout the run down place and it’s equally run down inhabitant. Kali sighed, trying to get the feeling that the house was mocking her out of her mind. She glanced out the window, hoping to be comforted by the beautiful sight of a song bird on the windowsill or children playing in the neighbor’s backyard. Instead, she was the wonderful shot of a bright yellow machine lifting plywood above the construction workers’ heads.
Oh, right. Kali thought. The real estate lady said the place was about to be torn down so the new apartment complex building could put in a pool too. She said I was lucky to get the place before the company bought the rights to it. Kali glanced around at her shabby quarters, and chuckled. I guess she didn’t check the place out before talking it up like that. Disappointed about the view outside, Kali decide to set up her art supplies. If she couldn’t see a beautiful landscape outside, she’d paint one inside. The wall opposite her bed was bare, with now windows, no shelving, not even a desk or table. It would be the perfect place to paint on, and maybe it wouldn’t make the space feel so empty.
Despite leaving her old home in such a hurry, she made sure to grab everything that meant something to her. While she left behind her clothes and most of the family portraits, she snagged her paints, blank canvases, sketch pads, an assortment of pencils and brushes, and of course her most valued camera. It contained all the photos she had ever taken, a plethora of animals, trees, flowers, and people all portrayed in the most beautiful ways possible. Also stored away were the disks she transferred her pictures on to, to save room on the camera. They were each given an artfully depicting name and she even doodled a small scene with permanent marker on them. If anything she had was worth anything, it was her treasured photos.
She pulled out a large box stocked full of assorted acrylic paints and a number of brushes, of all different shapes and sizes. Next, she dug out her infamous scrapbook, the one picture book that was full of more memories than her own head. For photos, it was an honor to get into such a scrapbook. It meant you were the best picture of all, and made all the other pictures jealous. In order to qualify, you had to feature something Kali loved; and though she loved a lot of things, the cuts were still tough, and many a picture was cast aside to make room for a better on. This scrapbook was the source of all imagination. By using the photos she had taken in real life, Kali could alter them slightly when she painted them to make them truly unique and magical. The process was more than adding wings and a horn to a horse and making a unicorn. It was a talent of hers that she valued above all the other skills she possessed –to turn something ordinary into something amazing.
As she flipped through the pages of the book, trying to find a good picture to paint onto the walls, a small photo fell loose onto her lap. It was yellowed and was visibly thin and worn down. All of the photos she had in the scrapbook were scarcely a year old, and she didn’t remember ever putting such an old photo inside it. She gently picked it up, careful to make sure her claws didn’t scratch the thin film. Though the photo was old and withering away, Kali could make out two shapes. One of the shapes looked just like her; a snow leopard. It was tall and lean, with plushy ears and a tail. She squinted to see what the leopard was wearing; it appeared to be a long, brown dress. It went up to the leopard’s neck and draped over her body, straight down, all the way to her ankles. Such modest clothing hadn’t been worn by leopards in years. They preferred to show off their muscular, curved bodies. The leopard in the picture had to be a woman, and it had to be taken years and years ago. The yellowing was from age, not lack of care. Pulling her eyes from the strange female leopard, Kali looked at the shape beside her. This shape was nearly a head taller than the woman’s, and did not look like a snow leopard at all. The creature was shirtless, and she could tell immediately it was a man. The body was pure muscle, with long, strong arms and legs. Even though fur didn’t tan like skin, Kali could tell whoever this man was had definitely been outside for most of his life. The man’s hair was lush and framed his face, trailing part way down his back. By the look of it, the man was a lion. He had one arm around the woman, and the other on a riding horse. As Kali stared at the picture, she noticed something on the horse. In the middle of its head was a single white patch of fur. There were four white circles that touched each other in perfect symmetry, like a four leaf clover. She distantly remembered seeing a horse like that before. It was at her Grandmother’s farm. The horse had been born of a wild horse, but the mother died in birth. The little foal, starving and without its herd, had wondered onto the farm. Her grandmother immediately took it into her arms, like she did with all her grandchildren. Even though this horse was an animal, and not human at all, she still treated it like her flesh and blood. Grandma never cared about what someone looked like, Kali thought. Everyone was a person to her, even if they didn’t look like her. Suddenly, Kali realized who was in the photo. The horse was the little stray foal, affectionately named Lucky for the clover shaped white spot, just a little younger than when Kali had gotten to meet it. The woman was indeed her grandmother. She was a little younger as well, but there was no mistaking it. She looked at her grandma’s eyes, and could see right into her heart. It was definitely grandma. However, Kali had never seen the man beside her in her life. She thought about calling her own mother, to see if she could tell her. As she stood to go get the phone, the picture fell to the ground. It fluttered quickly in a large swooping motion, until it finally hit the ground a few steps away. It had fallen on its face side, and now Kali noticed the back. In red ink pen, a note was written. At the top, it read “Julia, Mason, and Lucky; 1949”. So the man in the picture is named Mason. Kali thought. I’ve never heard of anyone named that. I don’t even think I’ve ever seen Grandma with a lion. She continued reading the note. “To my sweet Kali,” What? Grandma addressed this to me? “I know down the road things will get tough for you. Times have changed, sweat pea, and you can’t be afraid to change with them. I know you never met Mason. You’re mother didn’t approve with me falling in love with someone that wasn’t a snow leopard. I hope you realize that I’m not some dirty animal, socializing with another species. I fell in love with him, and he was in love with me. Your real grandfather left when your mother was young, and yet still she got this idea in her head that she needed to be with a leopard as well, even if he wasn’t a good father. That was what happened in your case, sweet pea. The fact that your father left you wasn’t at all your fault. Don’t let it hold you back. I hope you don’t turn out to have the same views as your mother did. No matter what the man looks like, if he loves you and you love him, don’t waste time thinking about your mother’s silly views. Make your own choices in life sweet pea. Remember, I love you.”
Kali’s mouth hung open. She had never known that her grandmother lived with another species. Perhaps she hid him from mom that she could see me all the time. Kali thought. She was horrified that her grandma had to hide the one she loved, just so she could see her daughter and grandchildren. I can’t believe that Mason guy stayed around, if he couldn’t even see her family. He must have really loved grandma. Kali took the photo over to the dresser, and clipped it to the side of the mirror. Why would grandma leave me such a note? How did it even get in my scrapbook to begin with? She realized it was her grandma who had bought her first camera, as a birthday present. She knew how much pictures meant to Kali. Perhaps she realized it was the perfect place, to stash the photo where Kali was certain to find it someday. She wished she could call her grandma, and talk about the meaning of the picture and the note, but her grandmother had died a few years ago. I wonder if Grandma saw who Mark was before I did. Kali shuttered when she thought of her previous boyfriend. Her hand automatically went to the most recent scar he had given her on her shoulder. It was the last time he had hit her, she made sure of it. After he hurt her, he had stormed out and headed to the bar, giving Kali enough time to get her things and run out. Even though this house was run down, at least she wouldn’t be hurt any longer.
