Nobody remembers the day when they had come into existence. And he was no exception. He was born from the shadows, destined to call this land of darkness and decay as his home. But of course, he didn't know anything better. You can't long for something you have never heard of. And the beginning of his life was quite happy. The shadows that had given birth to him raised him with love and care. He was pretty out of place, however, being a feline with shimmering white fur, living among the shades. But he didn't question it. At least not yet when he was still young. How it could be possible for the shadows to create such a pure young creature was something no one knew the answer for. In addition, how they could be capable of nurturing him was another mystery.
And for a little while, everything was well.
He grew up to be a rather happy child, playing all days with his shadowy siblings. After all, he didn't really have anyone else in his life except the shades. He didn't need anyone else. And even though he lived in a world of darkness, almost every day felt like an adventure. Where they dwelled was really strange place: everything was surrounded by metal walls, some of them rusty and some in a better condition. There were dead plants bursting through from few spots along with some odd black goo and everything was engulfed in darkness. On several days, weak, dim tiny lights could be found scattered in different places. Other abnormal things could also appear on the walls on some days, such as huge claw marks. The whole area was in a constant changing motion. Things didn't seem to stay same for too long, new rooms and corridors kept fluctuating. It was bizarre, but it was his home. And sometimes it felt like that he was the sun of this place with his shimmering fur because of the lack of light sources in these corridors of darkness.
And rare are the things that stay same in life. It was inevitable that his days would change as well. But how drastic it would be, no one could be prepared for that.
On that day when the change had been set to motion, he met someone new. This was very exciting for him since the only ones he had known in his life so far was just his shadow family. But this new acquaintance was flesh and blood just like him. She wasn't exactly like him, for she was a colorless mongrel, but that didn't matter. He felt close to her somehow. And according to her, there were more beings like them.
They played together all day and had a lot of fun. When it was time to return home, they promised to meet again tomorrow.
And so they did. In fact, they did spend the next few days together. He had made a friend for a first time in his life and was feeling really happy about it – it was a new emotion. Of course he liked his family, but this was something different.
And thus, after some days, he wanted to share his joy with the family.
But their reaction wasn't something he had hoped for.
They told him not to meet her again. She was just toying with his feelings and would eventually break his heart. She was a predator, created to eat up pieces of a soul. She didn't really want to be his friend.
These words really did hit him hard. He felt confused and ashamed. And maybe even a bit rebellious. He didn't want to believe that she, such a kind soul, was like how his family described. Because of this, he secretly defied his family and kept meeting her again. And time after time he just became more sure that they were wrong. Eventually he even met her family, which were just as nice as she was. To him, this only proved that his parents were mistaken.
However, eventually he got caught by one of his siblings. And oh how angry his parents were. Such fury was something he had experienced never before. It was frightening. As a punishment, they threw him in a cage made of dark material and kept him there as a prisoner for a while just so he could learn his place. He felt absolutely devastated. This incident scarred him for years to come. It indeed was effective method to make sure that he wouldn't defy his parents again. He didn't even dare to leave his home for a while and was feeling apathetic and remorseful. However, just like everything else, this event got swept by the waves of time and faded. But it was never forgotten.
Years went by. He grew up and became quite a handsome being. His fur turned out to be even more shimmering and beautiful, if that was possible. But from the inside he wasn't doing that well. His heart felt heavy, his soul was cold and miserable and there was this strange emptiness within. It was like he was missing something, but he couldn't name what that thing was. He also felt suffocated and trapped – there was nothing beyond the darkness and metal walls. It was tragic that such a lively and happy child ended up becoming a sad adolescent. What was the cause for this, perhaps it was because of the shadows. Perhaps the only reason that he had come into existence through them was just so they could leech on him, draining him. Salvation was something he yearned, but in what kind of form, he didn't know.
If somewhere out there was a helpful entity, it eventually heard his prayers. Because one day, he met someone special.
He had been wandering aimlessly in the corridors, not really feeling like doing anything or wanting to go to some specific place. Then he bumped into someone: another feline but with silvery fur. His first reaction was being startled for he wasn't supposed to meet anyone. But there was something very reassuring in this silver one's presence, something he had never felt before – it was almost like meeting an old friend. And the more time he spent with him, the further away he pushed the fear of what could happen if his family finds out that he was doing something forbidden. Eventually, thanks to his new friend, he started to get back feelings of happiness. And along with it, came the courage to leave the shadows behind for good. He wanted to run away with the silver one and never look back.
His new friend had told him stories about an outer land – something with light and warmness. That's where the silver one was coming from. And he wanted to take him there. And so, on that one faithful day, they departed.
But somehow, the shadows were aware of this. And they definitely weren't happy and willing to let him go.
The felines were running, hurrying to escape the land of darkness and decay. But the shadows were on their trail, not far behind. And they were coming closer, bit by bit. He could feel their cold claws on his back, sending a wave of desperation washing over him, making him to shed a tear of hopelessness. But the silver one wasn't going to give up and kept encouraging him, bringing him faith. If they would just keep going on, for as long as the claws of shadows weren't clinging onto their hearts, they had hope. And if they believed to see the light of day, they would surely triumph. Somehow, he did find strength from his soul and kept running faster than he had ever done before. Despair had to withdraw, there was no place for it now.
The exhausting chase had gone for too long. But the persistence of the felines got rewarded in the end. Eventually, he could see in front of him something new that made him excited and victorious: it was light. Not like those dim tiny ones he had got used to, no. This was much more bright and radiated force of life and had the power to kill monsters. It gave him the might to sprint just a little more – freedom was at hand. The shadows were shrieking, they knew that he was getting away. Desperately they tried to grasp and hold on to anything they could touch with their wicked claws. But it was too late for them. As he leaped through the gate to the light, his ears were filled with screams of the shades as they lost their power to control him and were forced to return to the darkness.
He had done it. He had escaped.
He stopped and was catching his breath, looking around. This world was so different than the one where he had just emerged from. More than anything, it was full of life. And there was not restraining metal walls. He could go anywhere he wanted, explore as much as he liked. He knew nothing of this world, but that was part of the fun. With his new friend, he was sure that he would make many great memories. This was his first step into a better life.
He and his friend began to walk away, savoring the freedom, leaving all the bad things behind.
