In the Dark Alleyway

Pain, cold, hunger, abandonment. These were the perpetual thoughts in his mind as he lay motionless in the dark alleyway. His mangy coat of fur did nothing to shield him from the penetrating cold of the rain. Was I not good enough? Am I not worthy of love? Was it my fault? Hearing the steady pitter-patter of rain falling from the pitch-black night, a feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed him. The crackle of lightning brought him back to the cracks of the stick hitting flesh, the constant yelling, and the last bits of the warmth from the house he once called home.

When the baby came home, the life he once knew with his owner shattered. He witnessed how ‘just one more drink’ turned into late-night drinking binges and the dark circles under his owner’s eyes that only grew deeper each day. He remembered the heated exchanges that often lead to the sting of his owner's hand on his wife’s face. If his owner had no other place to take his anger out because of the baby’s constant wailing, his owners’ pent up frustration would rain down on him. He didn’t know what he did to make his owner strangle him or kick him around like he was a ball, but the one thing he did know was that he couldn’t stop him. Maybe I deserve this endless pain. As the nights of drinking went on, his owner finally had no place for his own pet. In a drunken haze, his anger towards the baby, his wife, and his life now caused him to make a drastic decision that would leave his owner forever remorseful.

There was a rumble of thunder but this time it made him remember the purring of his mother when he was a kitten. The lulling warmth that soothed him as a kitten was now replaced with the sharp pain of the bruises on his back and paws where his owner had beat and thrown him out of the house. As he heard the starved yowls of the stray cats underneath the pouring rain, he realized that all that was left was the end, he just wanted the pain to go away. He could still feel the wisps of her love as she licked him, purring.

Lighting struck again startling him out of his memories. As darkness clouded his vision, he was relieved that there would be nothing but instead he heard the sound of voices.

“Come On! We’re never going to catch a taxi in this storm!” A deep voice yells.

“Maybe we should just run home, it’s not too far if we take a shortcut through the alley,” another voice replies. “Hey there is a stray cat here! We should take him home; he’ll die if we leave him.”

“Fine, but hurry we have to get him and us out of the rain!”

As hands slid under his belly, he felt himself being pulled away from the unyielding cold. Maybe they could heal his pain, or maybe this would show he should’ve just stayed in the dark alleyway.