Monstro! the beginning

The meadow lay behind Mrs. Jeraldson's house just up the street. Old Mrs. Jeraldson did not live there anymore, but the family still kept the house and visited every so often. The children weren't generally allowed in the meadow, but sometimes when no one was watching Lanie snuck off to make flower bouquets on her favorite rock. She was the youngest of the three Seuly children; Jamy Nate and Annie Lane Seuly. When Mr. and Mrs. Seuly were out, Jamy and Nate were supposed to look after Lanie, but being that they were boys, they had no time to baby sit a little sister.

On that particular day the boys were collecting ants for their ant war. They told Lanie that she couldn't help and would only get in the way, but she did not want to play with bugs and when their backs were turned she slipped away.

It had rained the night before and the meadow glistened darkly with the moisture. The rock would be wet still, so Lanie walked around picking flowers for awhile. There was a decomposing log near the rock, its bottom slick. Something lay on the log, but Lanie could not see what it was from where she stood. She went closer. The creature lay in a tangled heap like a rag doll. Lanie felt tears prick at her eyes as she came closer to the log. Weakly, one eye opened and stared.

Lanie caught her breath; he was still alive. She set down her flowers and gingerly cradled the small bundle in her arms. He was a kitten, very small and so dirty that his color was indeterminable. The kitten did not struggle, only shivered as Lanie held him. She stood and carried him home.

"Please Daddy," Lanie begged, "I'll take care of him. Please Daddy, he looked so scared and all alone.

Mr. Seuly had come home to find Lanie sitting on the front steps humming to a bundle of blankets she held in her arms. He thought at first that it was a doll of hers, but frowned when he saw the mud streaked down the front of her shirt. He had stepped out of the car and come up beside her, and that was when she had shone him the kitten. The boys had come running up from the back yard moments later and now stood a few feet away, looking somewhat nervous.

"Cats don't have families," Jamy interjected, "they don't need anyone."

"O yes they do," Lanie shot back. "Little ones like this one do."

"Boys, go inside and wash up for dinner," Mr. Seuly said turning to address them. "your mother will be home soon."
The boys hurried into the house, happy to get away but uncertain whether they might still be in trouble.

Mr. Seuly sat beside his daughter and peered down at the dirty little face in the blankets.

"Sweety, you know that cat might belong to someone else."

"Then they wouldn't have left him all alone."

"But what if he got lost?"
Lanie considered this.

"Then we can put up fliers, but Daddy we can't just leave him alone till someone finds him. Can I keep him please, just till we find his real home?"

"You're going to have to take care of him. You'll have to feed and play with ...," but he never got the chance to finish because at that moment Lanie had jumped up and thrown her arms as far around her father as they would go, crushing the kitten between them.

He was a beautiful kitten; somewhat on the small side but he seemed to do alright once he was cleaned and kept warm and out of the rain. He had brilliant green eyes that watched everything like two inquisitive emeralds staring out from his little pixy face. His fur was on the darker side of orange, almost the color of a red fox, but his markings were what made him stand out. His underbelly and up over his throat to his chin were white, and he had a small white diamond just above his left eye. To complete the package his entire front left leg up to the shoulder blade was white giving him a somewhat unbalanced look.

"I want to call him Browny," Lanie announced.

"He isn't brown," Nate objected.

"Pixy dust?"

"What would you want to give him a name like that for? It sounds too girly. If he was a kid with that name, he'd get laughed off the playground."
Lanie chewed on a strand of her hair as she considered the kitten.

"He should have a big name because he's so small. I like ... Monstro."
Nate set down his game controller and squinted at the kitten. Then he began to laugh, but Lanie had made up her mind; Monstro purred.