American Pie — Sweet Pieces
Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)
Mylia had already showered and dressed for work when she noticed something moving in the bushes growing lush and green along the walls of the apartment building.
Her steps slowed against the wet pavement almost without thinking. She patted her pockets to make sure she had her keys and her phone, and she was all set, ready to go. She took the first few steps toward work and thought she heard something, though she wasn’t quite sure.
Almost like reflex, she turned her head.
And there she was.
Her kitten.
A tiny snow leopard hidden quietly among the bushes with oversized paws and bright blue eyes almost electric beneath the fading night, trying hard not to look afraid.
“Oh no,” she whispered softly as she crouched beside it. “You’re coming home with me.”
The kitten walked right over to her.
Not cautious. Not skittish. Just tired and strangely trusting, as though it already understood something about her.
Mylia reached for the apartment door later that night with the tiny snow leopard resting quietly in one arm. The little thing tucked itself gently against her chest while she fumbled for the doorknob with her free hand, calm as could be, like it had already decided it belonged there.
