I can't find her.

The car pulled up to the front of the house. Emma is startled when her mother says it's time to get out of the car. The pre-teen quickly put away her pen and tried to hide the fact she was drawing all over the car door. Thankfully, nothing is noticed.

She walked into the living room, sighing as she placed her backpack on the ground. The school day wasn't hard but wasn't necessarily easy either. Fifth grade can be hard if you have a teacher like Mrs. Thomas. But, she had her cat to come home too. The small, Calico, no older than a year, named Patches. That feline was her favorite animal and her best friend. Or more so, her only friend in the world. Patches could make any day better by just climbing into the girl's lap. She always greeted Emma at the door when she comes home. But, today, that didn't happen.

"That's weird." Emma questioned, looking around frantically.

"What's weird, sweetie?" asked Emma's mother.

"Patches. She didn't come to the door." She said as he went to her mother in the kitchen.

"Oh, I haven't really seen her today."

"What?" The anxiety rose in Emma as her heart raced more and more.

"Yeah, I haven't really seen her all day. I think she's been in my room. She might be asleep and didn't hear you come home. Go look. I’m sure she’s there."

Emma nodded and went to her mother's bedroom. She didn’t see Patches anywhere; not under the bed, on the covers, under the dressers, or even in the closet. She's not to be found. She started to search everywhere; under the couch, under every table, the one spot between the dryer and the wall that the kitten loves to get stuck in. The young girl started to hyperventilate when she couldn't find her baby. She ran to her mother and told her about the problem.

Her mother paused to think for a minute. Sudden panic rushed on her face.

"What, Mom? Do you know where she is?" Emma's throat felt full of cotton.

"Um. I don't know how to tell you this other than saying she may have gotten out the back door when I let our dog out."

Emma's voice raised as the anxiety of her cat being hurt or the depression of her never seeing her again creeps up more and more. "What?! How could you let that happen, Mom?"

"I wouldn't have done it on purpose! Let's go check outside and see if she's in the backyard. She's small, she can't have gone far. I’ll help you look. We’ll find her, don’t worry."

The girl exhaled deeply and said, "Okay. I'll go look."

They walked into the backyard and yelled out "Patches!" over and over, as loud as possible. There wasn’t a sign of her. No tiny meows, or running to Emma. Emma looked between every blade of grass and under every piece of furniture. She even went into the old dog house that's covered in cobwebs and dirt. No kitten appears. The girl started to cry; her face turned redder than a child's wagon and her tears ran faster than the Niagara Falls. Her mother rushed to hold Emma and apologized many times.

"I'm so sorry, Em. I didn't know." She stands up slightly and looks at her daughter, wiping away the tears. “Let’s go check the front yard. She could’ve gotten out there.”

“We were just in the front yard, Mom! I would’ve seen her!” Her crying became louder and harsher.

“I know, I know. But she could’ve gotten out to the front when we were in the house. Come on; it’s worth a shot to go look.”

    Emma nodded and sniffled, rubbing her eyes. They went to the front and began the same routine of calling out the cat’s name and searching everywhere. The girl even went far enough to dig into the flower bed. Her mother stopped her and Emma fell to her knees, her heart feeling more broken as the seconds passed. Her best friend was gone and she had no idea what to think. She only knew what she was feeling: deep depression and a feeling worse than hurt. Emma began to choke and gag as the tears became more than just a sniffle. Her mother helped her up and walked her into the living room, having the girl sit on the couch. She didn’t stop crying, at all.

    The small dog slowly and carefully walked up to Emma. She looked at the canine with anger in her eyes and gently pushed him away. He crept up again. She gently pushed him again. He came back. She screamed out and yelled, “Go away! This is all your fault! If we didn’t have you, she wouldn’t be gone!”

Her mother walked into the living room, a large frown on her face. “Hey! This isn’t his fault. Don’t blame him. If anything, it was me because I wasn’t paying attention. I’m so sorry, Emma.” She started to cry herself, staring down at her feet.

Emma quickly jumped up and ran to her mother, hugging her waist as tight as possible. “No, Momma! It’s not your fault! She’s tiny. There’s no way you could’ve known. Like you said, she’s tiny and also pretty sneaky. She’ll be okay. She has a collar and everything, so someone will find her and bring her home. I know it.”

The woman chuckled and embraced her daughter. “You don’t have to make me feel better, honey. But, thank you.”

“I’m gonna go take a nap, Momma. My head hurts.” Emma walked to her room and sat on the bed, sighing slightly. When suddenly, she heard a tiny sound. It seemed familiar so she started to look around the room. She found that it was coming from the middle drawer of her dresser. She finally recognized what the noise was. Cat Meows! She immediately opened her drawer and found a 4 lb. kitten in it. It was her baby, Patches. She screamed in happiness and picked her up, holding her to her chest. 

Emma’s mother walked into her room, saying, “What the heck is going on- Oh! Patches!”

The young girl smiled and nuzzled the cat in her arms. “I know! I was so sad but now she’s here!”

Her mother smiled and patted her daughter’s shoulder. “Okay, okay. I’m glad. Now go give her some food. I’m sure she’s starving.”

Emma nodded and went back to the kitchen, placing Patches down by her food bowl. The feline started to scarf down the food instantly. The girl smiled and breathed out in relief. She ran her hand down the cat’s back and said, “Don’t you scare me like that ever again.”