155 comments

Historical Fiction Fiction Sad

๐“๐“พ๐“ฝ๐“ฑ๐“ธ๐“ป'๐“ผ ๐“๐“ธ๐“ฝ๐“ฎ: ๐“˜ ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ท'๐“ฝ ๐“ฑ๐“ช๐“ฟ๐“ฎ ๐“ถ๐“พ๐“ฌ๐“ฑ ๐“ฝ๐“ธ ๐“ผ๐“ช๐”‚ ๐“ช๐“ซ๐“ธ๐“พ๐“ฝ ๐“ฝ๐“ฑ๐“ฒ๐“ผ. ๐“˜๐“ฝ'๐“ผ ๐“น๐“ป๐“ฎ๐“ฝ๐“ฝ๐”‚ ๐“ผ๐“ฑ๐“ธ๐“ป๐“ฝ ๐“ซ๐“พ๐“ฝ ๐“˜ ๐“ฏ๐“ฎ๐“ฎ๐“ต ๐“ต๐“ฒ๐“ด๐“ฎ ๐“ฒ๐“ฝ ๐“ถ๐“ธ๐“ผ๐“ฝ๐“ต๐”‚ ๐“ฏ๐“ฒ๐“ฝ๐“ผ ๐“ฝ๐“ฑ๐“ฎ ๐“น๐“ป๐“ธ๐“ถ๐“น๐“ฝ. ๐“˜'๐“ถ ๐“ฑ๐“ธ๐“ท๐“ฎ๐“ผ๐“ฝ๐“ต๐”‚ ๐“ท๐“ธ๐“ฝ ๐“ผ๐“พ๐“ป๐“ฎ ๐“ช๐“ซ๐“ธ๐“พ๐“ฝ ๐“ฒ๐“ฝ, ๐“ผ๐“ธ ๐“ฏ๐“ฎ๐“ฎ๐“ญ๐“ซ๐“ช๐“ฌ๐“ด ๐“ฒ๐“ผ ๐“ช๐“น๐“น๐“ป๐“ฎ๐“ฌ๐“ฒ๐“ช๐“ฝ๐“ฎ๐“ญ. ๐“ฃ๐“ฑ๐“ช๐“ท๐“ด๐“ผ ๐“ฏ๐“ธ๐“ป ๐“ป๐“ฎ๐“ช๐“ญ๐“ฒ๐“ท๐“ฐ!


Six years.


Thatโ€™s how long I spent on that ship, the ship that never seemed to go anywhere good. The wind took our sails from one bomb to another, one battle to another. Never anywhere good.


I didnโ€™t have a purpose there, they could have survived this thing they call a โ€œwarโ€ without me. A few extra rats donโ€™t make the difference between life and death. But that didnโ€™t matter to them, they kept me on the floating disaster as nothing more than a solution to their rodent problem. I didnโ€™t have any choice but to kill one rat after another, to watch the blood stain the deck of the boat, to lose a part of myself with every passing day.


That ship took everything from me.ย 


Iโ€™ll never forget the explosion, the one I wasnโ€™t able to run from in time. The one that left me without a tail. I always loved having a tail, I could never understand how the Bipeds live without one. My tail was my balance, my best way to communicate, the way I expressed myself. Not anymore. Not after that bomb.


When I curled up in my hammock every night, the one Wyatt made me, my fur stood on end. When cold gusts of wind swept through the corridors in the middle of the night, smelling of death, my exposed nose seemed to freeze.ย But worst of all, when I lay awake freezing in the middle of the night, I couldnโ€™t wrap my tail around my body to preserve my warmth. I could only stare at the stub of where it used to be.ย 


As you might be able to tell, I hated the Bipeds. Well, all except for one. Heโ€™s gone now, though, and he isnโ€™t coming back. The disgusting thing they call a โ€œwarโ€ took him.


Wyatt made me less sure all Bipeds are appalling while he was with me on the endlessly sailing ship. All of them looked the same to me, with their identical uniforms and short, dark hair. All except Wyatt. It was something in his eyes that made me jump up into his waiting lap instead of retreating to the corner and hissing as I did around the other soldiers.


When Wyatt first found me, a stray having wandered onto the ship by mistake, he took me in. Feeding me scraps of food and convincing the captain to let me stay on as a โ€œship catโ€ as they called it. I was grateful then, now I wish I would never have stumbled upon this place. Back then I didnโ€™t know the ship was a vessel of death.


Wyatt didnโ€™t see us as two different species, he saw us as two souls fighting our way through the war together. He didnโ€™t treat me as a lesser being, calling me โ€œanimalโ€ in the condescending tone the other soldiers used, he called me Emmet. The name he gave me.ย 


โ€œWe wonโ€™t be here forever, Emmet,โ€ he would tell me, โ€œSomeday all of this will be over, and weโ€™ll be free. Youโ€™ll be able to come home with me and get off this god darn ship for good. I promise you that.โ€


The thing they call a โ€œwarโ€ made him break that promise.


Heโ€™s gone now, though. Thereโ€™s no sense in talking about him anymore.


๐ŸŸˆ๐ŸŸˆ๐ŸŸˆ


Ezra. Another crewmate on that cursed ship. I didnโ€™t personally care for him, but Wyatt seemed to trust him so I didnโ€™t run when he entered a room. Three days ago he told me heโ€™s taking me home to his family. I heard he has a child, Iโ€™m not excited. But anywhere seems better than where Iโ€™ve been.


He shoves me into a metal crate, leaving me to peer powerlessly out at the passing sights as he walks. He swings the carrier from side to side, making me slide back and forth inside. But Iโ€™m not surprised, the Bipeds are never considerate.ย 


When he walks us to the door and knocks, the door is immediately flung open by his tearful family. His wife, Hannah he calls her, looks so pale she might faint in the doorway. Their little girl, Mila watches. Sheโ€™s only five years old, Ezra said. She hasnโ€™t lived long enough to meet her father. Ever since she was born her dad was an imaginary figure, a superhero as her mother called him, never anyone she knew.


Ezra pulls her into a hug, leading her to the living room where he collapses onto the couch, letting Hannah cry into his shirt mumbling incoherent chopped-up sentences. Mila takes it in, standing beside my crate that has been left by the door.ย 


She slowly approaches my crate, her bare feet slapping against the floor, and she reaches out one hand to let me sniff. She smells like peanut butter cookies and applesauce. Not blood or death.


โ€œHere kitty kitty, come out and say hi,โ€ she says, opening the crate door and beckoning me forward. I cautiously step out onto the slippery floor. It feels strange to be standing on the still ground after so long on the water.ย 


Her hands are sticky, getting stuck in my ashy fur as she runs her fingers through it. The Bipeds never seemed to know how to clean themselves properly.


โ€œNice kitty,โ€ she whispers softly as she pets me. I donโ€™t hiss at her or run, she has an innocence to her that seems hard to come by these days.


๐ŸŸˆ๐ŸŸˆ๐ŸŸˆ


They tell me this place is home.ย 


I wonder, was the battleship home? I certainly wasn't happy there, but Iโ€™m not happy here either. Neither place makes me feel complete.


Every morning Mila pours kibble into a bowl on the floor and says, โ€œBreakfast time, kitty kitty.โ€


I reluctantly eat the dry food while she strokes my fur gently. I donโ€™t care for the Bipeds, but I can stand her.


Every night Mila picks me up, holding me close to her body as she walks into her room that is covered in daisy wallpaper. She sets me on her bed as she brushes her teeth then climbs under the covers next to me.ย 


โ€œSweet dreams, kitty kitty,โ€ she tells me.


I mew, then curl up in the puffy covers. The small blanket she drapes over me almost makes up for my lack of a tail.


As she slowly drifts off to sleep, her small wisps of her breathing evening out, I yawn and curl up to her side.


The thing they call a โ€œwarโ€ scarred all of us; young and old, furry and hairless, innocent and guilty. Even though the war has ended, the pain stayed with all of us. My only hope is that we can learn to bear the memories eventually.


February 08, 2021 23:26

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

155 comments

00:47 Feb 10, 2021

๐Ÿฆ”

Reply

Maya -
00:50 Feb 10, 2021

Thanks! :D

Reply

02:24 Feb 10, 2021

:) It was my pleasure!

Reply

Maya -
02:49 Feb 10, 2021

:)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Nora Ouardi
01:40 Feb 18, 2021

This is great! I loved the vocabulary, and how you really touched into the characters feelings! I have no feedback for you, because it is perfect, in my opinion! If you wanted, you could check out my first submisson and give me some feedback! It's not as popular as I would like it to be, landing its spot at 5 likes lol, but tt's a good start!

Reply

Maya -
01:58 Feb 18, 2021

Thank you so much! I read it and commented! :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Michael Boquet
17:58 Feb 11, 2021

Cute story. Making your protagonist a cat was a smart touch. Clever way to write about the prompt too.

Reply

Maya -
22:36 Feb 11, 2021

Thank you, Micheal! :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Radhika Diksha
07:07 Feb 11, 2021

I loved the perspective of an animal who was forcefully made to bear the war. Your idea was very unique and had a well-rounded plot. It was a kinda short memoir about the life story of the cat. You caught the animal's emotions through the different phases of life really well. nice work, keep writing.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Courtney C
01:34 Feb 18, 2021

Very clever take on the prompt! I feel like you nailed the characterization of a dramatic, disgruntled cat, and this was so well written! Just as some constructive criticism, I've noticed that some sentences in your submission could benefit from having a semicolon. Ex. "I was grateful then, now I wish I would never have stumbled upon this place." Ex. I heard he has a child, Iโ€™m not excited. Since you could split this up into two distinct sentences, it makes more sense to have a semicolon. Unless you opt to have two shorter sentences. But,...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Mango Chutney
17:30 Feb 17, 2021

Awesome story.. And from the perspective of the cat.. Loved it.. and the ending is great too..! Well crafted words.. :)

Reply

Maya -
22:31 Feb 17, 2021

Thank you! :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
T. Rezy
00:30 Feb 16, 2021

Interesting take on the prompt, props for thinking outside of the box. I like the symbolism behind the cat losing her tail from the war missing it dearly, to the girl giving her the blanket to keep her warm in place. Love making up for hate, although it will never be the same. I did find it funny that the cat complains about killing the rats however, I would have thought that would be paradise for a cat haha. I would appreciate greatly it if you could check out my latest story "The modern Luddites" and let me know what you think of it, thanks

Reply

Show 0 replies
21:30 Feb 12, 2021

Love this. Is part 3 done yet of the collaboration?

Reply

Maya -
21:34 Feb 12, 2021

I'm just about to finish part 3, after you eat dinner could you do part four? I think then we could probably finish in time.

Reply

21:36 Feb 12, 2021

Maybe. I can only do so much writing per day, and I have homework to do, but maybe?

Reply

Maya -
21:37 Feb 12, 2021

Alright. You could also spam words if you don't finish in time and go back and edit after the deadline. Or do the story without part 4?

Reply

Show 0 replies
Maya -
21:44 Feb 12, 2021

Ooh the part you have so far for part 4 is really great!!!

Reply

21:48 Feb 12, 2021

Thanks! I jsut ahve to finish it... it's kind of long.

Reply

Maya -
21:50 Feb 12, 2021

Okay!! Tell me if you finish tonight so we can submit it. Also, I'll go back and edit and add details. :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Maya -
21:52 Feb 12, 2021

I'm gonna go afk for a sec.

Reply

Show 1 reply
Show 2 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 2 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Danny -
00:13 Feb 12, 2021

Hi Maya, how are you? lol what do you think the new prompts will be about? :>

Reply

Maya -
00:45 Feb 12, 2021

Hiii Danny! I'm okay. Ooh, I'm excited about the new prompts! Idk, what're you hoping for? Also, I LOVE your new pfp and bio!!! :DDD <3

Reply

Danny -
00:58 Feb 12, 2021

Hmm, idk...I hope they're something good, maybe.. Umm, idk there's Valentine's and Chinese New year so... Ohh, thanks..I love yours too :)) <3

Reply

Maya -
01:00 Feb 12, 2021

Ooh yeah, probably romance ones. XD I want to write a sad romance, Idk why I just thought that. XD Thanks! <333

Reply

Danny -
01:01 Feb 12, 2021

Ohh, can't wait to read it...I loooove reading romance :))

Reply

Maya -
01:02 Feb 12, 2021

Ooh me too kinda! :))) Did you read The Selection?

Reply

Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Creed .
02:14 Feb 11, 2021

So, weird how this is similar in someways to one of my books that I wrote elsewhere. There was a character who was injured in an explosion, and in another, there was a character named Ezra. Still, I loved it. Have you seen my story Titan yet? This story has some similarities.

Reply

Maya -
04:34 Feb 11, 2021

Lol that's funny! Oh I'll read that as soon as I get the chance! :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
20:36 Feb 10, 2021

sorry I had to leave :( my internet was being a jerk

Reply

Maya -
21:11 Feb 10, 2021

Aw, it's alright! It was nice playing with you! :)

Reply

21:14 Feb 10, 2021

Thanks! Iโ€™ll try to join the next time you do this!

Reply

Maya -
21:16 Feb 10, 2021

Yay! :DDD

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply

WOAH! I LOVED THIS! GREAT JOB! Hehe! Love the name, btw. ;D

Reply

Maya -
17:11 Feb 10, 2021

Thanks, Fearless! ;D

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply

This is so good!!! It was a very interesting viewpoint and it was a very interesting take on the prompt. Nice job Maya!!

Reply

Maya -
15:50 Feb 09, 2021

Thank you, Luna! :D

Reply

:DD lol just realized I said very interesting twiceXDDD

Reply

Maya -
15:54 Feb 09, 2021

Lol XDD

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
13:43 Feb 09, 2021

HI! So I loved you and Bill's idea to change names to Disney characters... Just thought I'd let you know I'm part of the group lmao. Anyway, I love this story so much (:

Reply

Maya -
13:44 Feb 09, 2021

Awesome! I put you on the list. Sorry if this is rude, but what was your name before? Thanks! (:

Reply

13:55 Feb 09, 2021

It was CJ lol, and you're fine.

Reply

Maya -
14:05 Feb 09, 2021

Ohhhhh, okay. XD Are you Tinky Bell too because I saw that and put it on the list, too. XD

Reply

16:27 Feb 09, 2021

Nope totally not me.. I saw it to lol

Reply

Maya -
16:31 Feb 09, 2021

Lol okay :)

Reply

Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply

I love this viewpoint! Although, I only have one question; Is it a rat or a mouse? Aren't rats more common on ships? I love the line The thing they call a โ€œwarโ€. That could honestly be used in so many different contexts.

Reply

Maya -
13:23 Feb 09, 2021

Thanks so much! Yeah, it would probably be a rat, I just think of them as the same thing. And I say mouse because I feel like people who hate mice/rats would say rats. Lol I'm weird. XD

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Katie May
00:41 Feb 09, 2021

Aww! Adorable!

Reply

Maya -
00:53 Feb 09, 2021

Thanks! :D

Reply

Katie May
01:09 Feb 09, 2021

When are you going to make the seires you have been talking about?? Can't wait!!! :DDD

Reply

Maya -
01:10 Feb 09, 2021

I am soon! I was gonna this week but the prompts are hard since they're all historical fiction. :/

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Lilliane Wei
00:19 Feb 09, 2021

Hi, Maya. I thought this story was extremely unique and a great twist on the prompt. You did a great job portraying all the characters and scenes perfectly. The emotion and intrigue were all there in specific and subtle details, great job! -lily

Reply

Maya -
01:26 Feb 09, 2021

Thanks so much, Lily!!! :D <3

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply

Hi Maya! Loved this story<333 I really thought making it in a cat's perspective is super creative so great work! And loved how he didn't have a tail and he and his owner were on a boat and how stuff ended up for him so loved that!!! Keep it up~

Reply

Maya -
00:54 Feb 09, 2021

Thank you so much, Varsha!!! <333 I really appreciate it! :)

Reply

Maya -
02:21 Feb 09, 2021

<333333 You excited for your birthday tomorrow? XD

Reply

Maya -
02:35 Feb 09, 2021

:DDDDD In October XD I'm a Scorpio. :)

Reply

Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Nainika Gupta
00:05 Feb 09, 2021

Cattttsssss omfg maya this was amazing!!

Reply

Maya -
00:21 Feb 09, 2021

Omg thanks!!! XD

Reply

Nainika Gupta
00:33 Feb 09, 2021

yeah! XD

Reply

Maya -
00:33 Feb 09, 2021

XD

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Danny -
00:04 Feb 09, 2021

Ahhhh Maya, from all the stories I've read for the prompts, this one stands out among all of them.... Wow, how did you even think of a cat to narrate the story in the first place? It's amazinggggg! And I love the name the cat used to call humans.. Biped... That's fancy~ And also, also..... the names!.... For some reason, Wyatt, Ezra, and Emmett should belong in the same category when.... Categorizing names.. Lol they just go so well together... I love this story, if this story doesn't win, I'm going to cry... Great job! :DD

Reply

Maya -
00:18 Feb 09, 2021

Ohmigosh thank you!!! Lol thanks~ I saw thing abut a cat in the navy randomly, so that's where it came from. ;p Yeah I thought so too XDD Thannkkkkk yoouuuuu :DDD <333

Reply

Danny -
00:22 Feb 09, 2021

Of courseeee :))) also, reminds me... There was that bear in the war.....idk..I just thought of it.... Wait what cat are you talking about? The kitten? The ginger cat? XDD

Reply

Maya -
00:24 Feb 09, 2021

:))) Wait- omg- I think I read about that bear in the exact same article. Hehehe I'm not sure... ? XD

Reply

Danny -
00:25 Feb 09, 2021

What?? Really?? I think it was Russian? Not sure, though XD

Reply

Maya -
00:27 Feb 09, 2021

Lol I just saw a picture of a bunch of soldiers and a huge bear sitting with them. XDD Omg urgh I hate playing flute, I'm trying to do my assignment and the website my class uses is saying I'm playing everything wronggggg It says I did the rest incorrect! Omg I didn't even play anything cause it was a REST. Sorryyyy I'm annoyed at the app. XD

Reply

Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in the Reedsy Book Editor. 100% free.