By: Alice Li

Luna is a black kitten with the brightest blue-green eyes. When she was born, her owner tossed her out, abandoning her. She crawled to an alleyway where a lost cat called Ginger cared for her. Two months later, however, Ginger died in a car crash. Luna survived but received a deep scar down her back leg. A couple days after the crash, Luna walked along the sidewalk, feeling defeated. Suddenly, a pack of street dogs came running around the corner, looking straight at her!

Luna ran as fast as she could, but the dogs were gaining on her. She saw an opening between two houses and ran through, but it was a dead end! She was trapped. The dogs crept closer, snarling. Their eyes glowed red as if they were being controlled. The dogs backed Luna into a dark corner. “There’s got to be a way to escape!” Luna thought desperately. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an old red ball lying in the alleyway.

Luna dashed to one side and picked up the ball with her teeth. She tossed it out of the alleyway, and the dogs ran after it, leaving her free to go. She trotted away, proud.

Luna crawled to a doorstep and sat down. It had been a hard day, and she figured she would sleep here tonight. Luna closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. A while later, the door creaked open, and a seven-year-old boy walked out. He had piercing blue eyes and blond hair. The little boy saw Luna sleeping on the doorstep. “Mama! There’s a kitten on our doorstep!” He called. “I hope this isn’t a joke Max.” “No, it isn’t Mama!” he responded. Max stumbled down the steps and picked Luna up. Luna opened her eyes and yawned. She stared up at Max, who stared back. He saw Luna’s collar, the golden circlet with her name imprinted on it. “Luna.” Max whispered. In that moment, they knew they were destined to be best friends forever.

Now, Max is an adult. He and Luna grew up together, sharing wonderful memories. As Max walked along the beach with Luna perched on his shoulder, he sighed contently. “We’ll stick together until the end, won’t we?” he asked Luna. She meowed in reply. Max took Luna in his arms, and the two of them watched the sun set down in the water, light rippling through the waves.