By: AB G

Where is that soccer ball? The sound of leaves crunching below my feet frightens me as if an animal is coming to attack me. Turning my head all the way around, I spot a black figure, about the size of my arm. It is all going to be ok. It is totally not a huge monster coming to attack me. Thoughts run back and forth through my head, and I pick up the nearest stick just in case whatever this is, is hazardous. My pupils shift from left to right, as I scan my surroundings.

A branch breaks off a tree and startles me. I jump and turn around realizing that a black cat is right below me. Its piercing green eyes make eye contact with mine and I look at its messed-up fur right on the top of its head. It looks as if it has not eaten in years, and its ribs peak out through its skin. “Hey there, are you hungry?” I ask it. I pull a half-eaten granola bar out of my backpack, rip off a tiny piece, and set it down in front of the cat. It gobbles it up and smacks its lips. “I’ll call you Emerald, for your eyes,” I tell him. Emerald starts to run off and stops. I infer that he wants me to follow him. Where is this cat going?

I begin to follow him into the woods – how harmful could a cat be? Birds and crickets chirp and the sound of water begins to fill my surroundings. Spots of red, orange, and brown fill the ground as Emerald gazed into the small pond. I make my way over to where he is standing and we look at our reflections. His green eyes are extremely visible in the murky water. A round-shaped brown blob comes into my view, floating over to us. “Emerald, what is that?” I ask him. He reaches his paw into the water and drags the brown blob over to us. This better not be a bomb or something.

I pick up the mysterious item with only two fingers because it is covered in mud. Dropping it in the pond to clean it off reveals a checkered black and white pattern, my soccer ball. I check the bottom for my initials HB and they appear. But how did Emerald know I was missing a soccer ball and how did he know where this ball was? I scoop up Emerald into my arms and look deep into his eyes, “You really are a special cat,” I tell him.