The sky was her quilt.
The earth was her bed.
Blue skies and white clouds still drifted serenely overhead.
In the final moments of her life, a calico cat lay silently on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
Little Little.
Her Little Little.
I'm sorry, my child.
"I... really did everything I could.
"I tried with all my might, but I still couldn't see you one more time."
The three thugs hadn't left yet.
One of them said, "Brother Qiang, what do we do?"
"This cat doesn't look dead yet."
Brother Qiang sneered, then spat in contempt. "She's nothing but an old bag of bones, and she's still clinging to life. Wouldn't surprise me if she's turned into a monster."
"Should we put her out of her misery?"
Brother Qiang was even more dismissive. He wiped his worn-out shoes. "Forget it. She's just an animal. I'd get my feet dirty kicking her. A good beating will do."
When the calico cat heard them say she was clinging to life, it was as if strength welled up from the depths of her heart. Perhaps it was a last burst of life before death. Somehow, relying on the last of her willpower, she tried once more to slowly get back on her feet.
That was right.
She still had a daughter.
She couldn't die here.
She had to see Little Little, if only once. She could die after that.
She had held on all these years.
She had to see her daughter with her own eyes, just once.
It was the final obsession in her heart, turning into the core conviction that kept her going.
Under the three thugs' disbelieving gazes,
the elderly calico cat really did manage to slowly stand up.
She was frantically circulating the last remnants of her