The rain outside was so heavy.
Was I, Mimi, going to die?
I was so little, so skinny. Why was my home a cardboard box?
My home had been soaked through by the rain. All four corners sagged like a pile of mud.
I, Mimi, had no strength left, not even enough to move. All I could do was bury my head between my front paws. Raindrops battered me, cold and painful, like little stones striking again and again until my whole body shook.
I wanted to call for help, but all that came out of my throat was the faintest breath, drowned out by the rain. No one could hear me.
I must have been thrown away. Yes, thrown away.
Mom was gone, and so were my brothers and sisters. I was all alone.
Oh well. Living like this was so tiring anyway.
I might as well die.
When that thought came to me, I actually felt relieved.
I wouldn't have to look for food anymore, or hide from the rain, or nearly have my tail run over by passing bicycles, or keep getting chased away.
I closed my eyes and curled into an even smaller ball, waiting for the rain to soak me through, waiting for my life to end.
But just then, the rain suddenly stopped.
No, it hadn't stopped. Someone had crouched down and held an umbrella over me, blocking the rain.
"Oh! Why has such a tiny kitten been left here? Where's its owner?"
Her voice was soft, a little breathless.
I struggled to open my eyes a crack and saw a girl.
Her face was so pale, and her lips had hardly any color. Beads of sweat clung to her forehead, and the wind had tousled her hair.
But her eyes were so bright,