Three years was neither a long time nor a short one.
I really did learn a few things from cultivating.
For instance, I could understand human speech.
Not just what my owner said. I could understand all that babbling from the people on TV, too.
For instance, I could turn my paws into human fingers.
They were always furry at first, and the paw pads were still there, but after a few more tries, they started looking right.
And I could finally take human form.
But there was a problem.
I stood before the mirror, looking at the naked person reflected in it, and kept feeling that something was off.
Those two familiar points were still sticking up from my head, all furry, twitching every now and then.
My ears! Why were my ears still there?
I pressed them down with my hands, trying to hide them in my hair, but they popped right back out.
I tried retracting them, too, but the harder I tried, the straighter they stood, like radar antennas.
I'm done for. If I go out like this, will I scare my owner?
I paced anxiously in front of the mirror. Everyone else who cultivated into a human turned out pretty and smooth. Why did I get stuck with two Bugles on my head?
Only later did I learn that my cultivation wasn't strong enough. I couldn't hide my cat ears yet. I needed more practice.
I was already working so hard. But I was running out of time.
My owner had been going to the hospital every day lately.
She spent longer and longer away, and less and less time at home.
Sometimes she didn't come back all day, leaving me alone in the room, staring blankly at that empty little box.
I didn't know