11/01/2026
The little orange cat stood in the alley clutching a worn wallet with both paws. It was far too big for him, heavy with hope and almost empty of money. Tears slipped from his wide eyes, falling onto a shirt that had been torn by too many unlucky days.
Once, he’d had a warm windowsill and a bowl that was always full. Then the world shifted—one missed step, one closed door, one night that never quite ended. Now he waited here, trembling, not from the cold, but from the fear that no one would stop.
Still, he held the wallet open, not begging loudly, not crying out—just asking silently for kindness.
And somewhere beyond the blur of the streetlights, a pair of footsteps slowed.
