The Shadow of Freedom

This is a story that Allison wrote for school last month:

Watching the full moon rise over the suburban wilderness, I raised my head and let out a long lonely howl. A few other neighborhood dogs howled in response, but none of them knew my pain. They were sad that their owners had to go to sleep and stop playing with them. But I wanted freedom. As I let out another cry, my owner banged his fist against the door and yelled at me. This is how my life has been going ever since my owner bought me, and I was tired of it. I knew what I had to do.

Sniffing the collar around my neck, I decided that I could gnaw my way through it and break away from the chains that held me down. I began to chew the collar, and right before I broke through it, I heard a voice behind me that sent shivers down my spine. Turning around, I saw a cat on the fence post, its scarred face and dull, matted fur clearly visible in the moonlight. The cat was different from the other house cats in the neighborhood; it didn’t have a collar around its neck. I realized with a sense of envy that it was a stray. An animal with no chain to hold it back, just the way I wanted to live. “What’s your name mutt?” the cat asked, interrupting my train of thought.

“Senka,” I replied warily, still not trusting the feline. The cat’s amber eyes rested on me and took in my muddy, black fur sticking out in different directions, until they met mine.

“Senka,” the stray repeated with a thoughtful look. “Now, why must you try to run?” In my head, I weighed my options. I could either stay to listen to the flea-bitten stray, or I could nip through the last strand of the fabric and break away to my freedom. At last, I decided that it might be worth it to stay and hear what the cat had to say.

“My owner doesn’t love me,” I explained. “I never get let off my chain.”

The edges of the cat’s mouth turned down into a frown as she heard me. “So that’s what this is about? You’re upset that you don’t have a home?!” The cat spat the out the words with anger. By now I was angry with the stray, but still, I listened. “You should be happy to have an owner!” it continued.

I closed my eyes and appeared to be deep in thought. Finally, I opened my eyes and smiled. “Okay,” I said, “I’ll stay.”

The cat appeared to be surprised by my response. “Good,” it said. “’Bout time you young ones started listening to your elders.” The cat stood up with a smile on its face- it was clearly proud of itself. “Good day to you.” Then, it left.

Grinning, I whipped my head around and snapped the collar with a quick nip. Taking in my first breath of freedom, I burst through the gate and into the street. Looking around, I was overwhelmed by the sights I saw. Hearing my owner coming, I began to run down the street. I, Senka, shadow, was free.