Safe and Sound

Patricia’s mom was just turning off the highway when they saw the man in front of them drop a small bag out of his car window. A small tail poked out of the opening. They watched as the bag tumbled down the slope and landed near the river. Something felt wrong about the situation, so the two decided to pull the car over and check things out.

As they got out of the car, they realized the hike down the bank was rocky. Patricia’s mom was still wearing her heels from work, and there was no way she would be able to make the climb down the side of the hill. “Let me go, Mom,” Patricia begged her mother as she pointed to her tennis shoes. “I can make the climb easily.”

Her mother looked torn. She had a feeling she knew what was in the bag, and if they waited too long to retrieve it, it would be too late, but she didn’t feel good about letting her daughter go down the hill alone. Her daughter’s foot was much too small though for them to trade shoes, and the house was still too far away for her to go home and get a different pair of shoes.

Reluctantly, she agreed to let Patricia make the climb down but on one condition: “Don’t open the bag until you bring it all the way up, and if you can’t make the climb back up with the bag in your hand, then you’ll just have to leave it behind for now until we can get your father and come back.” Patricia agreed and made the climb down. It was easier than she thought because many of the rocks made steps where she could climb down. She grabbed the bag and thought she heard a sound from inside, but she had promised her mother she wouldn’t look, so she began the climb back up.

Again, the climb was made easier rather than harder by the placement of the rocks. She used them to guide herself quickly up the top of the hill.

When she reached the top, she handed the bag to her mother. Her mother untied the string, and just as she had suspected, inside was a small, gray kitten. The kitten looked none the worse for wear but extremely happy to be released from the bag.

Patricia looked at her mother with tears in her eyes. Her mother squeezed her tight and said, “Let’s get our newest family member home.”