Leala Leaves

          I said that I would occasionally post pictures that I felt a story behind.  Well this one struck me with the characters.  Both of them.  I could sense the girl's attitude for those she was leaving behind (slight sadness mixed with a touch of bitterness and an overall feeling of being unwanted by them).  I could also sense the cat's intelligence.  I could come up with several stories to explain these, but here is one of them.



       

She looked behind to see if they'd noticed she was gone.  She could see the outlines of her nine cousins against the living room curtains as the wrestled and played.  Her aunt was shouting at her uncle in the kitchen.  She could hear it even from here.  He had forgotten to pick up the groceries on the way home again. 
Well, at least they have one less child to take care of now.  Thought Leala.  She turned once more and got a better grip on the cat she'd bundled up in her blanket. 
"They won't even notice I'm gone for at least a day.  And when they do, it won't matter much." She confided out loud to her burden.
"Perhaps not." the cat replied, looking back as well.
"And you're sure my cousin wants me?  She's never asked me to come through the portal before.  In fact, I didn't even know she existed till now."
"Oh yes.  Lady Madeline asked for you specifically.  With her husband newly dead, she craves a sister with whom to share her large estate.  I told her I'd been watching over you since you were a kit.  That you were alone and needed someone as much as she did.  She was reluctant to ask you to leave your world and father's family behind in favor of a completely new life with someone you'd never met and whom your mother had barely mentioned.  But I told her that was exactly what you had told me you wanted: a fresh start."
"Thank you Burndil." Leala whispered hugging him close.  "What would I do without you?" 
"You'd sit in that window seat staring out at the snowy yard, feeling sorry for yourself for the rest of your days.  Now don't muss my fur too much!  I just took a bath!"
Laughing, Leala skirted the two-rail fence at the edge of the yard and headed into the field.