A Promise Fulfilled Chapter One: A Sick Little Girl

In a tiny hospital bed, a little girl shifted uneasily between levels of consciousness, her breathing labored. The tall machines next to her beeped noisily; making sleep nearly impossible. She nearly wept tears of frustration.

Suddenly, without warning, the beeping of the machines ceased, making the girl panic. She sat up fast, amazed that the action didn't hurt her. She opened her large dark eyes, not to the hospital room she had been resting in, but in a beautifully decorated office, on top of a desk. Sensing someone next to her, she looked over and screamed.

The Cat Man was right next to her, just like her father had warned her might happen. He winced at her vocal abilities as she scrambled off the desk. He closed the large leather-bound book that he must have been reading from and set it aside.

"Please, Miss Yoshioka; there is no need to make a fuss."

She ran for behind a green couch, staring at him fearfully. Right away, she noticed that there were differences between this cat and her father's stories. He had described a half-cat with dark pearly gray fur and a black suit, but this one had orange and cream fur, and wore a light gray suit. Still, she wasn't blind to the similarities.

"Yes there is! Daddy said that if I wasn't a good girl, the Cat Man would take me away! I try…I really try to be good." She curled up behind the couch and started crying, realizing that she was see-through like a ghost. Was she dead? How come she was still in her hospital gown instead of a white robe?

The half cat stared at the couch, trying to figure out the least painful way to do this.

"If it's any consolation, I fully intend to return you to your parents. I was told by a little bird that you're having some problems, and I'd like to help." He could see her dark brown hair next to the armrest as she sat up.

"Why do you want to help? Are you a doctor? It doesn't matter; all the ones Daddy hired say that I'll die within a month anyway."

He sighed and walked over to her. She stiffened as he kneeled next to her, trying to edge away from him. Her large brown eyes stared at him in fear. He sighed again, remembering the soft brown…

"In some ways, I'm better than a doctor, and you won't die if I have any say in the matter. Please hold still." He raised one gloved hand to her face, golden tendrils sneaking outward to explore the girl's face and hair.

She was frightened at first, but then slowly started giggling.

"Hey, that tickles!"

The orange cat smiled and stored the information for future use. After a while, the golden fingers trailed back inside the gloved hand, and he lowered it sadly.

"Just as I expected. Allow me to guess, Miss Yoshioka; you are physically in the best condition that you can be at your age, and the doctors can't figure out why you've experienced a loss of appetite and activity. Your body's beginning to shut down for apparently no reason. You feel low all the time, but it's not quite from depression. You can stare into space for hours, but it feels like merely seconds, because you're imagining something very special."

The little girl's eyes widened.

"How could you know all that?"

He smiled warmly at her, some of the fear beginning to be forgotten.

"I already mentioned that I can be better than a doctor. Now, the reason you've been sick isn't physical, but spiritual. You want something with all your heart and soul, but for some reason, you can't have it. The sadness is eating away at your body."

The girl nodded, looking down at her feet as she struggled not to cry again.

"Yes, there's something I want. But Daddy says that it's evil and terrible, and that nice girls like me shouldn't have anything to do with it. But other daddies let their girls do it without batting an eyelash, and they all stare at Daddy like he's crazy when they find out I'm not allowed to do it. How can something that makes me so happy be as bad as he says? I don't even want to do it professionally… that would take away how special it is."

The orange cat placed one hand on her tiny shoulder, and she looked up into his yellow-green eyes.

"What is it that you want, Miss Yoshioka?"

She sniffed, making the cat draw out a handkerchief for her. He tried to wipe the tears away with a gentle touch, the droplets going through the handkerchief. But the gesture helped.

"I want to dance, and my name's Haru. What's yours?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

An attendant came into the room, a boxful of medicine in her hands. She set the box down in order to check on the little patient, and gasped.

All of her internal signs were suddenly improving at an astonishing rate, and the girl was finally sleeping peacefully, a content smile on her lips.