Oversleeping! On her way from the bathroom to the front door, quickly applying lipstick, glancing at herself in the mirror, and hastily throwing on a coat and shoes, Lily was in the elevator just three minutes after waking up.
Stepping outside, she realized it was a drizzly September morning, but there was no time to return for an umbrella. Her traitorous alarm clock had failed her today.
She raced to the bus stop at breakneck speed. Being late for work could be as bad as a no-show, risking her job with her demanding boss.
As Lily considered every possible outcome of the day and grudgingly accepted each one, she mentally bade farewell to her favorite clients, the bonus, and the extra day off she still had from her last holiday.
People hurried past, each lost in their own thoughts, oblivious to everything around them, just like her. Everything seemed grey, boring, and sad, and the rain only added to the day’s dreariness.
With just over two hundred meters to go, Lily suddenly stopped and turned back. By a battered bench sat a small, soaked kitten, alternately lifting its little paws and trying to meow, though all it could do was open its mouth silently.
For a moment, she hesitated—should she keep running or help the tiny creature in apparent distress? Already resigned to being late and facing her boss’s wrath, she decided to help the kitten.
Approaching it, she noticed its back leg was bent at an unnatural angle.
“Oh my gosh! What happened to you?”
Any lingering doubts evaporated like morning mist. The kitten was so wet and cold it trembled like the last leaf in September, clinging to a branch in the wind.
Gently wrapping it in a white scarf, Lily tucked the kitten inside her coat and dashed to the bus stop even faster. She planned to reach her office first before figuring out what to do next. Her kind heart wouldn’t allow her to just leave it behind.
Her attempt to slip unnoticed to her desk failed spectacularly. Just when she turned the last corner toward office 12, she almost made it, but luck wasn’t on her side today—she bumped right into her boss.
“Lily Thompson! An hour late! Where have you been? Who do you expect to do your work? Have you completely lost your mind?”
What followed was a barrage of questions meant to instill a deep sense of guilt in her and widen the chasm between the boss and his shy employee. Soaked through, she was speechless. Tears welled up in her eyes, and indignation choked her.
“Look!” Lily finally managed to say, undoing the top button of her coat. Out poked a little wet face. The kitten, now partly dry and warmer, let out a meek squeak.
“His leg is injured—I couldn’t leave him in the rain alone…”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, her words tangled, and her hands betrayed her trembling. Mentally drafting a resignation letter, she took a step toward her desk to start packing her belongings, but a warm, strong hand stopped her.
Her boss took out his phone, dialed a familiar number, and then wrote an address on a piece of paper, instructing her to go there immediately to help the little furball’s leg.
Surprised by the sudden change in her boss’s behavior, Lily took the slip, stuffed it with her cold-reddened hands into her coat pocket, and hurried to the exit.
“And don’t come back here,” he added.
Her heart sank; despair spread through her body. Was this the end of her brief working life at a job she loved? But then her boss continued,
“You have today and tomorrow off. I’m also commending you with a bonus… for your compassion for our little friends.”
Her boss, Brian George, was a little older than Lily but always seemed stern and unyielding. They only crossed paths at work and very rarely, but whispers about his strictness often swept through the office.
At the veterinary clinic, the vet quickly dealt with the kitten’s leg—no break, just a severe sprain. As the vet bandaged him up, Lily recounted the story of how she found the poor kitten on the street and how her boss first scolded her, then unexpectedly helped.
The vet chuckled and said he knew Brian since childhood. Even as a boy, Brian always helped stray animals, heroically saving puppies from icy water and rescuing kittens from cruel teenagers.
As an adult, he regularly donated to shelters, even giving his first scholarship to a fund for a tailless dog.
But connecting with people was something he always struggled with. Losing his entire family young, he had become closed off and hardened.
This story deeply touched Lily’s heart, and she couldn’t stop thinking about Brian for the rest of the day. She wanted to comfort and support him.
By evening, as the kitten recovered from its ordeal, sleeping peacefully on its owner’s warm, soft bed, Lily set up a space for her new companion. The little one had been through so much that day. Who knew how long it had wandered alone?
As it dozed, it twitched its little paws and occasionally gave tiny squeaks. Now, the loneliness of Lily and her new rescued friend had ended. She was ready to care for her new pet with all her love.
Smiling at the thought, Lily made a cozy bed for Whiskers, a name she thought suited the tiny, vulnerable creature perfectly. Her peaceful thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ring of her phone. It was Brian.
“How’s our little patient doing?”
Lily’s cheeks flushed as she eagerly updated him on the kitten’s condition, expressing her gratitude to him repeatedly. Unexpectedly, Brian invited her to dinner, and they spent the entire evening talking.
This man, who had seemed so distant, was now someone familiar and understandable. And right there with them sat a kitten, its bandaged leg getting all the affection and care it needed from these two kindred spirits.
Soon after, Lily and Brian found joy in helping other unfortunate animals in tough situations and nurturing little Whiskers, who appeared to be a kindred soul, too.
