Dakota's Past

The five year old girl held back tears as she walked the short stroll to her home. Children with their parents pointed and laughed or said offensive names. The parents either looked the other way or whispered their own insults as the cat flattened her ears back against her head. Just another day of being out casted by the world. Nothing could be worse than being born into a normal family, in a normal town with normal people. But poor Dakota was the only thing in the whole town that was “unnatural” or so they called her. With not only the ears and tail of a cat, Dakota had the ability to fully turn into a common house cat but was forbidden to ever do so. The girl's parents forced her to wear a hat to hide her ears and uncomfortably tuck her tail in her jeans. She hated her life but what could a little girl do?

To protect their only daughter, Dakota's parents pulled her from school. For the rest of her life she would be home schooled and no longer allowed to leave the back yard. The little girl grew up almost like any other little girl. Her bloodline was a secret she was not allowed to ask about, she hid her ears and tail when out in public and was barely allowed to even play in the back yard of her own home. The parents covered up lies with lies that Dakota had no choice but to believe.

When Dakota became a young woman, she became sick of her house. Against her parents wishes, the cat burned all her hats and left out into the world. She wanted a fresh start. To have fun and enjoy the life she was born with. Not to be locked away like some monster. There had to be another like herself. There is no way Dakota was the only one in the world a little different. But as the cat walked, she had flashbacks of those horrible days when people pointed or whispered as passing people stared at her. Her ears flattened and she suddenly wished she had kept the hats her parents had bought her. She was tempted to head home but the cat was determined and she was not going to let these people bully her back into hiding. It was time to show the world what it's been missing. Lifting her ears back up, Dakota walked proudly for the first time in her life.

As days passed, word quickly spread about the cat girl wondering around. Before long people were actually stopping to stare, take photos or even ask her questions. The cat became nervous with all the attention. She began to try and stay out of sight. She wanted to be free. Not become a freak for the would to gawk at. So the cat begin to wonder at night. Less people to bother her but it made it hard to sight see. Dakota was starting to give up on her dreams of being a normal girl.

During one night, while the cat had turned into her real cat form and curled up in a box down an alley, Dakota tried to sleep. It was a cool night so she covered up in old newspapers but it was better than being cold. Little did she know, a magical school had heard of the helpless cat and wanted to help her out. Give her the training she needed and teach her the knowledge she longed for. So the headmistress used her magic to send the lost cat an invite to her academy, knowing the cat would be welcomed with open arms and surrounded by creatures that would not judge the cat. All that was left was for Dakota to accept the invite and all her troubles would be over.

Stretching the next morning, Dakota was ready to set off when she noticed a strange letter sitting nicely in front of the falling apart box. What caught her attention was her name on the front. Morphing back into her human form and picked up the letter. The cat's ears stood up as she opened the letter carefully. The letter was beautiful written and was easy to read but Dakota could not believe the words before her eyes. This letter could be the answer to all her wishes and dreams and all she had to was speak a single word.

Jumping to her feet, Dakota yelled the word yes. In that moment she suddenly appeared in front of large iron gates. Looking around a little freaked out about what just happened, the cat realized she was no in danger. Stepping up the gate, Dakota jumped when they opened on their own. Still new to magic from her parents hiding everything she was suppose to know, Dakota didn't realize it was normal for a few minutes. Taking a deep breath, Dakota slowly stepped past the gates and followed the directions in the letter to the headmistress's office to get the next set of directions.

Once the cat was set up, Dakota headed for her dorm room. She felt rude but could not stop her eyes from staring at the creatures that made up the academy. And for the first time in the cat's life, Dakota felt at home.