She still remembered the first day she arrived in the sleepy suburban town, her car packed with hurried boxes and pieces of a broken life. The two-story house had creaked under the weight of years, but there was a softness to it, a promise of healing she hadn’t found anywhere else.
As she carried her belongings up the narrow attic steps, her foot caught on an old cardboard box, and from within, a faint movement stirred. Nestled between forgotten decorations was a tiny white kitten, no larger than her hand, its mother nowhere to be seen, its blue eyes wide with fear.