Today seems different though. I woke up, ate breakfast, and played with Sadie, but when I went to eat dinner, it wasn’t sitting out like it usually is. Sadie and I looked and looked, but we couldn’t find it. It was so weird! Then, after Sadie had given up and gone to lay down, I decided to look one more time. I knew I smelled it, but I just couldn’t see it. Then, I rounded the corner of a bush and there it was! I thought about going to get Sadie, but she was probably asleep, so I decided to have dinner and then go and let her know where it was.

Except, when I walked up to the bowl, something strange happened. First, I heard a snap noise and then something came down behind me. I turned around quickly, but instead of the bush, I saw a wall. It was so weird, guys. I could see the bush through the spaces between the bars, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get past it. I was stuck!

Then, a hand reached in and took away the food bowl. I thought for sure that they were going to let me out, but nope! They removed the bowl and then walked away. A few minutes later, they came back and suddenly I was floating. I wondered if this is what a leaf felt like when the wind picked it up and carried it.

I wasn’t scared. I know I should have been, but I wasn’t. I was more curious. I was wondering what was happening, who was carrying me, and where we were going. I didn’t have very long to wonder because it seemed like I had just been picked up when whoever it was set me down again. I peeked through the crate’s door and there was my friend, Kim. She smiled at me and told me that she would feed me again as soon as we got to where we were going.

I nodded and she closed the door to the car. Oooh, I forgot to tell you, she put the crate on the backseat of her car. Then, we were off! I couldn’t really see where we were going, but from the way that I swayed, I could tell that we took a few turns. I’d sway to the left, sway to the right, and then finally I just curled up before I fell over. The ride must have been pretty relaxing because I woke up when the car stopped.

The door opened and within moments after that, another door opened, and we walked into a well-lit laundry room. The crate door was opened, and Kim invited me to come out. “Sorry to scare you, Mittens, but I needed a safe way to bring you here.”

“Here? Where is here?” I meowed.

“I’m hoping that you’ll like it here and decide to live here from now on. I promise that you’ll be well taken care of. You’ll have delicious food, water, and lots of toys.”

I blinked up at her. Home? I was in a home? I had dreamed about living in a home, but I didn’t think that it would ever happen. I decided right there that I would give this home a try. I noticed that Kim seemed nervous, so I smiled up at her and gave her a hug.

That night, I had a cozy bed made of blankets to sleep in. Kim fed me the best food I had ever tasted. It looked and smelled just like the food that I ate all the time, but somehow it tasted better. There was always fresh water whenever I looked. It never had dirt or leaves in it. It was getting late, so I decided to get some sleep before I checked out these toys that she had mentioned. I had never really had anything other than sticks and my imagination for toys before.

The next morning, I woke up early and explored the house. It seemed nice, but it was really quiet. I was used to the noise of being outside and other cats being around me. That reminded me…what about Sadie? Was she okay? Did she know where I was? I had to talk to Kim immediately so I jumped up on the bed where she was and started nudging her with my paw.

“Well, good morning, Mittens. What can I do for you?”

“What about Sadie? She’s my best friend. Does she know what happened?”

“Sadie knows. I made sure that she knew about it. I even asked her if she wanted to come along too, but she said she’s an outdoor adventuring cat, but that she knows this is your dream. I hope she was right. I’d really like for you to stay.”

I nodded, thinking about my best friend. It would be just like her to want this for me while she followed a different adventure. I hoped that she had an amazing adventure and that I would hear about it.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll hear from her. She said she’d send you postcards and letters.”

I smiled and hopped back down off the bed. It was time for breakfast, and I was ready to eat and then check out those toys. Guess what, guys! Toys are awesome! Kim had bought me balls and things to chase and even a great big tower for me to climb.

It took me a few days of thinking about it, but, in the end, I decided to stay with Kim and to have a home of my own. I even convinced her to get a kitten since I missed Sadie. I thought the best thing to do was to give another kitten a home so that neither of us would be alone. After all, I had plenty of toys to share. 

There isn’t a time in my life that I can remember where I wasn’t playing a sport. From the time I was little, my dad and I would go into the backyard and either throw a football or a baseball back and forth. Sometimes we would kick a soccer ball. It was a lot of fun and as I grew older, I got to play things like kickball in gym class. If it involved a ball, I wanted to play. That hasn’t changed, even though I’m an adult now.

I played football and baseball when I was in high school. I was pretty good at both of them. During the summer, I played soccer with my friends. It seemed like if I wasn’t doing homework or in school, I was on a field somewhere. I loved it.

Then, I went to college and had to decide which sport I wanted to play. I couldn’t play football, baseball, and soccer anymore. There just wasn’t enough time with classes, homework, and hanging out with my friends. In the end, I decided that I wanted to play baseball. It was my dad’s favorite sport and one that I had always loved. I wanted to make sure that he was proud of me.

I did pretty good in college. So good, that after I graduated, a professional baseball team wanted me to come and play for them! I couldn’t believe it. Instead of managing teams, I was going to get to keep playing for one!

I remember my very first game. My family and friends were in the crowd, and I was really nervous. What if I struck out? What if I hit the ball, but tripped and fell while I was running? Before I knew it, it was my turn at bat. I’d been so worried about what might happen that I didn’t even notice that the batters in front of me had all gotten onto base and it was now bases loaded.

I swallowed hard and made my way to the batter’s box. I could hear my family cheering me on. I closed my eyes for a second and then stepped forward to show that I was ready. I took another deep breath and waited for the first pitch. When it came, I swung at it, but missed. The same thing happened with the second pitch.

I stepped back for a moment and adjusted my hat. The crowd had gotten really quiet. I glanced up and saw my dad sitting in the stands. He nodded at me, and it reminded me of all the times we had played catch in the backyard. I smiled and stepped back up to the plate.

This time, when the ball came, I was ready for it. I took a deep breath, swung my bat, and heard the crack of the ball as it hit it. I watched as it went soaring and my teammates started running. I started running too and before I had made it to first base, I heard the announcer yell, “Home run! Salem has hit a grand slam at his first time at bat!”

As I rounded third base, I looked up into the stands and there stood my father, yelling and cheering with the rest of the fans in the crowd. His eyes met mine and he smiled. He was proud of me, and you know what? I was proud of me too. I had done something that some players only dream about and even if it never happens again, it happened to me that time. 

Then, one day, someone took Mittens to live somewhere else. I was so sad to see her leave, but happy that she’d always have a warm bed to sleep in and yummy food whenever she wanted it. Living in a nice, warm house was Mittens’ dream and it was coming true.

After she left, I sulked around. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t even come out when the man came who fed us. After a while, everyone thought that I had left. Then, one day, I was thinking about how Mittens’ dream came true, and I decided that it was time to help make my own dream come true. I would become a real life pirate.  I would find my own ship and I would sail the seas.

Finding a ship shouldn’t be hard. I lived in Florida which is surrounded by a lot of water. There had to be boats somewhere. The next morning, I packed up my few things and headed out towards the closest water that I knew of. When I got there, I followed a man who looked like he might be a sailor. I was right! He led me right to the biggest boats that I had ever seen.

I walked up the dock. The further I walked, the bigger the boats became. Some of them were big enough to have entire cities on them! I wasn’t interested in a boat that big. I wanted a smaller boat, one where I wouldn’t get lost every time I tried my paw at swashbuckling.

I decided that I had better head back the way that I had come. Sure enough, the boats kept getting smaller, but they were all pretty big. I was about to give up by the time that I got to the end of the dock. All of the ships were just too big for this pirate cat. Then, right there, at the very end of the dock was the perfect pirate ship! As I stood there watching, they even lowered a gangplank. This was the ship for me.

Keeping my eyes on the gangplank, I slowly approached the boat. This was the part that I wasn’t sure about. I couldn’t just take over their ship. That would be like the bad pirates that I had heard about. I didn’t want to be one of those. I wanted to be the kind that swished swords as they sang sea shanties. That kind didn’t seem like they would just take over a ship. I guessed it was time to talk to the captain.

I had perfect timing. As soon as I got to the end of the gangplank, the captain appeared at the top. He was a tall man with a big, bushy beard that was as white as the ocean spray. His face looked like it had been in the sun for days, but he had a twinkle in his eyes that gave me the confidence to walk up the gangplank towards him.

When I reached the top, he smiled down at me while I saluted him.

“Why are you saluting me?” he asked.

“You’re the captain of this fine ship, aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes I am.”

“Then you deserve the respect of a simple salute.”

Sadie could have sworn that the man blushed beneath his rugged tan.

“Well then, Miss, what can I do for you?”

“I would like to officially join your crew as a pirate. I will swab the decks, swashbuckle, sing sea shanties, and wear a fancy hat. I would prefer not to wear an eyepatch though. Those are hard to see through.”

“Have you ever been to sea? It can be a rough life.”

“I have not, but my life up until now hasn’t been easy.”

Sadie told the captain about her life in the schoolyard and how her friend, Mittens, had followed her dreams and now it was time for her to do the same. The captain nodded often, listening to her tale.

“That does sound rough. Well, Miss…I’m sorry, what is your name?”

“Sadie, sir.”

The captain smiled. “Well, Miss Sadie, if you’re sure you want to do this, we would be happy to have you. Come aboard.”

Sadie smiled and picked up her bag. She took one last look around and then marched up the gangplank, ready to start her life as a pirate.