Kayli opened her apartment door, wincing as the hinges gave their ritual squeal. A tall young man in his twenties stood there shuffling his feet, his densely freckled face flushing in mild embarrassment.
"Can I help you?" Kayli asked. The man looked somewhat familiar, although she couldn't quite place where she had seen him.
He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, um, I'm Chase," he said. "I live two doors down?"
So that what was so familiar about him. She must have seen him pass by her door once or twice. "Yes?" she said.
"Well, the thing is, I recently found out that my cat has been treating your apartment like a second home, and while I apologize for this, I really do need him back," he said in a rush. "He's due to go to the vet today at one."
Kayli stared. "What cat?" she asked.
Chase was taken aback like her answer was completely unexpected. "He--he's a silver-spotted Egyptian Mau," he stammered, sounding flabbergasted. "He would be very hard to miss."
Kayli shrugged. "I'm sorry, but there haven't been any cats in this apartment since I moved in."
"Are you sure?" Chase asked. "Because I'm sure he came..." He trailed off, staring at the floor behind Kayli.
Kayli turned around, and there, staring up at her with calm, green eyes, was a silver-spotted Egyptian Mau.
"How did...?" Kayli asked, stunned. The cat sauntered over to her, rubbed itself against her legs, purring, and peered out at Chase from between her legs.
Chase sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I apologize. Sterling can be a bit...." He sighed again. "Come on, Sterling, leave the lady alone."
"What's the matter, Chase? Don't like my new owner?" a smug voice came from down by Kayli's feet.
Kayli thought she had imagined it until Chase answered. "She's not your owner, you stupid cat. Now get over here."
With a frightened squeal, she took an involuntary step backward and tripped over the cat, landing solidly on her rump. "Your cat!" she yelped. "He talked!"
Chase looked at her in surprise. "You can hear him?" he asked.
"Of course she can hear me," Sterling remarked, jumping into her lap. "Why do you think I chose her?"
Kayli's mouth opened and closed wordlessly as she stared at the cat, who was now settling comfortably in her lap.
"You chose her and yet you remained invisible to her until now?" Chase asked, effectively ignoring Kayli's apparent state of shock.
"Naturally," Sterling replied. "I did the same thing with you for the first two weeks as well."
Kayli looked back and forth between Chase and Sterling in complete bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"
Chase bit his lip and scratched at his scalp as if trying to figure out how to explain it. "Sterling is...well, he's a magic cat."
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