The night was cold, but that did not deter the trick-or-treaters from roaming around the street and knocking on others doors; or the small black cat. She looked up at the Halloween decorations, everything from graves to spiderwebs. But the thing she was most afraid of were the people. She was just looking for something to eat and stumbled on to the main road, where everyone was trick-or-treating. 

As the cat darted into the crowd, the people seemed to clear around her almost as if they were afraid of her. She paid no attention to that, though, as the only thought in her mind was that she needed to find something to eat. Then she remembered that a nice woman had been feeding some strays and ran down a dark street, where there were almost no people. A nice change compared to the busy main street. The air still smelled weirdly sweet, like candy, even off the road. There were not nearly as many decorations but there were still a few lights and spiderwebs. The cat then turned down an alley, as she recalled the nice woman living down the alley. As the cat walked down the alley, a car turned in the same direction as her. Before she even had a chance to jump out of the way the car sped up. And a sickening crunch filled the air, followed by a yelp. A trail of red followed the little cat as she dragged herself out of the way. She started to lick her wounds. By then the nice old woman had already gone to bed.  

In the morning, an old woman went out her back door only to find a small back cat.

The old woman exclaimed in a very frail voice,“Oh my, you look hurt little one, let me get you some food then we can go to the vets, ok, you stay right here.” 

The old woman hobbled back into her house, which when the cat looked up, seemed fairly small. The cat began to lick her wounds again, as she finished cleaning herself the old woman came back outside but this time with a can of tuna. The cat could smell it and she licked her lips. The old woman crouched down and set the tuna down near the cat’s head and the small cat immediately began to eat it up. 

“My my, you were hungry. You sure are cute you know,” the woman said with a smile. “My name is Jane, we’ll need to get you a name after we get that injury looked at.” 

The cat purred after finishing the tuna. The woman then picked the small cat up and carried her to the car.

After a while of driving and the old woman’s singing to the radio, they arrived at a white building with a blue roof. The old woman picked up the cat and walked into the vet. The air smelled very sterile but also like other animals. 

“Hello, what can we do for you?” A man in a white coat said from behind a wooden desk.

 “My cat is injured and I would like to get her looked at,” The old woman said.

 “Yes ma’am, here is some paperwork you will need to fill out. What is her name?”

The old woman looked down at the little cat in her arms and said with a smile, “Raven.”