05 - That Gentle Smile

When he heard that voice, before he could even think, Ataz passed out. His vision had become very blurred. His weak, little body couldn't even stand up to see what was approaching him. At that time, the cat was completely helpless. It could be the end of it.

Some time later, he started to smell something peculiar. It was delicious; it brought back memories of when he was still a kid and his uncle, who took care of him along with his mother, would bring some fresh and warm bread from the store near his hut.

He opened his eyes and his vision was still very blurred. He tried to get up, but his body hurt too much and it was like he was stuck somewhere, or something had stuck to him.

Immediately, he realized the danger that he was in being so incapacitated, and all from having just faced an enemy that was not very powerful, but still fatal for the state that Ataz was in.

Then, he got up as fast as he could and even though he was in immense pain and his vision was not completely restored, he crawled across the floor in desperate search for a way out.

"My god, what are you doing?" Ataz recognized the voice as that of the old woman who had fed him as she suddenly came running from one of the rooms of the house and threw a towel on Ataz's head, causing him to immediately lie on the floor without understanding what was happening.

Someone picked him up and the raspy, feminine voice said to him very calmly, "I know, I know you want to go back to your house, but you're all hurt," as Ataz tried to struggle without much success because of his injuries. The person took him into a room and placed him in a small basket with some blankets next to herself. He did not feel threatened by her, but he did not want to have to humble himself again in order to achieve anything for himself here.

The old lady got up and went to the kitchen. Ataz began to have his vision return little by little. He realized that his black fur was clean now and he no longer had that horrible smell. He also noticed that there were some cloths wrapped around his body, as if they were bandages to protect the wounds that occurred in the battle.

The old lady came back into the room with something in her hand. It was a small blue pot with a little meat inside. "I didn't buy food for you, so for now I will serve you what we have here. But don't worry, our food is very good," she said with a gentle smile on her face. Ataz looked at her with a confused look. "Why is she talking to a cat? Does she know that I'm not a cat?" he thought.

She placed the pot on the floor, right next to where Ataz's basket was, so he wouldn't have to move around much to eat. He sat in front of the pot. "Well, I'm not going to eat this like a dog..."

Ataz took a paw and put it in the pot, and turned the paw to get the food and brought it to his mouth. He ended up dropping half the food from his paw.

"My goodness, kitty. You're making the biggest mess. Don't you know how to eat on the plate?" the old woman said, looking at him confused.

"IS THIS OLD HAG SAYING I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EAT FROM A POT?" he thought, irritably.

"Look if you want, I can use my hand to help you." She took one of her fingers and dipped it into the food in his pot, taking a piece and delivering it straight to Ataz's mouth. He turned his face away.

"WELL THEN!" he thought.

He put his head down very close to the pot and ate all the food as quickly as possible. The old lady looked at him with a startled face. He ate so fast that a few pieces flew to the ground, and then he got up off the top of the pot and quickly picked up the pieces that were on the ground, and then no sooner was he back in the pot.

When it was all over, he looked proudly at the old lady's face, proving that he could do what he wanted. Then the old lady, with a frightened face, turned her expression back into a sweet smile and said, "Good boy, kitten. But be careful that you don't get sick."

Ataz paused for a moment thinking about what he had just done. He had obeyed the old lady's orders, but before he could even do something as a protest, he felt his belly ache right away because he had eaten too fast.

He threw himself onto the improvised basket with blankets the old woman had prepared for him and wished to die due to the strong pain he felt in his belly.

The old lady took one of the covers and said to him, "I said you would be sick. Now cover yourself and rest. Soon you'll be better off playing with the other kittens."

Ataz, even though he has the strength to move, really needed to rest, and he had nothing to lose by staying in that warm and protected place that he had received.

Ataz took advantage of the fact that he was warm, and with the sound of rain hitting the window, he fell into a deep, engulfing sleep in the basket.

---

Everything was on fire. Voices of people could be heard shouting something like: "di... di... di..."

His body was hot; he couldn't move well. Then a white light appeared before his eyes and he didn't see anything else.

"ATAZ? ATAZ! NO!"

He listened. "I know that voice… Where are you?"

Everything went dark and he couldn't hear anything anymore...

---

Ataz got up quickly and fell out of the basket with a wheezing breath. He stood up and looked around, a little bewildered. "It was just a dream. But whose voice was that? Why can't I rem-" Before he could even finish his sentence, he heard the creaking sound of the door behind the huge sofa in front of him.

"Dona Rosa? I'm here," he heard coming from the door. Ataz got up from the basket and jumped onto the sofa with great difficulty, because even though it was a small place for him to jump, he was still hurt. He rested his front legs on the back of the sofa and looked over it, trying not to attract too much attention.

"Why do you insist on calling me Dona Rosa? I'm your mother, Sebastian!" said the old woman with a sulky face, coming from the kitchen with a huge glove in her hands, "I've prepared stone things for you to eat. Where is Hector?" she continued.

Ataz stopped in shock at hearing Hector's name, and then paid attention to who the man was. It was that gentleman who had pushed the boy who tried to hit Ataz, and while thinking about it, he looked at the door and saw the little boy with his head down touching something in his hand. "Drop that game, Hector. You've been playing on it all day. What's the name of that thing? Dinte... Ninte..." Sebastian said at the boy in a confused voice.

"It's a Sintendo Swish, dad! And there's only one level to go. I'll stop playing then," said the boy with his head down, his eyes glazed to the screen of the object that barely fit in his hands.

Sebastian looked at him, a little bitterly, and then changed his attention toward the sofa, where from his position, it was possible to see the tips of Ataz's furry ears. He looked confusedly at the sofa and started to approach with a light step, without making much noise. Ataz had been looking at Hector, so he didn't even notice the man's movements.

Suddenly, Ataz found himself with a huge shadow over him. He looked up, and Sebastian was staring at him, frowning: confused and angry at why the cat was on his couch. "... And who are you?" said the man without taking his eyes off Ataz.

"Why, I'm Ataz!" Ataz tried to speak while also looking at the man with a confused and angry face.

"He's our new little friend who's going to stay here with us now, right, kitten?" said Dona Rosa with a smile on her face.

"Not happening!" said Sebastian and Ataz at the same time, although Ataz's comment came out as a small meow

"Dona Rosa, he's a stray cat. He's dirty and must be full of fleas. We can't keep him. Besides, there's no room here," said the man.

"It's true. He is right; I must be full of fleas. Cats are disgusting animals," thought Ataz, "Better get me out of the house-"

"Besides, he is useless hiring himself like that on his own. There aren't even that many stray cats around for him to fight. He's far worse off than a normal day," said the man, staring at Ataz with a mocking face.

Ataz stared at the man indignantly for saying all that about him after he had killed an old witch who used magic fire from a green amulet and almost died from being burned by the devastation she had caused, and all the while being a miserable, stinky, little cat. "You wouldn't have done half as much as I did, commoner," he thought, keeping his head up, knowing his power.

The old lady approached Ataz. "So that's another reason he needs to stay with us," she said while stroking his head. She was still looking at the man indignantly for what he had said.

"Well, if that's the case, then at least don't let him stuff my sofa with fur," said the man as he turned toward the kitchen, looking for what Dona Rosa had made to eat.

Right behind him, Heitor was still playing on the Sintendo Swish, without paying the slightest attention to the conversation, until he looked reflexively for half a second towards Ataz and went back to his game. Then after a few seconds of reasoning, he turned his now scared looking face again toward Ataz...