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the kitten hadn't slept very well the night before. she was very restless and kept wanting to move around, so she hadn't fallen asleep very well, and then she just kept waking up. so, when it was morning time, she decided she would take a nap later. she had spent the morning interacting with others. then, she went into papa's submarine, eating a little snack in the afternoon, and then tried to relax by doodling a dolphin wearing an eye-patch. how's the eye-patch stay on its face? why does it even have an eye-patch? beats her! but, by the time she had done all that, she was feeling sleepy enough to nap.

she settled into her bed, curling up in a little ball by herself, enjoying the quiet as she slowly fell asleep. she honestly got pretty tired after interacting with others for a while, so having a nice, silent break was refreshing. but, that quiet would soon disappear. at first, she was somewhere on the island, inside the rain forest. the birds all around were singing their songs and squawking back and forth as she stood in an unfamiliar part of the jungle, taking in her lush surroundings. but, looking around, she could tell it was definitely the island she called home. she didn't think she'd ever been on this part of the island before. she couldn't see the camp from here, though. the trees must be blocking it. but, she could make out the presence of the lighthouse far away, and smell what was mostly familiar scents that were unique to her home. but, it was still different. something was foreign.

but, perhaps it was different because she was so far back in the island, it seemed. how did she get here? she couldn't exactly remember. maybe she had walked here by accident after her nap, or even, during her nap! she didn't think she was a sleep-walker, but she supposed that it might be possible. she felt like she should probably walk back towards where she saw the lighthouse, especially since the sun was about to start setting, but a curiosity rose in her. this place was so different and she wondered if there would be anyone here. "hello?" she called loudly, causing some of the birds to fly away and squawk in return. but, no one answered. the silence, besides the jungle animals, felt kind of unwelcoming to her. so, she started to turn around to go back home.

as she started to walk towards the lighthouse, things got a lot more quiet. too quiet, really. but, she continued walking, keeping her focus on the lighthouse. it was actually quite a while away, and it would probably be dark by the time she got there, so she picked up her pace a little bit. she wished someone was around; she was starting to feel pretty lonely. maybe somebody would show up soon, since she was walking towards where everybody hung out. she picked up her pace some more.

after some time, she had covered some good ground, and it wasn't sunset just yet either, so she felt a little more confident that she'd make it back in time. she decided to call out again. "hello? is anyone there?" but no one answered again. she went back to being quiet, the air around her silent, besides the sound of her large paws hitting the ground. but, a few moments did pass by and she did hear something. she couldn't quite make out what it said, but it was a voice. it called out to her from very far away, and it was behind her - where she'd come from. the kitten turned around, her ears perked. "hello? who's there?"

it called out to her again, and she still couldn't figure out what it was saying, but it definitely was from where she was. maybe it would be better for her to go that way instead, after all. so, the kitten ran that way now, eager to meet a face. she ran and ran, and ended up tripping over her paws once, but kept running, trying to find the source of the voice. "where are you?" she called, to which it cried out from farther in front of her. she kept moving forward, and by now it was sunset. the birds had started to squawk again. they didn't sing anymore.

some more time began to pass as she continued moving towards the voice, and the rain forest began to slowly open up onto another beach. there was something singing to her in the distance. it had the most beautiful voice she'd ever heard. it was louder than all of the squawking birds and it drew her onto the beach. was this the voice calling out to her earlier? not bothering to think, she moved towards the unfamiliar shore. but then, the singing paused, causing her to realize that the sand was very...odd. it was black. and the air smelled...awful. it was like, a bunch of dead fish, but worse. the sky was also getting much darker much faster than she thought. the ocean in front of her seemed to be filled with something, too. there were lots of creatures she did not recognize, besides sharks, and there was...a boat? the squawking birds got louder, too. but, the singing began again.

the voice caused her to lose sense of her surroundings and it was so entrancing that she began to step towards the infested waters. the salty waters splashed at her paws lightly as she stepped forward. with each step, it got deeper, and just before she reached the point she'd need to start swimming, she stepped on something. the singing stopped. the birds began to scream. the monsters that lurked in the waters roared and splashed all about. the sky became a pale black and the boat became invisible. she looked below her, to see what it was she had stepped on. she froze.

"papa?" he was unconscious and still altogether. a chill shot through her, confusion and worry trickling in. "why are you asleep? wake up. we should go back to the submarine," she spoke gently, poking at the body before her. "i'll carry you out of the water, but, i can't carry you all the way back." and that's exactly what she would do - pick up the body and drag it onto the shore. "okay, now wake up. you'll get a cold if we stay out here." she'd say next, her voice a bit stronger now as she shook the male. "this isn't a good place for a nap." she urged. he wouldn't wake up. he wouldn't even move. why'd he look like that? "wake up! she demanded now, forcefully shoving at the body. he wouldn't. she didn't understand why.

"please wake up! i don't like this place." she couldn't figure out what he was doing. why did he look like that? "why won't you wake up?" she felt exhausted. she'd walked around back and forth all day. she didn't want to stay here, though. it was scary and loud. she had to scream just to hear herself. everything screeched at her. the air was so gross. nothing made sense. she didn't understand why papa wouldn't wake up. she didn't understand what was happening. she couldn't understand. "please! she screamed. the birds screamed back. the waters swarmed around her and roared. "please help me!" no one was here. no one was here to help. she couldn't get any help. she was all alone.

but, all this time, she was just dreaming. she still is. she still laid unconscious in her bed in the submarine. her sleeping body cried and mumbled incoherent, frantic words as her legs kicked back and forth, almost as if she was actually awake. but if you were to really listen and look at her, you'd see that the cries were held back and words struggled and that her eyes were tightly closed.

the waters crashed into her and swallowed her up whole.

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© MADI

struggling against the waters, something touched gently against her side. something spoke to her. her papa. everything went away.

she woke up quickly, her head jumping upward and eyes flittering open. she gasped for air as she was pulled out of unconsciousness, her cries now clear and confused. her tail flicked back and forth frantically and her fur was bristled. she was clearly still in a state of panic for a few moments. but, she realized something. her papa was right there. right here in front of her. she attempted to steady herself between her cries, slowly aiming to reach for her papa, wanting to hug him. "th-there was a l-la-lady a-and she s-sang so pr-pretty...i f-followed her v-voice but," her voice was soft and shaky as she tried to explain what had happened. "sh-she lead me to a b-beach with bl-black san-sand and mon-monsters. a-and, you were th-there." her breathing slowed a little.

"but, you w-wouldn't wa-wake up. a-and everyth-thing was s-so loud. and i tr-tried to call f-for help, b-but nobody was th-there. and you wouldn't w-wake up." she looked downward as she described this, starting to feel a little embarrassed, even though she was still clearly upset. everything had been so loud. she had been all alone. she didn't want to be alone. "i di-didn't know what to d-do..." her voice trailed off now. she twitched her nose, going quiet for a second. "but it was just a bad dream."

she had no reason to be so worked up over it, she told herself. nobody should worry about it. she lowered her head quietly. "sorry." her voice was very quiet now as she stared downward. she still appeared quite shaky, though, despite her own efforts to calm herself down.