approx. word count: 140
Death and Kittens
by
Alina Happy Hansen
Mama cat cradled her kittens, suckling softly on her underbelly. Somewhere there was a gunshot. Somewhere, somebody died. The ones that can’t reach the nipple mew and cry. There are tire screeches around the corner of the alley and the sound of car doors opening, feet pounding on the cement, a chorus of men shouting. Mama cat peaks out her head from the side of the moldy cardboard box to look. Men are running towards her and her kittens, red and blue flashes against the brick buildings. Mama cat tenses up, moving slightly, kittens fall off her swollen nipples. Loud shots echo through the air. A man falls, his body smacks the pavement. Blood in his eyes, he sees a dilapidated cardboard box next to a dumpster, tiny eyes glowing in the darkness stare at him as he loses consciousness.