Summary

A cocoon was left in the middle of a field, with no parents or sibling cocoons insight. It was clearly viable, at least the human thought it was. After waiting hours, sitting beside the cocoon, hoping the parents would return, he finally picked it up. Wrapping it up gently in his jacket, he turned and set on the path for his home.

There, the family kept the cocoon warm and safe. The children, one boy and one girl, would watch the cocoon with eyes of hawks full of pure curiosity. Their parents had described to them the creature that would emerge from it, and having never seen a mothcat before, the two were eager to say hello. They would always talk to the cocoon, promising the mothcat a lot of different things if it would come out. They sang to it, read it stories, and talked about their days. Whatever baby mothcat was in there, though, they weren't taking the bait. They would come out whenever they were ready.

And the time it took for the cocoon to hatch seemed to stretch on. Eventually, the kids stopped visiting the room that they kept the cocoon in, going about their days. Although they never forgot about the cocoon, they had better things to do. So when, one day, the entire family heard wailing coming from the depths of the house during dinnertime, they weren't sure what to expect. Opening the door to that room, they were met with a broken open cocoon and bit, angry-looking mothkitten. Its glittery wings were still wet from the hatching, and as its fur began to dry, there were evident curls that wrapped around its face. Its cheek puffed up as it looked up at the humans, clearly pissed that it has not been fed yet.

The children were ecstatic. They have a pet mothcat! Despite how grumpy it seemed, it was so fluffy and could be held in the palm of their hands. They loved their new family addition. The parents weren't quite expecting to keep the mothcat, but their children clearly had other ideas. So, resigned, the parents ran out to get supplies for their new pet. While the parents were gone, the children came up with a name for the little mothkitten: Minnie.

So Minnie grew up as a pet mothcat for the majority of her life. She was never taught anything different from the life she knew, which was constant pampering; the best places to sleep, a food bowl never empty, toys galore. While she was grumpy as a kitten and never cared for her humans, she suddenly changed when she lost her kitten fur. She always wanted to be in their laps, to be pet, and to get all of their love. And Minnie never had to worry about sharing it with anyone else.

Of course, when children are involved, there are always mistakes to be made. One day, when Minnie was visibly sick, the parents took her to get checked out. During that visit, they learned with utmost shock that Minnie was a boy! Being a mothcat, it wasn't easy for humans to figure out Minnie's sex at first sight. The parents kind of assumed she was a girl and went with the name their children chose. They weren't sure how they were going to break this to the children, and Minnie didn't quite understand the importance of the issue as she listened in.

The children didn't like it. The parents made it seem like they would have to change everything about Minnie. That she would need new bedding and bowls to get colors more suited for her, to change her looks from elegant to handsome, and maybe even her name. Minnie herself was even beginning to panic. She liked her name! She didn't want to change. She liked her life the way it was. And the children felt the same. They begged their parents to just go about life as normal, where they all believe Minnie is a girl like they always did. Even Minnie was okay with it. In fact, she loved being a girl. Even she didn't realize she was a boy. At first, the parents were reluctant, thinking the kids just didn't like the idea of change. But they noticed that Minnie seemed to be watching them just as intently. They laughed to each other, finding it hard that a mothcat had such feelings, before agreeing to go about their lives as if Minnie's gender never changed. The children and Minnie were happy.

Minnie lived with the human family for many years. She didn't think anything could change the fact that this would be where she would die, just as it was where she was born. But that dream was all destroyed when the family had to suddenly move, and where they were moving to didn't allow pets. This meant they couldn't keep Minnie. The children, who have grown up into teenagers by now, were both angry about the situation but resolute, as they knew they couldn't do anything to change the decision. They would have to leave Minnie behind, as they didn't think Minnie would want to be with anyone else.

On the day of the move, the daughter presented Minnie a boy. She wrapped it around the mothcat's neck, and it tickled Minnie's chin. She was confused as to what was going on as she sat on the porch of the house and looked up at her family. Though she could understand the humans alright, there were some moments that she didn't quite get their antics. This was one of those times. The humans said their goodbyes to Minnie, telling her to never forget them and that the bow was a reminder that she had family, before getting in their vehicle and driving off. Minnie stayed put, knowing that they would come back.

But they didn't. Days stretched on and eventually turned to weeks. Then months. And a year. Minnie was becoming lonely in the home, which remained untouched save for herself. She kept telling herself they would return, that they realized what they did was wrong. They would come begging for her. But they never did. And when she ran out of food from the house, Minnie resolved that she could no longer live there. It wasn't home anymore.

Minnie was terrified of going into the wilderness. She didn't know what to expect. Were wild mothcats territorial? Would she need to learn to hunt and fight for her own food? But her fur would get so dirty! She had no clue what she was doing as she entered the forests. And she was genuinely surprised at the community that the mothcats species had. They seemed to welcome her in all of her pampered lifestyle, helping her get back on her paws and become accustomed to living for herself. Not that she would ever be accustomed to it. It was the same as being curled up in a human's lap with their hands stroking your fur. But that wasn't her life anymore--this was.

She never really could become fully adapted to her new life. She disliked a lot of things about it, like living in houses made by the mothcats or eating anything other than her expensive pedigree food back home. And it didn't help that a mothcat suddenly approached her and claimed to be her brother! He called himself The Wanderer, keeping his true name a secret. Minnie was skeptical of this mothcat. She had never seen him in her life, But he was insistent about it, saying that his parents told him they had two cocoons and lost one. How could Minnie not see the similarities? Thing is, she did, but she didn't want to admit that she may be related to such a strange... stranger. She could do without that.

Minnie is still getting used to her new life as a wild mothcat. She's currently working hard to make a living for herself without needing others' help, though she's finding it difficult. There's never a moment that she doesn't miss her human family and the home she grew up in. She always wonders if they came back and she wasn't there waiting for them. But this is her life now. She'll adapt, despite how much she hates it.