Hardly had the bell rung when I picked up my schoolbag and stepped out of the classroom. It was time to call it a day and head home after evening classes.

I was in a rotten mood that day. Upset about my grades, my friends and everything else around me, I couldn’t wait to retreat from the depressing ambience. Added to my stress was the weather. It was raining hard. Tramping ahead through the teeming rain, I felt so weighed down that I found it was hard to breathe naturally under my umbrella.

My best friend, Michael, has been ill for weeks. We used to go home together. We used to buy each other snacks at the food carts under the overpass around the school gate. However, now nobody was there except me on the road.

I turned into a dark lane. All of a sudden, I heard, Miaow, Miaow, Miaow, coming from somewhere ahead. Some cats were whining miserably out there. I started to search for the creatures.

My search led me to a car parked in the alley. The wretched cries came from under the vehicle. Two feral cats were taking shelter there from the wet weather. They looked neglected but a little cute. Poor creatures, they did not even have a warm home.

I stopped by the car and fixed my eyes in silence upon the two cats. There was a hungry look in their eyes. After a while, the bigger cat walked to a nearby bin to look for a bite. It was still raining. Oh, poor creatures!

I turned around and went to a corner shop, where I bought a ham snack for two yuan. When I returned to the car, there were still no other humans around. The cats were still there. The sight of the ham made me feel a bit peckish myself. My supper had been at 6; now it was around 10.30. I had a bite of the snack before I put the rest at a tree nearby.

As I was going away, the two cats came from under the car and rushed to the ham. They started to devour it. I stopped in my tracks and watched them relishing the meal.

After a while, I made my way tentatively to the tree. Seeing me approaching, the two cats raced away like two streaks of lightning. Then they stopped and eyed me at a distance, as if flames were shooting from their fierce ardent eyes. I froze where I was, trying not to alarm them. Some time later, the two cats did not feel I was a threat any more. They having dropped their guard, I resumed my trip home.

A lot of folks pass the two cats every day, but none stop to offer help except me. It is a pity that they do not bother to stop and care for the two small lives. In their eyes, they are insignificant.

The two stray cats I encountered down the dark lane are reminiscent of my best friend, Michael, who has been absent from school for weeks. Like the two kittens, Michael needs warmth and care. He must be feeling helpless and lonely, away from the school community for such a long time.

Running into the two cats brightened my day and shifted my outlook. Now I feel loads better than before. Upon reflection, I have come to see that I own a lot in this world. Every day I have a lot of meaningful things to do, and I have a lot of lovely guys to love. The two stray felines still brave the hellish weather and try to survive. With so many things I call my own, and basking in love and care from family and friends, I have no reason to waste my being. I am to make it worthwhile.

Tomorrow is a better day.