My head popped up from my ooey-gooey pizza only to see Momma watching me. “If you can hear me, put down that pizza and sip your water.”
I did what she asked and her eyes narrowed. “I thought so, Katalea, we need to talk. Ask me to go for a walk when we get home away from the others.”
Dread overcame me, suddenly I had no appetite. I knew what I did was wrong, I just didn’t know if it was real. Somehow I could now hear Momma’s voice inside my head the same way, that made it all too real. What was going on?

I did what I was told though. Curiosity was winning out over fear of punishment. Momma and I walked down to the nearby park that surrounds a calm little man-made lake in our neighborhood. I had spent many a night climbing these trees while everyone thought I was sleeping. Sneaking out of the house when I couldn’t sleep seemed so normal to me, while sleeping at night remained the bigger challenge. I could be very quiet when I wanted to.
Momma sat me down on my favorite bench farthest away from the little lake. I loved it here, no people and plenty of places to hide and watch all the swimmers frolicking in the water. It never occurred to me to question why I never had any desire to go swimming or socialize with any of the other children. Momma stroked my long dark hair and simply said, “You know you are different from the other kids, I think it’s time you know why.”
She went on to explain to me that her family, dating back thousands of years, was descendants of an ancient Egyptian Pride of werecats. As the feline blood thinned from generation after generation of marrying humans our kind was almost gone. She told me that she was a werecat too, and that she had some feline abilities but she was never able to shift. She had seen so many feline traits in me already that she was now questioning how to deal with it.
“Your father knows nothing of this, my limited abilities, or my family heritage. Nothing. Your brothers show no sign of any feline traits or abilities. They appear to be human through and through. You, young Katalea, have been blessed with many gifts it seems, and since they are manifesting so young, I am sure there will be plenty more.” She said all this with a sad look in her eyes. I couldn’t decipher why she was so sad. Maybe she just wanted me to be just human too.
I was so shocked by this revelation that I couldn’t even ask questions. I just sat there with my mind whirling. I wanted to get away from her, get away from these stories, and just go back to being a normal kid. It was all just too much. Without speaking a word, I got up and ran for the trees.

When I finally came down it was dark. Momma had sent me a mental message that she was going home and that I should be there before it was fully dark if I wanted any ice cream that night. Our family tends to eat healthy so pizza and ice cream in one day is a bit of a miracle. That night though, even the thought of that cold creamy treat wasn’t enough to bring me down the tree.
Walking home I tried to feel like a cat, but what does a cat feel like? I had never wanted to chase a mouse or run from a dog. It would be better if I had someone to ask, but who? Momma said she didn’t know of any of our pride living locally.
I came in through the back door to complete chaos. I loved my family beyond words but they were loud. Spanish music blared from the TV and everyone was moving to the pulsing beat. They were all engrossed in some sort of an internet dance class. There was a lot of fancy footwork and hip shaking going on that didn’t appeal to my seven year old self. My brothers truly looked like idiots.
I fled up the stairs hoping to be spared the embarrassment. Settled in my room under my fluffiest pink blanket I tuned them out. I got a mental message from Momma to come down and join in the fun, I ignored her. I picked up a comic book that promised shape shifters of all sorts and prepared to lose myself in a world I thought was make believe before tonight . Now, I questioned everything.
Momma came in a bit later and rubbed my back. When I felt myself want to purr I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Why me?” I whimpered to her. I just wanted to be normal.
She explained that when one parent is human, only about one in ten babies born are werecats. That is how the werecat population is thinning out. Werecats were despised and feared among supernatural creatures because of their numerous abilities. She had heard of some distant family of hers that were “peculiar.” She would try to contact them in the morning.
She made sure I understood that no one could know any of this. I could only talk to her, and only when no one else was around. No diary, no drawings, no internet searches. The need for secrecy was so important. I couldn’t even let my brothers know. They were already mad that I was starting to out-do them. It would become impossible to deal with them if they discovered their complaints were justified.
“What are abilities?” I whispered, my childlike voice echoing in my ears. I was afraid to know more but couldn’t resist my curious nature.
“Well,” she began, “Having claws for starters. Being able to climb a tree so quickly is a result of those claws. Also, I’ve heard you purr in your sleep for a while now. This is the reason I could never allow any sleepovers with the other girls on your team.”