I was starting to doze off. I had an exhausting day. I had gotten my vaccines. My owners had gone to the beach and left me at home with Karen and Eliza. Karen was washing the dishes, and Eliza was asleep in her crib upstairs. I was on the sofa. I heard a thud. I walked towards the door. The door opened. Buddy, Nate, Bella, Angela, and Kara came in. I greeted them. We ate some dinner,

watched some shows on the TV, and then the kids headed off to bed. Buddy went with Bella to her room; I went with Angela. After Angela had fallen asleep, I quietly got out of the room. I walked down the stairs and got to the living room were Nate and Karen were watching a movie. I curled up in the sofa. When Nate and Karen got up for bed, they left me in the sofa, turning off the lights, thinking I was asleep. I wasn't.

When no more sound came from upstairs, I walked towards the windowsill. I hopped on it. I sat on it, looking towards the backyard. The moon shone brightly in the sky. The reeds and small sea plants waved calmly in the wind. The ocean waves could be seen. I eventually fell asleep.

I heard some paws from the stairs. Buddy, I thought. Buddy trotted over to the kitchen, where our food and water bowls were kept. I heard him drink some water, then head to the sofa. He laid down in one and noticed me by the window. Usually, he just looks at me and falls asleep, but suddenly now he was staring at me. Not in anger, but in a mix of fear and confusion. His dark brown

eyes glinted in the moon. Then I noticed something else that was glinting. My tail! I shrieked and fell on the floor. Good thing cats land on their feet. Buddy jerked, and whimpered. I looked at my tail again. It was glowing softly with a purple light. I blinked twice. Was this why Buddy had been staring at me? I shook my tail, hoping to get the light off, but it wouldn't come off. I looked around to see if 

Buddy was still around. As I imagined, no. You could still hear him scurrying away to the second floor. I turned back to my tail. I tried catching my tail, the light wouldn't come off. I didn't sleep a wink that night.

When I woke up, the morning sun came out. I saw Karen walk into the kitchen, droopy eyed. She made herself some coffee. "Hi Ember." she said when I came to greet her. Buddy came next. He looked at me. No, that wasn't the correct word. He glared. Then he went to greet Karen. When everyone had woken up, Karen made breakfast for everyone. Buddy stayed away from me. Then, 

Angela went upstairs to talk to her friends on the phone, Eliza was playing with Kara. Bella went and played in her room. Buddy was resting in the sofa. I tried getting close, but he growled at me. I retreated. The day was quite normal. At nighttime, when everyone had gone to sleep, I quietly made my way to the living room. I jumped to the windowsill. I looked at my tail. It was glowing more

than yesterday. I sighed. I heard paws on the stairs. They stopped at the bottom. Then they walked slowly to the kitchen, drank some water, and left. They didn't return till the morning.

Each day, the glow on my tail got brighter and brighter. One night, in my normal nighttime routine, I noticed something else. My paws were glowing with dark blue color. Sparks came from my paws. I figured that by a month my whole body would be a flashlight. 

One night, I noticed that a blue light coming from the outside. It moved around the reeds in our backyard. I decided to go investigate what it was. I walked towards the dog door. It was locked, so I unlocked it. Suddenly, I heard a rustle inside. Buddy. He was standing inside. No, please, don't Buddy, I thought in panic. As if reading my mind, Buddy locked the door. I screeched and thumped 

the door. I saw him leave. I stayed there for an hour before finally accepting he wasn't going to come back and unlock the door. 

I looked around me. The blue light had disappeared. I heard a hissing sound. I almost jumped out of my fur. I looked around. A pair of dark blue eyes looked at me. "Hi, Ember." the  

eyes whispered. Wait, how can an animal talk? Maybe these eyes aren't animal eyes at all. "I know you." the eyes said. "How do you know me?" I asked. "Aha! You can talk!" the eyes exclaimed. I was shocked. "How...How can I talk? I tried talking before, but I couldn't." I asked. "Ah, I see you are a pet. Pets can't talk when they are with their owners." the eyes explained. "I am not a pet!" I 

exclaimed. "Then how do you explain that "pet tag" on your neck?" the shadow teased. "It's not a pet tag!" I screamed. "Follow me. I know you need my help." the eyes said. "No way I am going with you! I don't even know you." I said, starting to lose my patience. "Well, you can stay with that untrusty dog. Let's see what he does to you next. Kills you? High chance." the eyes said. "Well, even if you  

can talk like me, you don't glow, so you are not like me." I countered. The eyes smirked. A flash of light blinded me for a second. When I opened my eyes, the cat had a mix of teal and light blue fur. It glowed like mine. Sparks of teal ignited from its fur. "Who is not like you?" the cat said, sounding proud about proving her point. "Wait, how can you change colors?" I asked. "Well, we are the mythical

animals, a very exclusive type of animals. We usually look normal during the day, and glow in vibrant colors during the night." she explained. "When we grow older, we sometimes develop different features, like extra fur at our paws, tails, or back." Wow. "Wait, you mean there is more of us?" I asked. "Yeah, there even is an island for us. When we reach the island, we unlock our special

features. I am heading there right now. Want to come?" she asked. I was doubtful. Should I go with this strange cat that I don't even know her name, or stay home with my owners? "Um...Okay. I'll go." I decided. "Great! My name is Coral, by the way. Your Ember, right?" she asked. "Yeah, I am.'' Coral actually did look a lot like a coral. Blue and teal glowing fur, with an old and tired, but still cheerful face.

The sparkles from her looked like tiny bubbles. "Follow me." she said. She led me through the reeds of our backyard, and out to the wide-open ocean. The moon's reflection looked so beautiful, and the sand beneath my paws felt so good. "You should probably take that collar off." suggested Coral. I looked at my collar. If I took it off, no more Angela, Bella, Buddy, Karen, Nate, Eliza, or Kara.

I could still go back. I yanked the collar off. "I will come back." I said to Coral. I ran back into the reeds and found my home. I left the collar in front of the back door. I looked one more time before going back to Coral.

I think Coral thought I had changed my mind or something, because when I called to her, she seemed surprised. "Oh, hi Ember!" she said.

''I was just looking for this." She showed me a map. "What's that?" I asked. "This," she said "is the map of the island tunnel."  "We have to get to the island through a tunnel?" I asked, sounding confused. "Yep. And it is somewhere around this city. But I don't know where it is." she said looking around. "Don't worry. I'll help you." I said. "But first, we have to find a place to sleep." I added. "Leave

that to me." Coral said. Coral led me to a small den she had made. I curled up and fell asleep. I dreamed of my owners calling for me in the morning.

The cool sea breeze ruffled my fur. I stood up, and nudged Coral. She stretched and followed me to the shore. Coral looked like an ordinary grey cat, not like a glowstick. I touched the sea water with my paw. "Come on!" Coral said to me as she ran towards the town center. I followed her. "Look, humans are rude to stray animals. They will call the pet control and make you a pet and you will

lose all your power. So, you cannot let them catch you or see you. Okay?" she asked me before she entered the road. "Okay" I said. We crept out of the reeds. I saw many humans who I met before. I didn't get close. We quickly ran into an alley. Coral dove into the trash bin. She came out with two half-eaten fishes. She tossed one to me. "Do I have to eat this?" I asked. Coral shot me a glare. "No, you

can go back to the dog or starve to death." she answered. I reluctantly ate the fish. After eating, we sneaked out of the alley. Coral checked for any humans and proceeded. I stumbled behind her. I had never been alone in the streets without my owners. Wandering in my own world, I hadn't noticed the humans staring at me. I looked around to ask Coral if she had ever been a companion, but

when I looked for Coral, she wasn't there and three humans were staring at me. I looked at the three humans looking at me. "Look mommy, it's a cute little cat!!" the smallest one said. The woman, which I guess it was the mother of the little one, tried picking me up. I panicked and hissed. The woman didn't pay attention to my hissing. I warned you, I thought. I arched my fur on my back and scratched the woman on the arm. The woman

yelled and held her arm in the other arm. "Bad cat!" she screamed. I scurried off, with no clear place in mind. I hid in some bushes. I stayed there for the rest of the day, not wanting for humans to see me. When nighttime came and the streets were empty, I crawled out of my hiding spot. I scanned the area for Coral. No Coral. I searched the town, but Coral was nowhere to be seen. I 

heard a can tumble in a trash can. I ran towards the trash can. Nothing. She left me, the island or tunnel never was real, I thought. Suddenly, I saw a glowing teal and blue cat. I ran towards the cat. "Coral! Where were you?" I asked. "I was looking for the tunnel, while you were with humans." she answered. "I am sorry." I said. "Have you found the tunnel yet?" I asked, trying to change the chip. 

"No. And don't try to change to chip." Coral snapped. Coral walked away. I followed her. Coral's glowing fur worked as a lamp, since my fur was bright but still too dull to be a lamp. 

At some point, Coral disappeared again. I looked for her, but she was nowhere. I was about to settle down and look for her in the morning, when I heard a screech. I ran towards the sound. More