by James McDuffie
4–13–06
I had been in prison many years when somehow a snow white kitten snuck his way into my cell. I awoke one morning and saw him shivering and softly begging for food. I bundled him up and gave him some water from the sink. I named that kitten Chuck and gave him food whenever the food tray slipped through the door of my solitary confinement chamber. Chuck was my sunshine, the only ray of light I had seen in many many years.
One day the guards decided to toss my cell. They took me into the hallway while they threw my few posessions on the floor, searching for whatever they hoped to find. In a far corner of the hall I could see Chuck, hiding behind inside an air vent. He looked directly at me and gave me a silent meow to tell me he could take care of himself.
Several years later the guards decided to search through my cell again. This time I was held outside while they looked for things that did not exist. I saw Chuck far from me against the prison wall. He looked at me and gave me a sad meow. He walked a little more and then gave me that same sad goodbye. He escaped from that prison unlike so many had never been able.
Less than one year later I was released. When they came to tell me the news they were extra nice. The true perpertrator of the crime had confessed to the decades old crime for which I had been convicted. They told me the man had a change of heart after a small white kitten came into his life. The love the animal showed him had changed him.
I never saw Chuck again after that day when he looked back at me and told me that he knew my true heart. He touched the heart of two old men. Now with his good works done, I would like to think that he found a good home with young children with which he can play.
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