Flynn and Marigold

The Tale of Flynn and Marigold

I am Flynn the brave. My sister is Marigold. We are orange. Like a sunset, like golden tigers, like orange juice in the morning.

Mother was wild. The cars were thick in the street where mother dashed to bring us food. A bird, a bit of bread, a scrap of meat fat glistening with oils. There were many many cats all around mother outside.

Father was brave and scarred. His ears were tattered, his neck was thick. He looked so old for his years, slow to rise and tender in his joints. Abscesses and scars covered his head and legs, for her was a great fighter.
Father had a small cat sickness when he gave our spark to mother. Mother grew us with that sickness. we were born with a virus inside.

FIV. we were born with FIV. Some people call it feline aids, but it is not like the terrible disease that slays yours. It’s a virus that sometimes makes us heal slower, and if we have no care, and always get in fighting trouble like father, we can become sick.

Otherwise it lives invisible inside us and we live long lives.

Mother did not die of our virus, she died crushed by a car. Father? He has gone on to other places, other queens, other toms to fight with.

We were all alone when mother was crushed. We smelled her blood and sorrow. We were so lost, crying in fear, hunger and sorrow.

Bobbi came for us. She scooped us up tiny and orange and carried us into her house. There was food there, places to hide, other cats.

We grew up together, brother and sister, safe.

Bobbi went away to where mother went, the place where all who die go, Now we are lost and alone again, clinging to each other while our spirits hide in the pools of our eyes.

We are special, and we need something more than most people think they can give. We need the love of a person who will let us be cats, brother and sister bound together, graceful orange creatures who prowl a world with no other cats...unless we share the same virus.
Marigold braves laps and pets, I, Flynn will look at you with love and terror and let you pet me. I have lost allot, so I Flynn will take time to be safe with you. But I like my face petted when things are quiet...

But we have a virus that scares people. We can’t give it to you. It’s not easy to give to other cats, as we didn’t share it with any of our cat friends we lived with for many years.

It still scares people away from us.

Now I will sing my sad cat song. Gentle and quiet, sorrowful and hoping. Please please please cat goddess can we have a home together, both of us brother and sister with a person who will love us?

We do not want to be discarded because we have a virus that we have lived long years with. We do not want to be sent away to a colony of cats to wait to die, unloved and forgotten. We do not want to be torn away from each other....

Are you brave like me? Do you have a big heart like me and my sister? Will you love us and let us risk all loving you back, trusting you to let us be tender and scared, new and brave and just take our time to come to you and love you back with all our hearts?

Could you love 2 beautiful orange cats with a virus hidden inside?

Could you love me, Flynn, and my litter mate Marigold?