Naya

Naya
My life is a pendulum swinging from heaven and hell.  That sounded more than a little cliché, and quite vague.  Let me explain it a little further.
My life used to be quite good.  I'm a 24 year old college student living at home.  I live in a two-story house in a good neighborhood.  There's plenty of room, a pool in the backyard, a climbing tree in the front yard, 4-bedroom, 3-bath.  We could always get whatever we needed, and quite a bit that we wanted.  There was always food on the table.
Then everything started to fail.  We had house damage.  An earthquake caused a chandelier to fall.  When the assessor came, the mess in our house caused us to lose our insurance.  The money started to run out.  We'd been living off our savings for quite some time, although I didn't know it.  We started having to trim expenses.  It felt as though everything that could go wrong was.  I thought everything that could go wrong was.  It felt like my world was coming to an end.
And then I found her.
There she was, curled up under a decaying box on a rainy day.  She was a domestic short hair tabby, so caked with dirt and mud I couldn't make out her color.  But she looked at me with sad green eyes, and I couldn't help but scoop her up and take her home.
Mom caved over her just as easily.  However, she did insist that a bath was in order, but I was surprised.  The poor kitty was so happy to have a home and to get clean that she didn't fuss at all.  Then came the second surprise; her fur was a most unusual blood red.
Mom was a little nervous about that.  It isn't a natural color for cats, after all.  I thought it was cool, though.  She was an adorable kitty, she had odd fur coloring, and she enjoyed taking a bath.  She was unusual.  I decided that just called for her having an unusual name.  I decided to name her Naya.
Naya rapidly made herself at home in our lives.  She ate whatever we fed her, no complaints.  She didn't beg, but the way she would just sit there near us, looking up at us adoringly, led to her getting quite a few table scraps.  She handled the litter box with ease, and was quite vocal when it needed to be changed, though that was understandable.  She loved to play with us, and she was a joy to watch.  She didn't mess with any of the papers lying around, which was a blessing in and of itself.  And when she would curl up next to us and just purr, our cares would just melt away.  She slept in my bed with me, curled up by my side or on my lap, and her purr lulled me to sleep.  I had the best sleep in ages thanks to her.
But not all was paradise.  The bills continued to pile up.  Our money continued to dwindle.  It seemed like we would lose the house.  We kept trying to do everything we could to make things work, but just to be on the safe side, I started looking at apartments.
There were a few in the area that looked good.  I started narrowing it down based on what we would need.  I finally narrowed it down to those that had all the amenities we needed, was close enough to everywhere we normally went to be convenient, and was in our price range.
There was only one major problem, and it was common to all of them; they didn't allow pets.
I kept looking, expanding my search parameters.  However, the conclusion was inescapable.  If we wanted to keep Naya, we would have to give up quite a bit of our life's comfort level should we have to move.  It was very unpleasant to think about.
I didn't know what mom would say if I brought this to her attention.  I wasn't sure I wanted to know.  I knew how important our comfort level was to our ability to keep our lives moving.  And I knew just how important the amenities we were wanting to our way of life.  I decided to think about it later.
Naya seemed to know something was wrong.  She was spending a lot of time cuddling to both of us, and she would often glance around at the house and meow piteously.  I held her close often, and she would nuzzle my face.
In the end, I went to bed without a real conclusion.  I didn't know what I would do.  Naya seemed sad, too.  She wasn't purring as I fitfully dozed off.  It was the first troubled sleep I'd had since I brought her home.
But late that night, I opened my eyes.  I wasn't sure if I was awake or asleep, but it definitely had a dream-like quality.  Everything felt surreal.  I heard humming from the bathroom.  I got up and walked over to the bathroom.
There was a young woman, my age, sitting there brushing her hair and humming.  She had long, flowing blood red hair, pale skin, and…cat ears and tail.  I would never have believed it normally, but since it felt like a dream, I said, "Naya?"
She turned to face me, and I saw those green eyes.  She smiled at me and stood up to walk towards me.  It was then I noticed that she was only wearing her collar.  I started to step back, a little flustered, but she put her arms around me and kissed me.
I just stood there, and after the kiss, she held me close, and she whispered in my ear.
"I will never betray you.  I will never leave you.  I will always love you, and be there for you.  So please, don't send me away or leave me behind."
She whispered this in my ear, over and over again.  I began to relax in her arms, and I heard her purr.  Her words blended with her purr, as it wrapped and enfolded me as surely as her arms did.  I drifted off, warm and content…
My alarm went off.  I woke up in my bed.  Naya was curled up in my lap, purring, just like she always was.  I reached out and stroked her head.  She looked up at me with those sleepy green eyes, yawns, stretches, and hops off.
Mom is calling me.  She wants to know the results of my search last night.  I decide not to tell her about my dream.  I'll just keep it a secret between me and Naya.  Silly, really, to think like that, but that's just the way my mind works.  I get dressed and head downstairs.
I tell mom the results of my search.  She is as saddened by it as I am.  Although Naya is clearly my cat, Mom is fond of her as well.  Mom says the decision will be up to me, whether we get the good place or the place where we can keep Naya.  She won't make me choose against my will.  She says the decision won't have to be made for a while, but I need to think about it.  I need to think like a responsible adult.
Naya is quiet for the rest of the day.  I am, too.  It almost seems as though she knows the nature of our discussion.  I go to college.  I don't enjoy my classes like I usually do.  When I get home, dinner, while still good like always, feels less enjoyable.  Naya curls up with me frequently.  We all seem a little down.  I go to bed early.
It takes a while for me to get to sleep.  Naya's not purring.  I think she senses my unease.  When I finally do doze off, I dream again.
I'm up, but I don't hear anything.  I get up anyway.  I go looking for Naya.  It takes me a while.
First, she's not in my bathroom like she was last night.  She's not in the other bedrooms upstairs.  She's not in the library, either.  She must be downstairs.  As I climb down the stairs to check, I begin to hear soft sobbing.
There's Naya.  She looks just like she did last night, when I dreamed.  She's sitting at the table, softly sobbing.  I go up to her, and rest my hand on her shoulder, softly.  She turns to me.  There are tears in her eyes.  She embraces me fiercely.   She sobs into my chest for a while, saying nothing.  Eventually, she dozes off in my arms, and I carry her back up to my room.
When I wake up in the morning, Naya still looks sad.  I know what's bothering her.  It's bothering me, too.  I don't know what we're going to do.  Mom's come up with something that should give us a few months grace period.  I'm going to do everything I can to make things work.
I decide, once the semester's over, I'm going to go for getting a job.  Toward that end, I file as many applications online as I possibly can.   I can only hope that it will be enough.
That night, I dream again.  I'm in my room.  Naya embraces me fiercely.  She is sobbing.  I do my best to comfort her.  She looks up at me sadly.
"I promise, I will never leave you.  I will love you forever.  I will never betray you.  I will stay by your side forever and ever.  So please, don't ever let me go.  Don't ever give me up, or give me away, or leave me behind, or-or…" She breaks down into weeping.
I make my decision.  "I promise, Naya."  She looks up at me, somewhat disbelieving.  "I promise I will keep you with me always.  I won't leave you behind.  You WILL be with me always.  I will see to it.  So please, don't cry anymore.  It hurts me to see you cry."
She looks at me, her eyes filled with tears of joy.  "Oh, Master!" she cries, throwing her arms around me and kissing me with fervor.  She does not start purring just yet though.  The purring comes later.

It has been a few years since the day I made that promise.  I have managed to keep it.  After the semester ended, I went back to that job I had with Vector Industries, selling Cutco.  While it wasn't strictly protocol, whenever possible I bring Naya with me to the demonstrations.  We are told it helps sell the product if we tell the people we're demoing for what we're trying to accomplish.  I do this so that I can keep Naya.  It made sense to bring her with.
It worked better than I could have hoped.  I've sold tons of Cutco.  I'm bringing in a huge chunk of extra money each month for our household income.  I think it's really Naya that sells it, though.  She curls up in the customer's lap and starts purring, and they're ready to do anything to make that kitty happy.  After the sales pitch, when I explain how close we are to losing the house, and that would mean losing her, Naya looks up at them with sad eyes, and they melt.  Just like Mom did that day way back.
Each night, I dream.  Naya is there with me.  We spend a happy night playing.  Always something different.  Always something fun.  We just enjoy the time we have together.  It's more than enough for us.
The money I'm bringing is enough.  We're able to keep the house.  We have plenty of money in the bank again.  Everything seems like it is going wonderful.  Nothing could possibly ruin what's happening now.
I should know better.  I keep forgetting, when life gets this good.  My life is a pendulum.
Naya is getting a little lazier.  Understandable.  She's been working harder than I have, helping us to get back on our feet.  She still cuddles up with us as often as before.  I'm a little worried.  I think I'll take her to a vet sometime soon.
Tonight she doesn't try to jump into bed with me.  She just looks up at me, and meows.  Grinning, I scoop her up in my arms, setting her in bed.  She's very light.  I think I'll look for a new cat food for her.
Tonight I dream.  Naya is sitting there beside me, but she looks tired, wan.  Her hair lacks the vibrancy it used to have.
"Are you alright?" I ask her worriedly.
She hugs me tight.  "I'm sorry," is all she says.  I don't understand, but she begins to cry into my chest, and I just hold her tight.
I wake up.  There is a wet spot on my chest.  I touch it.  My fingers come away the color of Naya's fur.  I reach out to stroke her, wake her up.
She doesn't respond.  Her body is cold.
"Naya…?"