It was a cool and breezy Sunday morning. My friend, Anne, and I were in the park, jogging and enjoying the beautiful scenery of the swaying branches of leaves and the colourful fields of flowers. As we jogged by a small shrub, we heard a rustling noise. Anne and I looked around but saw nobody. Anne suggested that it might be the rustling of leaves, but the sound was louder than that.

      Just then, we heard the rustling sound again. Thinking that the cause of the noise must be coming from the shrub, I crept closer and used a stick to poke it. Suddenly, there was a soft mewing sound coming from behind the shrub. Anne and I quickly rushed to the back of shrub and was greeted by the sight of an adorable-looking kitten. It mewed again and rubbed its soft, furry body against our legs. It purred with delight as I scratched it behind its ears.

     Being fond of kittens, I decided to bring it home to take care of it. I asked Anne if she wanted to take turns taking care of the kitten but she rejected my offer. She explained to me that her mother does not allow her to have pets.

      I cuddled the kitten in my arms as if it was my baby all the way home. When I reached home, my mother saw me carrying the kitten and shot me a questioning look but did say anything. I then explained to her about what happened in the park and asked her if I can keep the kitten. Mother sighed and hesitated before giving her approval.

      She said that it was a heavy responsibility to own a pet and I could not abandon it after a few days. I promised never to abandon the kitten and happily carried it to my room and made a bed for it.

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      I decided to call the kitten Patches as it has flecks of white patches on its orange fur. I was very fond of Patches as she always managed to find things that were missing, even those that I could not find. Patches would come up to us with the missing item that we were looking for in her jaws and drop it in front of us.

      At times, Patches could be very playful and scratch the sofa. My family adored Patches very much although sometimes she could be annoying.

      One day, I woke up to find Patches gone. I searched high and low but still could not find her. I sobbed in dismay as I thought about all the horrible things that could be happening to her. I tried to stay positive but tears kept flowing from my eyes.

      My father placed posters everywhere and offered rewards to those who found her but it was to no avail. The cat that I adored the most is now gone.