Maxie rested on the front porch step, her soft head cradled in her paws. She watched a fly buzz around her head.

“Maxie girl! Do you want a treat?” There calls Grace, her human sister.

Treat? TREAT! Of course she wanted a treat! Maxie hopped to her feet aware of the un-nailed wooden boards, as they could cause splinters and ran into the house, her paws skidding across the smooth but scratched wooden floor. Once she reached Grace, she sat down on her haunches obediently and licked her wet nose with her rough, pink, slobbery tongue. Maxie’s green, dazzling eyes directed a clear message: I’m cute, right? Yes, I’m

cute! So, are you gonna give me a treat or not? Life was pretty good for Maxie Lou. She was, cute, so there was nothing to worry about there. In her whole life, there was only one problem: she was always fearful. 

Now, Grace laughed. “Get down. Good girl! Now roll over. Good girl! Stay. Smart girl!” She dropped the salmon biscuit onto the floor and roughed up Maxie’s fur. With that, Maxie trotted to the soft rug in the living room and plopped down, chewing on her scrumptious treat. Now her eyes directed another message: Yum, yum, yum!

“Maxie Lou, do you want to go outside?” Grace queried. Maxie, as obedient as ever, hurried into Grace’s awaiting arms and licked her all over her face.

“Maxie!” Grace scolded. “You have salmon breath!”

Maxie ran outside, romping around in the fresh, dewy grass. Suddenly, she noticed that the wooden- barred gate was open. Instead of barking, as she normally would do, she ran away.  But that was before she spotted the squirrel. 

Grace spotted Maxie, and immediately with a growing dread, knew what Maxie was thinking.

“Maxie? MAXIE. NO!” she thundered. It was too late. Maxie had scrambled after the furry rodent and continued chasing the little rebel across different neighbors’ lawns.

“GET OUT OF HERE, YOU BEAST!” One elderly lady, with a

shockingly loud voice, began bawling at poor Maxie. 

Her only thought was, “Get me out of here!” So, Maxie continued running as fast as she could and, before she knew it, she was lost. 

***

Nothing seemed familiar to Maxie. Her surroundings were very different; she no longer was in a cute, quaint neighborhood. It seemed like it was the shifty part of town. Everything was very dingy and musty, and compared to what she was used to it seemed like an old T-shirt that had never been put in the washing machine. A loud “BANG!” Echoed into the dreary silence and a miniature, mewing kitten hopped to it’s paws, snarling

dreadfully. 

“Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!” Maxie whimpered covering her eyes with her ears.

“Fraidy cat!” Was the cruelly tossed remark.

The comment pushed some spunk back into Maxie. “I’m not a cat!”

“I’m not a cat,” The kitten mimicked. 

Maxie stared at the kitten, confused. “But you are.”

An awkward silence settled over the two of them.

“Who are you?” The kitten asked.

“I’m Maxie Lou. Who are you?” questioned Maxie, no longer fearful of the kitten’s claws.

“My name is Awful Mess Maker,” said the kitten.

“Gracious! How did you get that name!”

“My mother died when I was little, but once I tripped over a mud puddle and it spewed all over her. My mother said, “Goodness, you are an Awful Mess Maker, aren’t you! So, I guess that’s my name.”

“Why don’t we shorten your name? We can call you ‘Aw’ for short,” suggested Maxie, helpfully. The two bonded immediately and Maxie nearly forgot the dreadfulness of her situation. 

Suddenly Maxie remembered. “Oh my biscuits!” Maxie proclaimed. “Aw, I am lost! I got lost from my human-