When the government decides to erase Kate Thomas in 24 hours, fate had other ideas.

Author's Note: Warning…Not your typical kitten tale. Hi everybody, long time no hug. If by chance you are one of the poor unfortunate souls who stumbled across my stories in the past and expect a tale from the toddlers perspective with lots of mommy and magic…well…that's not what the “moose” whispered to me and you don't argue with your moose especially when this is the first time in ten years she's talking. We hope you likes it anyway even if it's a grown up story. Loves and hugs

Finally, I would like to dedicate this story to my Aunt Holly (Holly H Hart). She was a wonderful, loving lady who was my friend, my auntie and a witch, because it took real magic to edit my crayon scrawlings from “Kittenese” to English and make them postable stories. I miss you and all the rest who have gone on to a place where bodies match souls and there's no more pain. I love you. Thanks for everything. Hugs!

Look Out Seattle by MaggietheKitten

Chapter 1: The Letter

Kate sat on the balcony of her flat overlooking the Seattle skyline. She took a sip from her steaming cup of Earl Grey, and shivered as she watched the sun descending toward the Pacific. It was a cool Spring evening, but it wasn't the temperature that had her trembling. Setting down her mug, she caressed her calico fur friend Muffin, who was curled up and napping in her lap.

With her free hand she picked up the letter from the table and began reading it again. Tears welled in her eyes as the finality of the words set in. The tenth reading had been no better than the first.

Even though she’d known this letter was coming, her heart had hoped that somehow she might slip through the cracks. All hope of escape had evaporated when she’d found it waiting for her upon her arrival home.

The letter fell from her fingers as she scooped up Muffin and held her close. Rising from her chair, she turned to go in, but stopped to take another look at the evening sky, wondering if she'd ever see another Seattle sunset.

The inside of Kate's flat was very much like its inhabitant: soft, warm, feminine and a bit old fashioned for a 28 year old woman. As she walked across the floor, her attire of long skirt, peasant blouse, sweater, and tall black boots seemed right at home with the turn of the 20th century decor.

Gently placing Muffin on the sofa, she eased into her rocker, turned on the table light (which was a replica of a glass oil lamp), and stared blankly at the room before her. The miniature whaling ship sitting on the fireplace mantle spoke of her childhood growing up in a small port side town just outside Boston. Movie posters from the Golden age of Hollywood adorned the walls.

The one from Pride and Prejudice said she was a 21st century woman who dreamed of finding a 19th century Mr Darcy. A long bookcase was filled with leather bound literary gems and personal journals she'd kept faithfully for nearly 20 years.

Kate had a true talent and passion for writing. As a teen she wrote fiction under the pen name of Maggie O'Malley. Her pen opened portals to worlds that weren't possible for her in reality. During her four years at Boston college she switched from fiction to fact. Her senior year she became the editor of The Heights and graduated with a degree in Journalism.

After graduation it was an offer from the West Coast's most prestigious newspaper, The Seattle Star, that lured her and Muffin 3000 miles away from Boston, and the only two people who had loved and accepted her unconditionally: her parents.

Kate loosened the tie that had kept her hair neatly arranged in a classic updo, and long auburn locks fell over her shoulders. Blue eyes still brimming with tears focused on the picture of her parents sitting next to the lamp. She desperately wanted to scoop up Muffin and catch the first jet back to Boston and the safety of their home and love, but that would only be a very temporary delay of the inevitable.

The envelope to the letter she had received that evening sat next to the picture of her parents. It bore a government seal and stated that it was from the recently formed Department of Gender Affairs. It was addressed to "Mr. Colton Thomas c/o Kaitlyn Thomas". For Kate, it was the ghost of a life past, or perhaps a future epitaph. It was definitely something that not even a parent's love could save her from.

Walking to the stove, she did what all those Pride and Prejudice lovers do in a time of crisis: she put on the kettle and fixed a fresh cup of tea. While waiting for the kettle's whistle, she went first to the medicine cabinet for a bottle of sleeping pills, then second to the bookcase for her diary. She hadn't missed an entry in 20 years, and she was certainly not going to miss the one that could be her last.

After reclaiming her seat in the rocker, she rolled the pill bottle in the palm of her hand. She didn’t want to do it. She didn’t want to make her fur baby an orphan, or break her parents’ hearts. But if she did what that letter ordered her to do ... if she obeyed this ridiculous edict, then in every way that truly mattered, she would be dead anyway.

Staring into the face of death made her review her life like a slide show. She closed her eyes and drifted until her memories came alive. The full gambit of emotions overflowed as she relieved some of her best and worst moments. Kaitlyn Guinevere Thomas ... this is your life.