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"Sissy, Sissy!" The little girl laughed merrily as she toddled along as fast as her legs would allow in pursuit of the kitten. Her parents watched on from the nearby bench.
"Look at her go," Alma spoke. "It seems like only yesterday since she could barely walk."
"It does, huh?" For Jowd it felt like years but then again he was the one with about ten years of extra memories in his head. He had seen his daughter grow to be even older than she was now. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"
Alma nodded and leaned over, resting her head of purple hair upon his shoulder. A little sigh passed through her lips. "Well, hopefully the years aren't going to go by too fast. It's going to be quite an experience watching our little girl grow up. I wonder... when she's a teenager and getting boyfriends, will you be doing background checks on them?"
Jowd made a strained noise in his throat. Of all the things for Alma to be bringing up so suddenly, she had decided on that? "It's years and years too early to be talking about that kind of thing."
His wife let out a laugh. "I know. It will be ever so hard though, won't it? Trying not to abuse your power as a member of the police."
"What kind of a detective do you think I am?" Jowd did his best to look offended.
"You know I'm only teasing you, dear." Alma brought a hand up, her fingers brushing over his thick beard. "Don't take it so personally." She was about to move in for a kiss when they heard a cry.
Kamila was on her hands and knees, her mouth gaping wide open. Tears were leaking out and rolling down her reddening cheeks. Sissel turned around right away and ran back over to her, mewing. He rubbed his head against her cheek in an effort to console her.
"Oh dear." Alma rose from the bench and hurried over to her daughter. She gently lifted her to her feet and wrapped her arms around her body. "Are you hurt?"
"I fell, Mommy," Kamila choked out between sobs.
Alma checked her knees and found them only to be a little dirty. She brushed off the dirt and waited for the sobs to subside. "All better now?" Kamila nodded. "Okay, just remember to be careful." She got up and walked back to the bench.
A few seconds after Kamila had resumed playing with Sissel, Alma spoke again. "He doesn't really act much like a typical cat, does he?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, it's just that I know cats can be quite affectionate but at the same time they can usually be a bit aloof, you know? The way he ran over to Kamila to comfort her after she got hurt... it doesn't really seem like something a cat would do. A dog, maybe."
"Oh, well, I suppose he just really cares about her." Jowd did have to admit, it was an odd way for a cat to behave but he could understand. That one night, which Sissel had spent so much of believing himself to be human, had taught him so many things.
"He's a wonderful little cat." Alma gazed at the scampering kitten. "You did the right thing bringing him home. I can't even imagine life without him now. Where did you get the name Sissel from anyway?"
"I told you, I just liked the name." That was Jowd's excuse anyway. He couldn't very well tell her the cat was named after the fiancée of the man he had chased down in the park on that day. It would sound downright strange to her.
"Yeah, I know, but you must have heard it somewhere. It sounds like an unusual name for a pet really."
"Would you have preferred something boring like Blackie?"
"Now that's just plain unoriginal."
"Yes, it is. Anyway, Sissel is his name and that's all that matters, right?"
"Absolutely."