And on this little island, perched on a little hill, a house with yellow walls and a pink door lives and breathes.

“Bruce, we don’t go in there honey, that house is a living nightmare,” his mother told him.

And so for 11 years of his life, Bruce rode past the house on the hill and never even dared glance at it.

For his 12th birthday, Bruce’s mother gave him a kitten. He named her “Xixi”

Xixi was a curious kitten who loved to play by Bruce’s side. Whether rain or shine, Bruce would bring her everywhere. The two were inseparable.

On a friday evening, after he had finished his chores, Bruce decided to bring Xixi to the other side of the island where the flowers were in bloom. He wanted to show her how beautiful the island was in spring. His mind registered the fact that the blooms were close to the yellow house, but he brushed it aside. “Nah, nothing will happen, it’s going to be broad daylight.”

“Look Xixi! There are so many flowers, pink, yellow, blue and purple!” Bruce said to Xixi. But when he turned around, she was nowhere to be found.

His eyes caught sight of the white tip of her brown tail as Xixi looked as though she was being swallowed by the pink door of the house.

“NOOOOO!” Bruce yelled. And he swore he saw the house let out a burp.

Timidly, he approached the house and grabbed a few pebbles in his hand. With all his might he started throwing them at the pink door while standing outside the white fence, now covered in wild bushes and weeds.

The pink door stood firm and barely moved, so Bruce got bolder and started throwing bigger rocks at it. “Give me my cat back! You stupid house!” Tears were forming in his eyes by now.

“Meooooow!” Bruce heard from inside the house and his protectiveness gave him a surge of courage. He swung his legs over the fence and walked right up to the house, registering a strange feeling in his chest.

Looking up at the house, he suddenly felt as if every colour was more vivid. And was he feeling a little more warm? Or why was there a tingling feeling on his fingertips?

Suddenly a little fearful, Bruce looked behind his shoulders and saw that his bicycle was still there, parked right outside the fence.

“Meowwww!” He heard again, this time accompanied by some scratches at the door.

Bruce took a huge rock and was ready to swing it at the door when suddenly, the door came alive!

“Would you please not hurt me?” a deep voice bellowed out and Bruce was so shocked he fell to the ground, the rock on his lap.

“Who…who said that?!” He cried, looking frantically around him, stumbling to his feet.

“Why, I did, young man. You were going to hurt me again,” the pink door said. And Bruce saw that a wood mouth had formed at the bottom of the door, with two wooden eyebrows peeking out from the top. The door looked and sounded like an old grandpa.

“I’m….I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, it’s just that you swallowed my cat,” Bruce apologized.

“Your cat? You mean agent 011288?” The pink door replied.

“W…What? Agent who?” Bruce said, as he realized how weird it looked that he was talking to a door.

“I’m agent 011288, Bruce,” a voice suddenly said, as a half girl half cat opened the door and stood infront of Bruce. She was a little shorter than him, but spoke with confidence and was so beautiful, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Her face looked like Xixi, but she had slender arms of a human and definitely human fingers. Her body was mostly human covered in shiny and silky cat fur. She didn’t have a tail, but Bruce saw that her hair was long and furry, tied up in a ponytail.

“Who are you?” Bruce asked xixi-agent.

“I’m an agent, Bruce, from a planet that has long ago been destroyed. I was sent here to meet you.” Xixi-agent said, in a calm manner. He noticed she looked a little sad, and that she sounded quite young, around his age.

“Me? Why me?” Bruce thought to himself but didn’t dare ask.

“You must have questions. I will answer them, I promise, Bruce. But first, we have to complete a mission. Will you help me?” Xixi said, as she started to make her way into the house, a house that Bruce was slowly noticing was…..alive.