A girl with no friends and an empty heart

Then, just like that, he jumped into her lap and circled, his large white paws finding soft purchase on her thighs. Kya sat frozen, her arms slightly raised, so as not to interfere with his maneuvering. Finally, he settled as though he had nested her every night of his life. He looked at her. Gently, she touched his head, then scratched his neck. A loud purr erupted like a current. She closed her eyes as such easy acceptance. A deep pause in a lifetime of longing.

I want to drill this into everybody’s head:

Here’s what’s really perverse: prisoners, who cannot vote, still get counted in the U.S. Census. The more prisoners a county has, the more representation it gets, even though the prisoners cannot vote. See how that works? The more black and brown people they lock up, the more government resources and political representation they get. Even though those prisoners have no say and cannot vote.