Me and my cats under a tree

Forest!...Shrubs!…Cats!…Man! Under a tree. I turned around to the direction of the voice. By the window, above me, two little kids ( a boy and a girl) were there giggling as they looked down at me. Then they waved their hands as if so excited to see someone living at the back of their flat. To acknowledge them I waved back too. “I’ll show you something,” I said. Quickly, I glided to one corner and snatched one of my paintings. Brandishing it with my raised right arm for them to see, I asked, “ How about this painting, do you like this one?” I heard no response, but I saw them scurried off instead shouting: “Daddy! Daddy! We have a friend here! We have a friend here!”

After they were off, I didn’t wait anymore whether or not someone would appear by the window – I went inside my house under the tree.

The room that I have has already been occupied by cobwebs way up the corners closed to the roof. I don't dust them off; I like the feel of them inside my room – it looked ancient. Plants are all over in the surroundings because I hate barren places. In my lawn, there is a grown up tree, giving shade, fresh air, and food for the birds. During night time, bats, plenty of them, like to play and search for food in the tree's leafy branches. Quite often, it's my habit to stay in the darkness and watch these winged nightly creatures enjoying themselves crisscrossing the space above me.

I am situated in a quite part of town. The residents just don't like to stay outdoors. Like them, I am seldom seen outside too, since there's a lot of things to do within the confines of my place. Then only people that are always visible are those working in the Junk Shop.

In my little nook, there are non-human beings who co-habit with me:There are two frogs (the older one is already a huge) that snuggles in the corner behind a sizable wooded box where I used to store my belongings. The first time I heard that croak – a loud, deep, gurgling sound – I was shaken by it. Later, I came to live with it already. Very rare that I saw these creatures outside; they prefer to hide themselves out of sight. One time, I was shocked, but excited to see one sitting by the door that I had to greet him “hello” as I passed. My voice was not a strange one; I am now learning to talk with anything, including myself – and, it's fun.

I have cats – three of them. They are all stray cats. The oldest one has stayed with me for four years perhaps, he is old now. Unluckily, one of his eyes has caught a disease; it turns white all over. I feel pity of his condition. Years ago, when he was still much younger, he got extremely sick that he couldn't stand at all; he just lay there looking at me with that pitiful eyes; he was so thin already. I thought he would really die very soon. Taken by emotion, I went to his side and gently stroke his head, feet and cared for him like I used to show him before. I felt his body shivered a bit, surprisingly, few hours later he managed to stand up and walk staggering and meowing towards me. I just couldn't believe it! I gave him food and days later he fully regained his health.

I am fond of talking to my cats. When I shifted my language to English, perhaps they found it strange too, for the first few days as I did. I don't have lots of food to give but, at least, I have shared a little of what I have to them.

These cute little creatures are a source of comfort to me – they are my companion in this time of solitude. As I am now beginning to open myself up to people, as much as possible, I have to see to it that my cats are not neglected.

While I am writing these words, one of my cats is sitting on my lap trying playfully to grab the pen out of my hand – an act, a joy to behold.