Have you ever been in love? Because I have. It was quite a love story. Itās tragic, itās curative, and itās clumsy, full of scratch and bites.
Meowth is my cat ā oh, let me rephrase that, was my cat. One day as I started out of the gate to go to school, I found this little, fluffy, black and white kitten, having his slumber at noon under our car. I was enthused of poking it because itās as cute as very cute. As I bent down, I slowly stretched out my hand cautiously toward the kitten. Since weāre both aliens to each other, thereās a strong probability that it might bite or scratch me but it didnāt hold me back from touching it; or at least lay my hand on its furry idle body. Touch! It didnāt move. I didnāt withdraw until the kitten gained consciousness. Wide, round, eyes. Beautiful. It didnāt care. No, it's not bothered of me touching him. Heās crushable. It was a love at first sight.
I didnāt see it coming. The next thing I knew, this kitten was ran over by our car few days later. I was alerted when my father called me outside and reported the crime. Oh, how I pitied it. Fortunately, it didnāt die. The major problem was it couldnāt stand. It left a sprain. The tire have pulled the skin off and left a centimeters-deep open wound on his hind leg. I canāt remember any blood flow, but that was traumatic for the both of us. I kept him. And my parents have nothing to say about it. They knew the fatalities. ^^ Ā I kept him safe, fed and comfortable. I let him sleep on a tray with cloth as his beddings and blanket. Ā He couldnāt move so whether he liked it or not, heās my bedspacer. All I wanted in return is his trust. And with that, I didnāt fail. Instead, his love and affection made us both beneficiaries.
I wasnāt sure what miracle was poured down on me but letting me keep and pet that injured kitten would fit for one. There are cats roaming on our vicinity but my parents never allowed them to stay. One poop is enough violation for them so they shoo them outside. But since those cats shooed outside the gate keeps on coming back, my father had to āexportā them and leave them somewhere so, so far they couldn't return from. But this didnāt happen to my refugee. Well, not yet.
Surely God works in mysterious ways. The broken leg was healed. I massaged it, bent it, rotate the joints a little everyday hoping it would be able to stand again. At last ! After couple of weeks he was whole again! So fast he could run, so high he could jump. Heās a living miracle ! So I kept the little creature and named it Meowth
He used to roam around the house. We let him sleep wherever he wants; except from the beds. That I didnāt follow. I never intended of letting him do so but one night, as I was awakened, I felt Meowth on my bed. He was scooted somewhere and I was startled. Our bedroomās upstairs and I never thought he could go that far! Instead of making him leave, I let him slouch there, beside me. Thereās nothing more comfortable to sleep with but cats. Theyāre mammals and theyāre warm-blooded. Their body temperature sure did comfy me on cold summer nights. I hear him purr and that makes me feel even more secured at night. That engine-like sound, I can hear a meter away in the deafening silence of the dark. Itās my lullaby. Whenever Iām cold, all I have to do is let him scoot in my curled belly and keep him under my blanket so his warmth will stay put. ^^ Better than any heater.
This I didnāt see coming, for the second time. I started having a skin allergy on my arms and it made lots of reactions from foods Iām taking in. Chicken and anything that contains egg. It made my skin feel itchy and lead to spontaneous popping-out of rushes. And that changed my life. My confidence, self-esteem, even wearing clothes. It didnāt stop. It never grew tired. Until now, I keep on having skin allergy reactions from simple stuff like dust and even my own sweat. My skin became sensitive and my parents said it was because of my habit of sleeping with my precious feline. Aside from that, I started having allergies with the fur. You know cats. They leave evidences of their presence one place to another. I would Ā react on a single fur left somewhere. One sneeze and hundreds will follow for the rest of the day. That much. It gave me allergic rhinitis which makes me suffer until now.
In spite of that, I kept doing my hobby: loving my cat. Heās the best listener ever! I talk to him, I made him dance and I played with him. Every single day I watched him grow. He became an active, playful cat. He used to play with loosen yarns beside the mirror and my heart laughs harder than I do. Itās - itās heaven seeing Meowth foolishly play with yarn and it tangles around his body. I donāt know, I canāt express what exactly I am feeling every time I see my cat.
Our love story, as I said was full of scratch and bites. Well, yeah. I bite my cat. Ha! Just kiddinā. While I was playing with my cat, poking him, trying to scare him off, he always thrusts his claws on me. And suddenly it hit me. I was scared because of the rabies and I know what it does to a person. I was bitten by our dog when I was nine and I had injections but the effect of the anti-rabies only lasts for three years, as I can recall. So that means Iām prone again with rabies. I was afraid my parents will find out so I kept it as a secret and act normal while inside, I really am contemplating on what they will think the cause of my death could be. Rabies is deadly, yes. First youāll burn on fever and itāll drive you real crazy. Arenāt you dead already by then? So my parentās didnāt find out and I was still alive. Hooray ! Since then, I was used to my catās bites and scratches. Every week I have at least one from my cat.
Oh, lemme tell yah. My upper lips became plump because he scratched it, twice. Actually the scar is still veisible if you look closely. My lips were never this thick and pouty, but after he grazed it, it swelled a little and when the wound had healed, it didnāt deflate. Lucky me. Instant Angelina Jolie.
I loved my cat so much. I was heartily attached with Meowth and I never thought heād be gone. I didnāt know my mother had attempted to lose him in the other side of our street. She told me she brought Meowth one time to the next street and left him there. But to her amazement, he got home first than she did. So I never thought he will leave our house. Yeah, he didnāt leave. He was terminated. There were other cats walking the earth, and when I say earth, itās our front yard. They used to break into the house and eat whateverās left in the kitchen. They pee inside. Unfortunately, they blamed my cat. Though I explained and reasoned hardly to them that it wasnāt him, but they insisted. Then one day, he was just - gone. T^T He was brought someplace, someplace far from home. Some place no one would feed him. Heās lost. No one will be next to him when he sleeps. Heās walking otherās earth, astray. When I took notice of his absence, I already knew. So I didnāt ask too much questions. I just made sure that they had him lost so I wonāt put my hopes up to see him; see him inside the closet, under the table, on the top of the television, on the bathroom drinking the water I used to rinse my mouth when Iām brushing my teeth. And yes, he was gone.
And I found myself wiping the drips of tears on my chin typing this article. I really loved that cat. I still do. Looking at his picture makes me long for his scent, makes me long for another embrace, another bite, another scratch. I genuinely miss those days when I get home with his tail wagging for me, seeing me starting in the gate. I miss stalking him while he runs whenever he hears our car honk or other vehicle that pass through our house; and he hides anywhere narrow with his eyes so round and black. I miss playing catch with him; throwing my jackstone ball up the stairs and he follows and he never comes back. I miss watching him chew cockroaches and lizards. And most of all I miss those nights with that big ball of fluffy fur on my feet, sometimes behind my back, sometimes above my head. And I miss the very fur of his; a black heart-shape on his back. I know heās like God, he is love.
This may sound crazy, but so far, Meowth my cat was the best stray gift I ever received. God taught me of hope, patience, courage, dedication, loyalty, respect, responsibility and love. I never ever loved a cat as much I loved him. The world says no but I remained silent and loved him either way. We were brought apart by fate. Forbidden love. Until now, almost ten years have passed and I tried to pet so many cats but I still yearn for whatever we had for about two years. But just like true love, it is cosmic but not for the rest of your life. It may pass to teach us what really love is.
