The previous valentine was awesome. I had a guy who tried all he could to blow me away on that valentine’s day. He bought me some gifts, he took me out on a date and spent the rest of the night at the movie. Our love was new. It was only a month old so he was still in the zone of impressing me.
The way he vanished from my life was equally. You are with a guy and everything was fine. You didn’t insult him and you didn’t cheat on him. He didn’t find your nudes on his friend’s phone and you didn’t run away with his best friend. Everything was good, yet one day he decided he had had enough of you. He vanished just like that. No excuse or even a farewell message. He just disappeared.
So that Valentine’s day I knew I was going to be lonely. When friends were making plans and talking about what their boyfriend’s had in store for them, I stayed quiet and minded my own business.
Before lovers could get ready to step out, the weather changed. It got cloudy with a 90% chance of rain. Lovers are lovers. When they decide wholeheartedly to do something, not even the rain could stop them. At 7pm, it started raining heavily. A car came to pack in front of our gate and my junior sister walked out, ran through the rain and board the car. I knew I was going to see her the next day.
I stayed indoor, read some novels and listened to music.
Late around 10pm I thought I heard a kitten crying so I got up from the bed and started looking around. I went to the kitchen and it wasn’t there. I checked the rooms and there was no sign of a kitten. I came inside my room to sleep again. Then the cries of the kitten came again. This time it was very loud and intense. I looked outside and realized the gate was not closed.
My junior sister might have left it opened when rushing to board the car or it could have been the excessive wind that forced it to open. It was raining heavily and going out to look for a crying kitten didn’t appear to me as a good idea but it kept crying and crying and crying.
I went out and started looking around for it. The poor kitten was stuck in the water runway behind my window. It was almost covered by the water and the cry was a cry for help. I was a little bit scared at first. “What if it bites or scratches me. These felines cannot be trusted.” I gathered courage and picked him up. To my surprise, he was calm and laid back. I sent him in and dried him up with a towel. I asked, “Hey, where do you come from? Who is your mother? How did you get stuck” It only sat and stared. No more crying.
At first, he was shivering but he stopped. I offered him food. He only smelled it and left it untouched. I kept him at the corner of my room and went online and googled, “How to care for a stray cat?” I tried all the suggestions I found online. I was eager for him to eat something. I was trying to make him feel comfortable. It was a stray cat but he was in my room so I felt responsible for him. Nothing could make him eat so I let him be. Soon it lied down and slept.
I slept too. The next morning when I woke up he was still lying peacefully where I left him. I did a cat sound and it walked nearer. I said, “You came in here at the right time. I was lonely and thinking a lot. You caught my attention through tears and now you are here with me. Your name is Valentine and I’m your new friend.” He walked to my legs and rubbed his cheeks on my leg. I gave him food and he started eating.
Valentine the cat has been my Valentine for the last three Valentine’s days. He’s now fluffy and larger than I found him. This Friday night, he’ll sit at the corner while I read. I’ll play some music, we’ll both eat our favorite foods and later watch movies. Men will come and go but a cat stays fluffy and lovely.
Afaafa, Kenya
#MyHappyValentine
#SilentBeads
