Once in ancient times, I had a cat that had lived with my family for over a decade. It was one of the two kittens that my daughter Jukyeong had gotten from her friend in high school. The two kittens, a male and a female, were only two weeks old and their eyes were barely open. Yet they were so cute and cuddly that all my children were wildly enthusiastic about them, vying with each other to play with them.
As the cats were growing bigger, they resisted staying indoors. So, I built a small wooden shelter for them and placed it in the backyard. The two creatures, which I named Max for the male and Kitty for the female, were happy in their little home and spent a great deal of time sleeping in it. I always found them sleeping together in a ball, snuggled up tightly to each other for warmth. It was the cutest sight of sleeping animals that I had ever seen in my life.
Lamentably, however, one afternoon a few months later, Kitty left home and never came back. For three days and nights, Max wailed for his sister, looking up at the top of the brick wall, over which he probably thought she would come back. Then, a few weeks later, Max also wandered off and never came back. Upset and anxious, we all went out to look for him in the street and neighborhood but we couldn't see him anywhere. We were suddenly engulfed in huge feelings of emptiness and loneliness.
One evening about a month after Max had disappeared, one of my daughters yelled in excitement, telling us that she had just heard a faint meowing from somewhere in the distance. Thrilled at what they heard, they all scurried out of the house, hoping it was Max. Dusk had just gathered outside and it was hard to make out things. Then they heard another meow from under a bush and the cat ran off quickly. Opportunely, Jukyeong recalled that Max was fond of roast squid and she ran home to get some. Max smelled the scent of his favorite food in the air and started coming out from the hideout, then slowly into the loving hands of my daughters.
Now that Max was back home, my daughters made a great fuss about the furry friend, stroking and cuddling him and trying to feed him all kinds of delicacies. Max was quite relaxed now, but he was totally unaware of the destiny which was awaiting him. For the sake of himself and his loving family members, he was going to be confined to his old house with a leash from that time on. The gentle animal resisted the restriction for a few days but soon succumbed to the new rule and began to adapt himself to the ambiance and surroundings of our household.
Max was an extremely affectionate animal, especially to me. When I was coming home from work and my bike screeched to a stop outside the gate, I could hear him meowing loudly before I walked into the house. He then greeted me by rubbing his head against me and wanted me to tickle his cheek.
Max had lived in his old wooden house for almost seven years until one afternoon in the fall, when a Buddhist nun, who had an intimate acquaintance with my wife, visited us. When she saw the cat on a leash, she shook her head in absolute disapproval, then walked over to him and personally untied the leash from his collar. The elderly nun said, "The cat, like any other living beings on earth, must die sooner or later when the time comes. Life is a process of Karma, an endless series of cause and effect."
After he was released from the leash, Max stayed out more often, then regularly and longer. He showed up after several weeks, looking haggard and weak. But we were so glad he hadn't forgotten his old home. The next and last time we saw him was almost two months later. He was so thin, his ribs showing through his mud-covered skin. Max didn't come to me to rub his head against me anymore.
Yi Woo-won (yiwoowon1988@gmail.com) lives in Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province, and has been writing since 1986.
QOSHE - Max, an incredible feline - Thoughts Of The Timesaccount_circleinfobrightness_mediumcancel
Once in ancient times, I had a cat that had lived with my family for over a decade. It was one of the two kittens that my daughter Jukyeong had gotten from her friend in high school. The two kittens, a male and a female, were only two weeks old and their eyes were barely open. Yet they were so cute and cuddly that all my children were wildly enthusiastic about them, vying with each other to play with them.
As the cats were growing bigger, they resisted staying indoors. So, I built a small wooden shelter for them and placed it in the backyard. The two creatures, which I named Max for the male and Kitty for the female, were happy in their little home and spent a great deal of time sleeping in it. I always found them sleeping together in a ball, snuggled up tightly to each other for warmth. It was the cutest sight of sleeping animals that I had ever seen in my life.
Lamentably, however, one afternoon a few months later, Kitty left home and never came........
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