by Sarah Earlene Shere, ©2024
(Aug. 17, 2024) — “Wake up!” I blinked my eyes open and tried to focus on the unfamiliar silhouette with the sun behind it. Again, it repeated, “Wake up.” Finally, the figure began to take on the shape of a cat. I had been told since my puppy-hood that cats were my arch enemy, but I never knew why. Ignorance made me more fearful than aggressive, causing me to cower further back into my shelter in the hollow log. The cat swished its tail and began cleaning its paws as it continued to talk to me. “I don’t blame you. I felt the same way when I had been abandoned. But a good fairy made me see that one bad experience is not a foreshadowing of your destiny. In fact, no one can take away your calling and purpose once it has been given to you; they can make your path difficult, but you must not believe that they can control your life; if you do, they can.”
I tipped my head, not sure I understood this strange creature’s meaning. He chuckled at my confusion and gently made his way toward me. “Come on. Come out of there. You’re not going to do anyone any good by hiding, least of all yourself.” Carefully, he coaxed me out and began to lead me out of the woods. On the way, he told me of a sick little girl who needed someone like me in her life. I asked him why he could not do the job. He replied, “I can not stay in one place too long. I must find the need and then the one to meet it. You are the one to meet this need. Again with the head tip? I’ll explain. I have an intuition; I get a sense and a feeling of what someone needs. I am then led by that same sense to the solution. You are this girl’s solution. Don’t worry. You have a similar sense too. It will lead you as to exactly what you need to do in any given situation with this child.”
It was then that we came across this little girl, sitting on a blanket on the grass in front of her cottage. The cat and I sat for a moment watching her. Finally, he spoke. “Well? Go on. You’ll know what to do.” Hesitantly, I approached, my head and tail hanging low. Suddenly, the child turned her face toward me. I saw she had been crying. My heart went out to her. Instinctively, my tail began to wag; I lifted my head with a tilt and a perk of my ears. She smiled and reached out her hand. I cautiously approached, sniffed her fingers and then nuzzled her hand. Before I knew it, I was crawling onto her lap. My inhibitions disappeared, and my tail wagged faster as her little hands scratched and petted me. No longer able to hold back my sudden feelings of excitement, I began covering the child’s face with kisses. Her laughter made me want to kiss her more. I finally understood what the cat had been trying to tell me.