Grief

1. A stray black cat had a litter of five tiny kittens in an old shoe cabinet at one corner of our front porch. Out of pity more than anything else, my wife gave leftovers to the poor cat and later we started giving her fish. Consequently the porch began to smell of fish and the feeding corner was infested with flies. For that reasons we started buying cat food to feed the mother cat.

2. By the way, I should mention that my wife did not used to like cats for one reason or another. We haven’t had any cat in our house since we were married. She believes that their fur is a health hazard and she would not want to worry about their pee and droppings. Hence, I was quite surprise when she decided to feed the cat and I am glad for her on that score. There seemed to be a change of heart, but in spite of that, cats must still remain outside the house.

3. My second son, Yasir, who likes to feed the cat, began calling her “Kak” short for kakak (sister). By and by everyone in the family started to refer to her by that name. Before long the tiny quintet were already staggering on their feet.

4. One day we noticed that there were only three kittens left; two were unaccounted for indefinitely. We were afraid to think of the worst that might have happened to them. But the worst was yet to come.

5. One fateful night, after dining out we headed for home. My eldest son, Syadhwan, was driving. Upon arriving at the front gate, Yasir got out, opened the gate and began to shoo the kittens that were in our way.

6. The next moment, thinking the kittens were safe from the wheels, Syadhwan steered the car slowly through the entrance. Then I heard a warning shout, but it was seconds too late. Both the front wheels had crushed a couple of kittens simultaneously! Then there were sighs of remorse and regret.

7. The incident was a wake-up call to all of us to be more cautious at the wheel. From that moment on, we would take the trouble to make sure the cats were at a safe distance from the wheels before leaving or entering the porch.

8. Everyone in the family, my wife especially, grew very fond of Kak and her little one which had imperceptibly grown up into a fluffy, active kitten, bouncing about playfully. It was still dependent upon its mother and stayed close to her most of the time. The children enjoyed watching the kitten playing with its mother’s tail when she instinctively waved it about.

9. Kak and her only surviving offspring subsequently became more attached to us. She miaowed when hungry and rubbed against our legs. At times when we were around, she would suddenly roll on her back stretching her legs right out. My wife was so amused whenever she saw Kak stretching – extending her forelimbs forward and stretching out her toes whilst lowering her chest to the ground and keeping her rear end raised.

10. After several weeks, it began to seem like an “adoption”. We all wanted Kak and the kitten to stay at our front porch. Syadhwan was planning to build a cat house for them. We served them cat food and provided water for them to drink. Everyone was delighted to watch the lively and playful kitten doing its thing. We all hoped it would grow up to become the family’s pet.      

11.  But destiny had its own way. On that fateful morning, Yasir hurried through the front door on his way to a job appointment. As if having a disturbing thought, his brother made for the door to watch him go. I looked through the front window and saw Yasir reversing the car through the gate. Then I saw Kak rushing out from under the car as it went just past the gate. Suddenly, Syadhwan yelled out at his brother.

12. It was the kitten. It bounced in the air once and dropped to the ground in front of the car, writhing in agony. Yasir promptly got out of the car to witness the victim of his negligence pulsing for a fleeting moment and then lay still on the ground.

13. I was dumbfounded. After Yasir had left for his appointment, his brother buried the poor kitten at the grassy edge of the street in front of the house. Everyone grieved the loss of the little kitten.