Lessons from Strays

I am continually surprised, excited and happy to see that whatever you want to call it, the Universe, God or the random occurrences of events that is Life has a way of sending exactly what is needed when it's needed, even if you don't understand it at the moment.

The other day we had a free day and everyone went to Rab, hiking, biking, swimming or a mix of them all, it was a day off but I know I over did it a bit. I was already exhausted and should have taken more time to do nothing and recover. But the way things played out I found myself alone in Rab, separated from my friends without a cell phone on a Sunday so I had no way to buy a card to use one of the few payphones in town. I wandered through the now familiar streets, enjoying the scenery but progressively getting more and more tired and downtrodden. A little down in the dumps spurred on by physical tiredness and situational frustration.
I was about to give up trying to find my friends and start the long walk home by myself when a familiar little black cat ran up to me from a side alley.

Urchin is a kitten originally "adopted" by a woman in my program who gave him enough food to keep going when he had a hurt paw and an eye infection preventing him from hunting. When she first helped him he was emaciated and probably only a few days from starving. We checked on him a few weeks later and he was doing much better with his paw and eye healing. And here he appeared again.

He came right up to me, rubbing on my legs and mewing familiar greeting. I gave him a pet and continued my walk, him trotting along beside me all the way across town. When I stopped to take pictures he would lay down and roll in the dust or sit and patiently wait. When he was weaving in and out of my feet too much I picked him up and cuddled the little skinny body, feeling him relax against my chest.

I walked him back to his regular stomping grounds, the little park and church at the far end of the peninsula. I sat down cross legged and set him down on my lap as the sun started to go down. He immediately cuddled next to me and fell asleep.

In truth, I cannot bring Urchin home with me. Nor can I feed him for much longer, get him shots, take him to the vet, or guarantee him a long and healthy life. But on that Sunday I could hold him and give him a safe place to nap for a few minutes in the sunshine. In all the roughness that is and is going to be his life he got a moment of warmth and security. He kept me company when I couldn't find mine, my little five minute friend; he reminded me of the importance of finding beauty in unfortunate situations. A lesson I needed a little nudging with at that moment.

Soon

Urchin woke up, yawned, stretched and hopped off my lap. The sleek little cat lead me to the door of the church, mewed at me a few times and went inside. Instead of following, I turned and started the walk back along the water at a dawning dusk. Where I found my friends.