Animal Activities #19
Juan The Loving Cat: A Story of Belief, Bravery and Bond |
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Write a story about an animal, usually awaken in me tales of bitter and sweet stories about different species of both domesticated and non-domesticated animals. @xkool24 thank you for always coming up with "write a story about an animal".
A story of superstitious believe, which is like kind of a syndrome of a thing in my village. Recalling back in the 2000s, around 2004-2005 when I was a small child growing up in a village located in Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria. Life was simple but laced with certain deep-rooted beliefs that sound so awkward today. We woke up to the sounds of roosters crowing, which is an old time clock for us to go to farm, stream, fetched water from the well and attend to numerous chores that required early morning wake up. After all that, played under the mango trees barefooted until the sun shine no more and the moon set for night play again. But among all the ordinary joys of village life, there was one creature that stood out and it wasn't for its charm nor fear it brought. Mr Cat was that creature and for whatever reasons I don't know, I bonded with this cat and named it Juan.
I was barely Eleven years old when I first encountered Juan that had seem thin, dusty and stray with striking green eyes and fur the color of burnt wood. Juan used to sneak into our compound and hide under the kitchen table and my guess was coming for left over food. Something about Juan drew me in and while other of my two friends who knew about Juan threw stones or chased him with sticks, I started leaving out tiny bits of leftover rice and fish bones so she could always come back.
One of my friends had betrayed me and informed my guardians about the cat I fed and name. Then, there come the big problem. I was sent for and unlikely as I expected to be disciplined with cane, the alternative was used and I was asked to sit and the following was communicated to me. To them, maybe, I didn't know of this beliefs. So, they decided to teached me. In my village, cats weren’t seen as pets, they were seen as omens.
Superstitions Held Against Cats in My Village:
1 Cats were believed to be witches' messengers, especially if they were black or dark-colored. People thought they could turn into spirits at night.
2 A cat crossing your path at night was said to bring misfortune or even death.
3 Crying cats near a house were believed to be predicting tragedy or bad luck for someone inside.
4 People believed cats couldn’t die a natural death and that anyone who kept one was inviting evil spirits into their home.
All this are funny to me now though I was scared to know all this back then.
Because of these beliefs, cats were feared, hated and sometimes even killed without a second thought should it seem to exhibit any behavior that justify to this beliefs. My grandmother, a firm believer in the old ways, once warned me sternly:
"That cat you’re feeding in secret and think you are brave, should it die in this house. Do you know what it means?"
I take my grandma for a joke and lost thought. Little did I knew, She was serious and ready to get rid of Juan herself.
I knew I had to act fast if I was going to save Juan from my grandma
There was a man down edge of my village I do fetch water from the stream for.
It was at that moment I remembered Mr. Okon, an elderly friend of mine. He had worked as a veterinary assistant in the city many years ago and had come back to retire in peace. I had once seen a bird with a broken wing in his compound and he had carefully nursed it back to health.
Later, to a day my grandma threatened to execute Juan, I went to meet Mr. Okon in secret and told him everything about Juan. He smiled knowingly and said, “People fear what they don’t understand. You’ve done well, my boy.” and he was happy to see a boy of my age think differently.
Been his field, Mr. Okon provided me with a small wooden crate, a little bag of dry feed and a warm blanket for Juan and He helped me find a hidden spot near his house where Juan could stay without being seen by my friends who might further reported same to my grandma which might still take a toil on me. Every day after school, I would go there, feed her and play with her. She would purr loudly and rub herself against my legs, like she knew I had saved her life.
The last time I visited my hometown, people are beginning to see cats differently and the whole narrative has changed with social media, education and city influence. In urban areas, cats are now adopted as companions, featured in funny videos and seen playing peacefully with children.
Though upon all this influence, in many other parts of other villages, those of the old still hold to the fear of cat and the misfortune they stand for. But over here in my hometown, People no longer kill cats on sight but some won't still own one.
They say, “I no hate cat o, but make cat no near me.”
I didn't know better until Juan taught me better.
She eventually grew into such a beautiful, well-fed lady cat lolz. I had named her Juan the Loving Cat because she never stopped purring, never stopped following me with those warm eyes and never stopped loving even when the world around her hated her without cause.
Though Juan is long gone now, her memory lives with me and I am supper happy to share a story of her loving nature in this contest. She was more than a pet, she was a proof that kindness can challenge culture and love can rewrite even the deepest beliefs.
I invite @waterjoe @ngoenyi @ruthjoe to participate in the contest.
Thanks for reading.
Best Regards @berda01 |
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https://x.com/princewill_okon/status/1922283694313615837?t=hV5A01GDulmIz0uRA_4E7A&s=19
Upvoted! Thank you for supporting witness @jswit.
Nice cat, thank you for sharing quality writing on the steemit platform and keep working with other writings :)
Thank you
Welcome to steem-agro!
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What a heartfelt story, Juan the Loving Cat is proof that compassion and open-mindedness can break even the strongest chains of superstition and i must say that your bravery and kindness remind us all that love can rewrite even the oldest beliefs.