I live in a ground floor house that faces a fairly lively set of row houses; it’s on the end of a road that connects to the neighbourhood’s bus stand. So car noises are pretty regular over the course of the day.
Because i’m pretty much living at the end of the street, you obviously can’t see the vehicles or the numerous fights across the neighbourhood unless you look out the towards the other side of the road, no?
But sometimes the vehicles take a short cut through an intersection to escape from a line of yellow school bus with varied emotions filled kids. Therefore, occasional sound and chaos around is possible if conditions are right.
There are fights over water, parking space, bathroom occupancy and rats doing ballets inside their homes.
So this kitten from a trio who sought refugee and bosses over my plants now? Whenever he hears a loud fight from the opposite houses or the temporary disturbance of traffic, day or night, he pops his little head through the rusted gate.
Even if there is no fight going on. to him, the other side is the curious side.
Naranja, meaning orange in all sorts of languages and his siblings inji and posto reluctantly would stare out.
Giving them company sometimes is an old indie. He is taken care by a sweet old retired gentleman who sweeps the streets because he likes it.
Sometimes the fight appears and there is a loud noise, no matter the time, the curious cat who the bell would also shudder towards would often watch.
This is because he would find the right timing to go and chew on the rubber pink chappals on the doorsteps outside one of the houses.
That is until I troop in home, I say hi’s and hellos, they would scatter away to the bonnet of my car despite the comfortable space kept for them in the motor room.
He knew either my return back home or when the lights are off is the end of staring time or hunting rats time.
Who knew what’s in the uni-brain cell of the trio.
But naranja could correlate my entry as his log off time for the watch party. He only emerges at night if there’s a rat otherwise would resume duty when the aunty comes to clean the road at 5AM trying to chew the broomstick.
Smart kitty. For a weird set of 45 days, my constant chuckle was on the antics of naranja and great support from his siblings.
I suppose this curious nature ultimately led to his exit from the all the world’s a stage.
Dr D, the vet who loves me for taking for indies in the past, said he would have eaten something that he shouldn’t have.
I blame the rats that this one aunty lets towards our house because Amma once called her out for cheating her neighbours.
His tummy was triple the size of his head which still had a small grease spot on the top because of his bonnet residency.
It is perhaps going to be weird seeing cats reels (and dog reels ofc), my escape from misinformation world, for sometime.
Curiosity did kill this cat. But he looked peaceful, fast asleep, when he passed.
The mother cat, Inji Sr rubbed against my leg and stayed for a while. I pet it and it went and became a loaf on the wall.
I will miss chasing him away from my bike, crocs, door, newspaper, plants, rat carcasses, water tank, heavy flower pots, pest control medicines.
Another Writer Guy. 