After a while, the moving guys were done. The truck was packed and ready to go. My dad asked me to wait by the front door because he needed to move the car away. So I did. Then, I saw two kids, one on a bicycle and the other on foot, heading towards the truck. One kid, who wasn't on a bike, was carrying something in his hand. That something was wriggling. That something was a tiny kitten. I was surprised, especially because the kid turned to a small alley in front of my house where a stream flow nearby. I honestly thought the kid would have thrown the kitten into the stream. I was ready to run.
But, two seconds after the kid went out of the alley, the kitten followed suit. I was relieved and still ran anyway, since the truck was still nearby and I didn't want it to get squashed. I grabbed it to safety and saw that it's really tiny and weak. Its body temperature was kinda low too. Not good. I put it on a corner and tried to feed it milk, but it didn't want to drink. It was probably to young to drink by itself. So, I put it into a carrier and make sure it's safe. My mother, noticing the little creature, immediately expressed contempt. She didn't want a dirty little thing, she said. I told her that I was going to take care of it, regardless. My father soon showed the same reaction, with a more hurtful comment. I would not repeat it here. It was just a tiny kitten. Why would anyone be mean to it, I don't really understand.
Luckily, my parents had to leave to Jakarta to help my sister. I immediately took the kitten inside and tried harder to feed it. I cleaned it and tried to make a warm nest for it to sleep. The other cats were curious but I kept them away from it, since I didn't want to risk any transfer of viruses or fleas. The other cats sulked, the kitten mewed.
I spent the whole day just trying to keep it alive. I couldn't go and find a kitten milk replacement because I didn't want to leave him alone. I didn't want to risk it taking it in the car and get trapped in silly traffic jam. I was talking to my boyfriend on Skype the whole time, panicking and feeling so helpless. He did his best to comfort me, but the kitten wasn't doing well. I finally took it to the vet when the traffic eased a bit. It's a he, and he got several shots and the vet told me to give him worm meds. I got some soft cat food too. And then I spent the whole night just trying to feed him. That didn't work well because he was vomiting. I thought he's going to die. I didn't really sleep that night.
In the morning, after I slept only for 2 hours, I woke up finding Peculiar (my boyfriend named him) still breathing. I decided I wouldn't be able to take care of him by myself and he needed better attention and care. So, I took him back to the clinic and hospitalised him.
Peculiar is still at the clinic now, recuperating. Last time I saw him, he was a bit weak but really playful and noisy. I took that as a good sign. Peculiar the kitten, with his peculiar origin, taught me more about humans; how we are capable of so much love and how we are capable of so much contempt. Again, like what I have written before, it's a matter of choice. We sometimes choose to be blind about different things just because it's easy. But it hampers our full potential to love. When you are blinded by yourself, you are not capable to express anything truthfully. I learnt that it's okay to care, no matter how difficult it is to care and along the way, I found other human beings who were wiling to help and support me. I also found other people who had selective affection; reserved only for pretty things.
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