The Third Winter

a place like this, was what the writer provided for the three strays he’d started taking care of…photo found online

As these strays became, a part, of your family, translated…

November, as Taiwan was still sunny and bright, Chicago had already, welcomed in its first snow.  The land, suddenly, was, united overnight by the snow.  Ding!  Came the photo my friend shot, it wasn’t, the outside covered in snow, but the kitty bowl that’s, become, frozen stiff.  Ding!  My friend texted, Peep’s’ been, coughing unstop.

I checked the temperatures, these few days, it can get down to below seven Celsius.  Too cold!  Suddenly, I felt my heart cringed, looking into the distances, over the Pacific, and a huge chunk of land, I saw Peeps, Fatso, Lightning, and Dragon, all curled up, with the snowflakes, falling over their bodies nonstop.  I also saw their pawprints big and tiny, printed down, scattered, in my backyard, my driveway, and my front porch.

This is the third year, that I’m to, spend the winters with them.  By October of every year, Chicago started, using the heaters, the cooled weather of Autumn became, clear, with the frosts, approaching, enclaving.  But, I’d, never imagined, that the first snow of this year would, come so soon, the coldness of the winter season already, swept over completely.

Thinking back to that very first winter, I’d, watched with uncertainties, and nervousness, every morn when I woke, I’d, gone downstairs, to check to see if they’re, all there, waited, until they all showed, then, I’d, provide them with the foods, and watched them, gulped up the water by the mouthfuls.

The second winter, I’d, decided, to open up my sunroom, placed the cardboard boxes, the soft quilts, and the mats, so they can spend their winters, inside, to not be threatened, by the cold.  That way, at least, for five months, I’d, needed to, give up using my sunroom, so they can, come and go as they’d, pleased.

As I’d, opened up my sunroom for them, one the one hand, I can be certain that their water supplies won’t get frozen stiff, and secondly, it can, greatly, reduce the chances of them being, FROZEN to death, and I can, feel, a little, less stressed out.  But my friends showed their concerns, “is your neighborhood really, safe enough?”, yes, I’d, wondered about that too.

These four cats, are, four dogs after all, as someone forced their ways in, they’d, barked out of warning, or scare the intruder off.  I also thought, that if the cats bumped into an intruder, they would’ve, run off, to save themselves first.  At that time, my safety, wellbeing, and my properties, are on, the back of their, to-do list.  But—what, do I have to offer, the burglars?  I’d, started, scratching my head, and thought hard on it.

“There’s still a door that’s locked between my kitchen and my sunroom!”, I’d thought it over, and decided, to open up my sunroom, last year I’d started doing it, I’m doing it this year, and every single year after this.

Look!  The winter actually, arrived, the around-the-clock warnings of the cold weather attacking started.  I can only pray, that human and cats are all okay.  And so, at this moment, I’d, wanted, to be home, looking over, into the distances, to far, far, far away.  I’d, missed them.

Are they too, waiting, for my return as well?

If they were dogs, I’m certain, that they will be, looking to your return, but cats?  I really don’t know, but, as this writer stated, since s/he’d opened up the sunroom three years ago, the cats had all been, coming to his house where it’s safe and far away, from the coldness of the winter weathers in the northern cities of the U.S., and, this man got used to, having the cats around, and he now, worried over them.