Le Spectre Errant

Il week-end lungo sta giundendo al termine e io l'ho passato festeggiando compleanni, facendo compiti, guardando film, mangiando, preparandomi cioccolate calde e schiacchierando com Mary-Lou, che ha dormito da me sia sabato sera che domenica e anche stasera (ha convinto la mamma dicendo che qui si diverte, fa i compiti e mangia). Diciamo che l'idea di tornare a scuola domani non mi alletta ma almeno mancheranno solo 4 giorni prima del prossimo week-end, che passero` al Lago con Joey e Rocky!

Ho scritto il mio english essay..! Quasi tutto oggi. Ma perche` sono sempre presa indietro?!?

It all started on a cloudy and rainy day that began as a simple school day: after rushing home from school under the water, arriving literally soaking wet, I found nobody home, except for my beloved dog, who happily greeted me. I quickly changed into warm and dry clothes and walked into the kitchen, hoping to find something nice to eat to gain my energy back as I had been very busy at school, committing myself to tests and quizzes. On the kitchen table laid a simple piece of paper with my name written on it in big, clear letters. I started reading it, holding it with one hand while with the other I rummaged through the fridge, but then my attention was captured by the word "funeral". I sat down on the floor and re-read the sheet of paper carefully: mum had wrote that she had to accompany my little sister to the funeral of one of her dearest friends who had passed away only a few days before, victim of a terrible disease. I blinked, looking at the paper and felt so sorry that my hunger vanished.

I slowly got up and placed the sheet on the table, not knowing what to do. Spontaneously, I started looking out of the kitchen window, while raindrops fell on the glass, creating strange shapes. I suddenly realized why it was raining: the sky was crying, hurt by the loss of that young life. Different questions came to my mind: why is life so unfair? Why is it that so many innocent lives have to be demolished?

I felt scared and confused. For no particular reason I continued looking out of the window, as if I were expecting the answer of all the questions that were tormenting me to appear in my garden. Something appeared indeed: it was no abstract or mystic sign coming for me, it was a small, innocent creature, a cat, precisely. She’d just climbed the garden’s low wall and was now hiding under the bushes, cold and scared. I froze and stood still, making no sound. She saw me anyway and stared at me for a long time, probably trying to predict my reaction, while I tried to understand why she was there and what brought her here. Meanwhile, the rain continued to pour from the sky.

Since I wasn’t making any suspicious moves, she started to cross the yard very slowly, holding something in her mouth. I concentrated on the little, black ball hanging from her jaws; although she was now very close to the house I still couldn’t make up my mind on the real nature of the black object. As if she had read my mind, the moment she reached the shelter she delicately lay her mysterious carrying which was a cute, little kitten, who could barely stand up on his paws. I couldn’t stop myself from sighing.

After being quickly bathed by his mother, he slowly reached the main entrance and paused for a second, sitting on the warm and dry carpet. Meanwhile, the cat had started to explore the new territory and was looking for a safe refuge, I suppose, since she was sniffing and observing everything. The coziest available place at the moment was the doghouse, right in front of the door. She carefully helped her little cub enter it and he found himself surrounded by cushions and old blankets. A minute later she was gone.

I felt puzzled: why had she left the young cat there? Had she abandoned her kitten? I didn’t quite know what to do. Should I have gone out to help or stayed inside to see how things would have turn out? While I was making up my mind the cat reappeared, with another cub in her mouth. She did the same things she’d done before, then left again and came back, accompanying a third one, and so went on until five newborn creatures laid in the now crowded doghouse. The mother cat sat nearby, looking at them proudly.

Now the only sound I could hear was the rain falling. I took a deep-breath and began to ponder on what had happened in that short period of time: first the bad news about the funeral, then the arrival of the cat and last the coming of the litter. I had experienced the despair of death and the triumph of life in less than half an hour. I realized how life could easily be taken away, but also how all the creatures in the world worship it and are ready to fight for it. The cat that was now resting in my garden had faced a storm in order to save her cubs, which wouldn’t have survived much longer under the rain. She had ensured them a life that could have been easily taken away from them. But she chose to take the risk and succeeded. From my point of view, this means that it’s worth fighting for happiness, even if the risks are high.