One day, as I was leaving for school with my sister, we heard a tiny kitten crying near the drain in front of our house. It was calling out “meow” as if asking for help out of hunger. That small sound touched our hearts.
Until then, we had never kept any pet at home. Sometimes a cat would come by, drink some milk, and leave. But it never stayed permanently in any house. The kitten we saw that day looked extremely helpless.
My sister picked it up and brought it home. We gave it milk and a little food. It seemed very hungry and quickly drank the milk and ate the food. Then we cleaned it and made it neat. We even arranged a small bed for it to sleep.
In the first few days, it was a little scared of us. But as days passed, it slowly began to trust us. Gradually, it became everyone’s favorite in the house. Anyone who looked into its big eyes would instantly feel affection. We named it “Chikini.”
We used to play with it a lot. Sometimes it would run all over the house, not easily coming into our hands. It was very active. After a while, it would come and sleep on me like a small child. Those moments gave me immense happiness.
Whenever we spoke to it, it would blink its eyes as if it understood and reply with a soft “meow.” As soon as we returned home from school, Chikini would run towards us and meow loudly. Wherever we went, it followed us. Even when we went to wash our hands or face, it would stand near our feet.
When we sat down to study, it would play with our books. Chikini loved cockroaches. It used to catch and eat the cockroaches hiding in the corners of the house. Because of this, the number of cockroaches at home gradually reduced.
After a few months, Chikini stopped eating milk and rice. It began eating only cockroaches. Day by day, it grew weaker. But we did not pay much attention to it then. We did not take it seriously.
One morning, Chikini did not get up from its bed. No matter how much we tried to wake it, it did not move. The Chikini that greeted us every day with a “meow” was completely silent that day. We were terrified. When we called the veterinarian, he examined it and said it needed to be taken to the hospital.
We set out with it, but there was a delay on the way. By the time we reached the hospital, Chikini had already lost its life. Seeing that, my grief was unbearable. I cried a lot. Later, we brought it home and buried it in the garden.
Only after Chikini was gone did we clearly realize one thing. Even when it had stopped eating milk and rice in its final days, we did not take it seriously. Though we loved it deeply, we failed to show proper care at the right time. That one act of negligence turned into a great pain for us. The realization of that mistake left a deep wound in our hearts.
Today, Chikini is no longer with us. But its memories are still alive in our home. Even now, the image of it running towards me when I returned from school stands clearly before my eyes.
Though Chikini is gone, its love will remain in our hearts forever.
“Silent animals cannot express their pain. We must understand their silence at the right time and show them more care.”
