Roxy with Coco
The more days I spend with these animals, the more amazing things I see. I have almost begun to believe in a power which is beyond my reach now. Let me tell you a story.
It all began on a Wednesday morning when Penny and me went to feed the puppies who live by the road. As we were driving by, I noticed two kittens being eaten by crows. I felt very bad on seeing the sight. But I knew that the kittens were already dead as their organs were almost completely eaten up. We drove on to meet the puppies and the family. The puppies, the mother and the father figure came running as usual, full of happiness and expectations. They were hoping for a good breakfast. Bread, eggs and milk seemed to do the trick for them. Just then, I realized that there was a tiny kitten lying right in front of Daisey(the Land rover). I thought it was dead too. But when I picked it up, it was still breathing. It looked like it was going to die any moment. On finding this one, I figured that I should go and look near the dead ones as well. There might be a few more there. And that is when I found Roxy.
She was sitting there mewing. She was the next in line to get killed. I picked her up and we brought her home. Roxy was a fighter. I enjoyed every moment I spent with her. She knew when there were people around her. She knew when we were around to feed her. Coco was really nice to her and kept her warm to a great extent. Roxy lived with a sense of adventure in her. She was amazingly strong for a little kitten of her age.
She had me and Sarah worried sick for a whole day; the day she went missing. We looked everywhere, turned both the houses upside down and still couldn’t find her. It rained that night and by morning we were pretty sure that she was definitely dead. Just as we were discussing how sad the whole situation was, Sarah began to hear a faint mewing. I realized that I could hear it too. Initially, we both thought we were hallucinating. But then, if both of us could hear it, the sound had to be for real! We followed to sound to the garden wall. It was quite a huge wall. There was no way Roxy could have climbed that one! Nevertheless, I still thought that I should go to the other side of the house, the neighbour’s house and check which cat was mewing. It took me a while to convince the suspecting neighbor that my intentions were good and that all I wanted to do was look at the mewing cat and check if it was Roxy. The sound was coming from an area where there were a lot of roosters and hens in the neighbour’s backyard. The mewing originated from the roof of a bathroom. It was almost like she knew I was there, she stepped out timidly, mewing loudly. I got Roxy back!
I still do not know how she got there. My assumption is that a bird or a cat carried her over the wall. The only other explanation is that she somehow managed to get out of the gate and the neighbours found her and decided to keep her. But on realizing that she would just mew the whole time, they decided to let her out. I wish Roxy could speak. She would have a lot of stories to tell us. From how she was abandoned by her mother and thrown into the garbage on the road, watching her brothers die one by one in front of her by crows, being rescued by a hand which I am pretty sure she was not confident about at all, but she was just too weak to fight, then her new mother Coco and the abduction! She would also have a lot to speak about Teto, her big brother, I am sure because he kept a watchful eye on her most of the time as well.
She was a little fighter in the true sense. The lyrics of the song ‘Little Fighter’ by White Lion explain exactly the way she lived her little life. Having escaped death twice in her life of less than a month, one which included an abduction as well…she was indeed a fighter. I am proud of her for making it this far. She had a moma in Coco even though they were not of the same kind and an elder brother in Teto. We all love you and miss you Roxy. May your soul rest in peace!
Little Fighter – White Lion
Are you crying tonight?
Are you feeling all right?
I told the world that you were down on your luck.
You were one of a kind.
One who’d never give it up.
Even when they put a price on your head.
Has anyone heard the tales you tell?
Or seen the scars you wear?
Did anyone speak up when you fell?
Does anybody care?
Rise again little fighter,
And let the world know the reason why.
Shine again little fighter,
And dont let it impair the things you do.
And you were one with a cause,
And a reason to be
You were a fighter for peace on this earth.
And you were never afraid
You put your life on the line
And you were always so long out on the sea
Without a weapon in your hand
You came to fight a war
They took your life, but didn’t know
That you will never die
Rise again little fighter
And let the world know the reason why
Shout again little fighter
And don’t let it impair the things you do
Are you feelin all right?
‘Cos I care, care
Run along little fighter
Oh coz I was there beside you
Never stop believing, so rise
Rise Rise!
Rise again little fighter
And let the world know the reason why
Shout again little fighter
And don’t let it impair the things you do
Rise again little fighter (Don’t stop believin)
And let the world know the reason why
Shout again little fighter (And keep on movin)
And don’t let it impair the things you do
Yea, don’t let it ever end the things you do
Contributed by : Aditi Nair
