Pineapple - A Cat climbed onto the Roof

It was a night that smelled of wet brush and fresh earth. The kind of night where the stars try to peek out, but the clouds keep getting in the way just for fun, like they were playing hide-and-seek up there in the sky. A night where the crickets chirp so loudly it sounds like a whole band is playing among the leaves. And in the middle of it all, in a little corner that no one paid much attention to, under an old guava tree that swayed with the wind, something very important happened. I was born. It wasn't a birth with fireworks or marching bands. There was no photographer, no birthday cake, and no one shouting "congratulations!" However, it was the most important birth in the world. At least to me. I opened my eyes and what did I see? A huge mess. There were four of us: me, my sister Watermelon, my brother Passion Fruit, and little tiny Pitanga, who was so teeny we could barely see her in the dark. And in the middle of it all, trying to handle the four of us at the same time, was the most important person in my life up to that point: Mommy. She was a stray cat just like me, with stripes of every color, as if someone had taken a paintbrush full of paint and made streaks all over her without any plan at all. Her eyes glowed in the dark like two small golden suns. And she looked at us with a love so great that I could feel that love warming my still-damp fur. But I'll be honest with you: besides love, I felt something else. Hunger. A monumental hunger. A hunger the size of the universe. A hunger that seemed to make noise inside my still-tiny tummy. And I wasn't alone in this. — MEOWWW! - I screamed with all the strength a newborn kitten can muster, which honestly isn't much strength, but in the silence of the night, it sounded like thunder. — Eww! Get out of my spot! - shouted Watermelon, pushing me with her little paw. — This one's mine! - I replied, pushing back. — Both of you move. - said Passion Fruit, squeezing into the middle. — Because I was here first! — None of you! - whined Pitanga from the corner. — Because I'm the smallest and I have priority! And so began the first great battle of my life. It wasn't a battle of swords or superpowers. It was a battle of newborn kittens fighting for space next to Mommy. But for us, at that moment, it was the biggest challenge in the world. Mommy looked to one side, then the other, then up, as if she were asking for patience from some higher power in the cat universe. — Meow... - she sighed, with that tired mother tone that every mother in the world knows, whether she's a cat, a dog, a lioness, or a human. She began to organize us with her nose, nudging one here, tucking another there, trying to make sure we all had our turn. And in the middle of all that mess, I discovered the first important thing in my life: Negotiating space is an art. It's no use just screaming and pushing. You have to wait for the right moment, observe, and then... act! While Watermelon was distracted l*****g her paw, I moved. Slowly, without making a sound, I positioned myself in the best spot possible. Perfect. — Heeey! - shouted Watermelon, seeing me. — Now it's my turn, Pineapple! MOVE! — I'm moving. - I said, in a voice that tried to sound innocent, but this warm milk is so yummy, and Mommy's licks cleaning me... meow, meow... that I'm too lazy to move. — MOVE! MOVE NOW! - said Watermelon. Watermelon was red with rage—or she would have been, if cats turned red. — I AM ALREADY IMPATIENT AND STARVING! — Okay, okay... - I said, pulling away with dignity, as if it were my decision and not hers. — But I've noted that you owe me one! Watermelon huffed. Passion Fruit laughed. Pitanga slept through it all, because Pitanga slept through absolutely everything. FUN FACT: Did you know that a mama cat can have up to nine kittens at once? It's a giant family! They are born with their eyes closed and only open them after ten days. In the beginning, their life is just nursing, sleeping, and making a mess with their siblings! The days passed the way kitten days usually do: nursing, sleeping, growing, and every now and then trying to take a step and falling face-first on the ground, which would give Watermelon a laughing fit that lasted for hours. But around the third week, something changed. The world started to get bigger. Not that the world itself had grown, of course. What grew was me. And as I grew, my curiosity grew too. And curiosity, as every cat knows, is a very dangerous thing. It's very exciting. It was on a sunny morning that everything really started to change. Mommy had gone out to eat, as she did every day. Watermelon was quiet, curled up in a fluffy ball of orange fur. Passion Fruit was trying to climb a rock and falling in the same spot for the tenth time. And Pitanga was sleeping, as always. And me... I was looking at the horizon. Back there behind the bushes, beyond the guava tree, where the brush ended and a different smell began, mixed with things I had never felt before, there was an entire world waiting for me. Is it safe? I thought. Is it dangerous? I thought, too. But what if it's amazing? And it was that last question that made my heart leap. I put one paw forward, then another, then another, and before I realized it, I was walking through the brush alone for the first time in my life. The world was huge. And silent in a way that made me want to make some noise. So that's what I did. — MEOWWW! - I shouted very loudly, for the whole brush to hear. The echo came back to me, spreading through the leaves. But besides the echo, something else came. A noise. Unlike any noise I had ever heard before. It wasn't my mother. It wasn't my siblings. It wasn't the wind or a little bird. It was... something else. And it was getting closer. My fur stood on end. My tail went stiff as a broom. My heart was beating so fast I could hear it in my ears. Run, Pineapple, said a voice inside my head. But then another voice answered: Or else... what if it's something good? FUN FACT: Cats make about 100 different sounds! While a dog makes only 10. This means I have a much larger vocabulary than any dog you know. It's just that most humans haven't learned to speak "Cat-ish" yet. Such a shame, right? I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath, like Mommy did when she was scared but needed to be brave. And I stayed. The footsteps drew near. The scent was big and unfamiliar. And then there was a huge shadow in front of me, and a voice that sounded like thunder but with warmth inside: — WOW! Little kitty! What are you doing here in the middle of nowhere?! I opened one eye, then the other. It was a giant. But not a scary giant. It was a giant with big, round eyes looking at me with an expression I would later learn to recognize as shock mixed with tenderness. The kind of expression humans make when they see something small and furry and are completely struck. Before I could react, I was wrapped in a warm towel that smelled like something soft and good. And the world began to move in a way I had never felt before. It was a car. And it was taking me to a new place. I looked through the little window as the brush was left behind, and I felt something squeeze my heart. Mommy. Watermelon. Passion Fruit. Pitanga. But then I looked ahead, where the new world awaited me, and I felt something else, too. Hope. LESSON FROM THIS CHAPTER: "Every day is a day to learn something new and gain a special friend! With a smile on your face and a brave heart, you can do anything—even if you feel a few butterflies in your stomach, go ahead with courage!"