An Unforgettable Relationship

One cool evening I decided to go to a local market to get some food, a typical Ghanaian dish, located about 3-5 minutes away from my hostel. As I climbed up the stairs with my food in a black plastic bag from the market, I noticed a lovely and pregnant brown cat climbing the stairs along with me. To know whether she was following me, I stopped. The moment I stopped, she also stopped. As I continued climbing, she also followed. She followed through the hallway to my room door. I opened the door and entered, while closing the door, I quickly recognized she was pregnant and probably hungry. I reopened the door, turned to my light hand and reached out for a plate and gave her some food. That was the beginning or our relationship!

The next evening, she came and waited for me at my door; by the time I opened the door, I saw her looking directly in my face. As I looked at her, she came closer and later passed me by and entered my room. I followed her and opened my locker to collect some food to give to her. She followed me out of the room to the kitchen where I put the food on a plate for her. The following day, she came and met me just as I was locking my door to go to the market again. At the same time, some students were passing by and asked me, why is this cat always waiting at your door? I replied and said she is my friend so she comes every day to visit me. At times, she would wait for me at the entrance downstairs, and when I am coming from the market, she would follow me. Because I knew she was always waiting at my door, I often opened it regularly to check on her.

As my departure drew closer, I began to wonder how she would feel when she didn’t see me anymore. How long will she wait at my door for me to come out? Will she find someone else like me that will want to build a relationship with her? All kinds of questions crossed my mind each day on the count down. Finally, the day of my departure came and that was when I knew we had created a very strong bond. As I climbed down the stairs with my suitcase, I saw her at the entrance in the early morning. Once she saw me, she came closer as I signed out of the hostel. She followed me to the taxi making a sound; I knew she was telling me something. A few people standing around started telling me how much the cat would miss me. I turned around and notice her standing where my suitcase was as the taxi driver pulled over. Tears ran down my cheeks as she watched me disappear from her sight.