MILAGRO

We have two cats, Kiki and Binky. About a month ago, Kiki just disappeared. It was very sad, and though we called him every day ,and checked the sides of the roads and the neighboring properties, and even the local Humane Society, there was no sign of him. Lots of cats disappear here in the country, prey to cat-eaters. So we mourned his loss and loved Binky extra hard because she was clearly missing her brother cat companion.

Last Wednesday, as Garrett was driving Grace to her violin lesson, she spotted a FOUND CAT sign about a mile down the road. She called me right away and swore that the picture on the poster was our cat, Kiki. Though it seemed highly unlikely, I called the phone number given and left a message.

Later that evening, the phone rang and both Grace and I picked up a receiver. Grace answered because the caller ID indicated it was her friend Rachael calling. I was just hoping to hear about our cat. As it turned out, it was indeed Grace's friend Rachael, the only family we know on that side of the road--one mile south and quite far back off the road--who had found a black cat. Still not believing it could be Kiki, we zoomed down the hill and YES, it was indeed our poor, battered cat. He had a wound on his shoulder and was limping and he felt like a bag of bones when I picked him up. But oh, was he happy to see us!

I wonder what sort of adventures he's had this past month. Clearly, he has suffered. But he is fattening up nicely, limping far less, and hardly straying from the garage. I often find Binky and Kiki curled up in their beds atop the book boxes, just like in the old days, the days before Kiki lost his way.

I'm calling him Milagro, Spanish for "miracle".

The lesson: never lose hope. The unbelievable is always possible.