Buyo

     I had finally decided to hit the sack, a little later than I should have.  It was around 2 AM when I had finally decided to climb into bed.  As I did so, I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I laid in bed and looked out my window, watching the trees bend and thrash so hard from the wind that I was afraid they would fall over.  Usually the sound of heavy storms relaxed me, but something felt wrong this time.

     “Check downstairs,” a voice in my head whispered over and over again.

     I lay in my bed, trying to ignore it and get comfy, but my body just wouldn’t let me.  I tossed and turned for about an hour, before I finally got up and cautiously walked downstairs.

     Thoughts of what could be wrong quickly began flashing though my head.  What if the wind had broken a window?  What if a tree fell over and broke our living room?  What if a door had simply been blown open and our cats ran away?  My heart sunk.

     Turning the corner slowly, I realized the latter was confirmed.  The front door had been blown wide open and was smacking against the wall from the wind, just as I thought.  I could have sworn that I heard dramatic classical music playing at that very moment.  Sitting at the door was one of my cats, Stanley.  When he heard me step onto the tile floor, he turned to me quickly with wide, terrified eyes.  I began to panic and ran toward the door quickly, picking Stanley up.  I shut the door tight, locked it and ran upstairs, covering my mouth and holding back tears.  I walked into my parent’s room and shook them awake quickly.

     “Mom, Dad, wake up,” I said, waiting until they were paying attention to continue, “I just went downstairs and the side door was wide open.”

     My parents and I looked for about half an hour when we came to the conclusion that we could not find Buyo.  When that was decided, I instantly ran to my room, grabbed a quilt and a chair and went outside.  I sat down and began to cry.  What if he didn’t come back?  I prayed hard for hours, begging for him to be okay.  Every once in a while, I would calm down and think about the things around me, only to have my mind wander back to Buyo, which would make me start crying all over again.

     Eventually, I convinced myself that he would be okay and that he would come back.  It was around 4 AM when I went back inside and went to bed.

     I slept until 10 AM, having dreams of Buyo and what could happen to him.  When I woke up, I ran straight to my parent’s bedroom and asked them if he had come back.

     “Yeah, I went to check at around 5 AM,” my dad answered.  “Buyo was curled up at the door and burst through when I opened it.  I think he might have been hurt.”

     I felt indescribable joy when I heard that he had come back, but began to panic when I heard the last bit.  “Where is he now?”

     “Probably under your bed,” my mom replied.

     I instantly began walking back to my room.  All my brothers started talking to be about Buyo, but I didn’t really hear any of it.  I was too worried about my baby.  When I got in my room, I laid on my stomach and sure enough, he was curled up under my bed.  I grinned and began to pet him, knowing it was all okay now.

     That day terrified him so much that he won’t even go outside now.  If the door is open, he will run up to my room with his tail in between his legs to climb under the bed and hide.  He’s learned his lesson, and he came back safe.  I’m so glad he did too.  I have no idea what I would have done if he didn’t come back.  I love my kitties so much.