Creatures that Captivate

Keeping a safe distance

 I never had a dog...or a cat for that matter. But at the ripe age of 25, I had my longest and most endearing experience with a couple pets of "my own". Okay, I will cut to the chase. One bright sun-shining day, my two beloved roommates decided to adopt a couple of kittens. As I have never been fond of cats ever since I had to babysit some kids and by default a very sassy cat that wouldn't let me stop petting it without hissing, I was a little hesitant to the idea of having not one but two kittens running around our small apartment. Little did I know what great company they make. While the girls were out of town one weekend, I was faced with the ultimate challenge: cat-sitting. At first, me and the kittens started out at a distance. They stayed in Gi's room; I stayed in mine. Then, well, I thought they could use some fresh air and I let them join me in the kitchen while I cooked. But I was still warming up to the idea of them crawling around in my room. As it was just me and the cats this lonely weekend in Viçosa before university classes started up again, I gave in to their cute purrs and let them explore. By the end of the weekend, we were all watching "Hart of Dixie" in my bed and cuddling together.

Pandora & Cenoura matched my blanket

This story is unique for me, but it's just another story in the world of human experiences. I'm sure every one of my readers (yeah, that's you Mom & Dad) have had a similar one of captivation. Just a week after the kittens and I became buddies, I reread the first book I read in Portuguese over a year ago: The Little Prince. He gave me the words for what had happened between us creatures: captivation. In fact it was the fox that teaches the Little Prince how one is captivated by another. It is not an immediate trap, but a slow and gradual process that takes patience and effort. Each day you get a little closer, you open up yourself a little more, and you make yourself a little more vulnerable in the process. Here the other trusts you, and if the other receives it well, the other will do the same. Next thing you know, you are captivated by the other and the other is captivated by you. Now the fox isn't just any fox, it is your friend the fox. The kittens aren't any kittens of the millions on this Earth, but Cenoura and Pandora, one a little more feisty and the other a little more curious. That girl with the smily pearls isn't like the all the others because she is your friend, and you are captivated forever.

Attempting to snowboard in Big Bear

The irony of this story is my beloved roommate Layssa discovered she has an allergy to cats and the closer they got to her, the more swollen her eyes got. Thus, lesson two from the Little Prince's fox. Once that creature is gone, things that didn't have any purpose for you before can now mean the
world to you. For example, for the fox who doesn't eat wheat but is surrounded by it, he has no interest in the wheat. But after the fox and the Little Prince depart, the wheat will have new significance in the fox's life because it will remind it of the Little Prince's blond hair strands blowing in the wind. Layssa may not have been a fan of Garfield, or had any connection to ginger cats before, but every time she sees one now she will remember the kitten named Cenoura that captivated her before she had to give him away. I had no affinity to grape juice before, but now I will always think of my good friend Sabrina Louise, that spunky Brazilian that captivated me about a year ago.