小猫毛毛

It wasnt long after I opened my eyes that Master took me home. One minute， I was snuggled up with my brothers and sisters， and the next I was roughly pulled from our enclosure and held up in the air.

It took a while to accept my Master. This strange place was unfamiliar， with giant monuments of wood and leather， and a giant toilet that I quickly learned was not meant for my kind. The Master and her family walked across their giant toilet， played games on it， even napped on it. I had a small box of my own， and every day my deposits mysteriously disappeared， no matter how deep I buried them.

The Master and her family had strange voices， too. I only learned a few words of their tongue；“Whiskers” （which was me）， “no，” “cat，” “come here，” and a handful of other phrases that I knew to be crucial for my interaction with them.

Every morning， I engaged in a helpful ritual to wake up Master. She never got up when the horrible box on her nightstand started screeching， so to try to get her to turn the damn thing off， Id slip into her bedroom and nuzzle her face. Sometimes， this would annoy her， but most times she would pull me in for a snuggle and rub my ears.

Masters husband loved me， too. He loved to help me hunt the elusive red dot and would even crawl on the floor with me when the menace would be on the carpet， the wall， or even my paws.

The third one， the only name I knew other than my own， was Kara. Kara was the Master and her husbands only kitten. While I respected and adored my Master， Kara was my favorite.

I was certain Kara knew me on a different level. I would test my theory. For instance， I would present myself while she was engaged in various tasks， and see how she reacted. She was never cruel， and often recognized that I was in dire need of some treats， attention， or love. The only time she displayed anger at me was when I had killed the white snake. I thought I had done her a favor， but apparently， that was wrong. The terrible sounds that came from her mouth， I never understood， but I did know to never do anything of the sort again.

As Kara grew taller and more magnificent， she seemed to be boundless with energy. Her time from home grew longer， too.

As I grew older， I marveled at Karas ability to be so spry. She and her kind were so flawless and never aged. With me， I felt like Id never be a kitten again. The first time I neglected to deposit my waste in the box， I was yelled at severely. But I couldnt help it. I just couldnt move fast enough.

Then， one day， Kara left. I waited patiently that night， but never saw her return.

Days went by. Perhaps months. I dont even know. I napped often in Karas room， hoping when I would wake up， she would be there…

One day， Master came to me as I laid on Karas bed. In Masters hand was the small box that everyone seemed to have permanently in their grip. She spoke into the box：“Kara！” My ears perked up. Master held the box to me.

“Whiskers！”

“Kara！” I gasped. I could hear her voice， but I didnt see her. Where was she？ I was so excited that I didnt realize I released my bladder until Master clucked her tongue unhappily and picked me up to clean me off.

The next morning， something was different. Master didnt make me my normal breakfast. I hadnt been eating much anyway. But she did bring me a piece of delicious fish from her own plate， and it was very good. I wanted to get onto my viewing post， but my joints hurt so bad. Master must have sensed this， and she picked me up to place me on the highest spot.

I napped there for a few hours， then woke up and found that we were in the White Mans place. Master was bringing me here more as I got older. How strange it was that none of them ever changed； nothing around me ever did， and only I had become different.

Master carried me to the back， and laid me down on the table.

“Whats wrong？” I asked， reaching a paw out to her.

Water leaked from her eyes and she reached out， taking my paw between her fingers. “Good cat， Whiskers，” I heard her say.

The White Man came in， with a pointy thing in his hands. He scratched my ears and my chin. Ahh， my favorite spots. He knew. They all knew. They all know so much about me. I only wish I had more time to learn more about them.

The White Man brought the point to my arm. Usually， it would hurt， but not today. As he squeezed the pointy thing， I suddenly felt very warm and—

“Where is he？”

Kara？

“Where is Whiskers？ Am I too late？ The traffic from the university was horrible and I didnt think Id make it in time and please， oh god， I hope I made it in time—”

It was Kara. Kara was here！

The door of the room burst open， and Kara stood there with a red face that matched her hair. “Is he gone？” she blurted out.

The White Man shook his head. “I just gave him a calming sedative.”

“Kara…” I whispered weakly.

“Oh， Whiskers，” she cried. She ran over to me and placed her head on my side.

I lifted my head. It was so hard， I was so weak. All I could muster was a soft meow， and laid my paw on her hand. For some reason， this made her cry even more. I dont know why she was so sad. I lived a happy life. My only regret is that I would not live as long as her.

I felt another gentle poking on my arm. My vision started getting fuzzy， but I wasnt scared. I had Kara there with me.

My eyelids were so heavy， but I struggled to watch her. Soon， it was hard to keep them open at all.

“I love you， Whiskers，” Kara said.

“I love you， too，” I whispered back， and I closed my eyes.

我睁开眼睛后不久主人就把我带回了家。前一刻，我还和我的兄弟姐妹彼此依偎着，下一刻，就有人随手把我从我们的围栏里拉了出来，举在空中。

我花了一段时间才接受我的主人。这个地方很新奇，周围耸立着用木头和皮革造成的巨大碑牌，还有一个巨大的厕所，我很快就认识到这不是为我们猫而设的。主人和她的家人会走到他们的大厕所里，他们会坐在上面玩游戏，甚至打瞌睡。我有一个专属的小盒子，每天我的排泄物都会神奇地消失掉，无论我把它们埋得有多深。

主人和她家人的声音也很奇怪。我只能听懂他们说的一些词语。“毛毛”（这是我），“不行”，“猫”，“到这儿来”，还有一些对我们之间的交流至关重要的词语。

每天早上，我都会照例帮忙叫醒主人。就算她床头几上那个恐怖的盒子开始尖叫，她也从不会马上起床，所以为了让她把那个该死的东西关掉，我会溜进她的卧室，用鼻子轻轻抚弄她的脸。有时候，这个举动会惹毛她，但她多半会把我抱入怀中，轻揉我的耳朵。

主人的丈夫也很爱我。他很乐于帮我捕捉那个神出鬼没的红点，当这个讨厌的红点在出现在地毯上、墙上、乃至于我的爪子上的时候，他甚至还会和我一起匍匐在地上。

这个家里的第三个人是卡拉，卡拉是我除了自己的名字外唯一知道的名字。卡拉是主人和他丈夫唯一的“幼崽”。虽然我很敬爱我的主人，但是卡拉才是我的最爱。

我肯定卡拉非常了解我。我会验证自己的想法。比如说，我会在她分身乏术的时候在她面前晃来晃去，然后看看她会有什么反应。她从来不会因此对我大发脾气，还明白那刻我非常需要她的陪伴、关注以及爱。她唯一一次对我生气是在我弄死那条白蛇的时候。我认为我是在帮她，但显然，我错了。我听不懂那些从她嘴里冒出来的可怕声音，但我知道我以后再也不会做这种事情。

卡拉变得越来越高挑，越来越漂亮，她似乎拥有无穷无尽的精力。她不在家的时间也越来越长。

我变得越来越老，我对卡拉总能这么精力充沛感到惊叹不已。她和她的同类总是那么完美无瑕，从不会变老。而我，我觉得自己已经不再年轻了。当我第一次不小心把我的排泄物排在盒子外时，我受到了严厉的斥责。但我身不由己。我真的走不快了。

然后，有一天，卡拉出门了。那天晚上我很耐心地等她回来，但我等不回她。

日子一天天地过去。也许有几个月了。我甚至都不知道有多久了。我经常在卡拉的房间小睡，希望一醒来就能看到她在那里……

有一天，当我躺在卡拉床上的时候，主人过来找我。主人手上拿着一个小盒子，似乎所有人的手上每时每刻都拿着这么个小东西。她对那个小盒子说话：“卡拉！”我的耳朵竖了起来。主人把盒子放到我旁边。

“毛毛！”

“卡拉！”我倒抽一口气。我可以听到她的声音，但看不到她的人。她在哪里呢？我非常兴奋，都没注意到我放松了膀胱，直到主人不高兴地发出嘖啧声我才知道，然后她把我抱起来，帮我清理干净身体。

第二天早上，有些事情变了。主人没有给我弄平常的早餐，但我也不怎么吃东西了。不过她从盘子里拿了一条好吃的鱼给我，很不错。我想要爬到我的观望杆上去，但是我的关节痛得厉害。主人一定是觉察到了这点，所以她把我抱到了最高的地方。

我在那里睡了几个小时，醒来发现我们到了“白大褂”那儿。我年纪越大，主人带我来这里的次数就越多。多奇怪啊，他们的样子从来没有改变，我周围的一切都没有变，只有我变了。

主人把我带到了后面去，把我放在桌子上。

“怎么了？”我问道，把爪子伸向她。

水从她的眼里流出，她用手握住了我的爪子。“好孩子，毛毛，”我听她如此说道。

“白大褂”进来了，手上拿着一根尖尖的东西。他挠了挠我的耳朵和下巴。哈，这是我最喜欢让人碰的地方。他知道，他们都知道。他们都那么地了解我。我只希望我能有更多时间去多了解他们。

“白大褂”把那根尖尖的东西扎到了我的手臂上。一般而言，这会弄痛我，但今天没有。当他推着那根尖尖的东西的时候，我突然觉得全身很温暖，以及——

“它在哪儿？”

卡拉？

“毛毛在哪儿？我太迟了吗？从大学到这儿的交通状况太糟糕了，我觉得我赶不上，拜托，噢，天，我希望我能赶上——”

这是卡拉。卡拉在这儿！

房门突然打开了，卡拉站在了那儿，她双颊通红，与她的发色很相称。“它走了吗？”她冲口而出。

“白大褂”摇摇头。“我只是给它打了一支镇静剂。”

“卡拉……”我虚弱地说道。

“噢，毛毛，”她大叫道。她向我走了过来，把头靠在我的身边。

我抬起头。这很困难，我太虚弱了。用尽全身力气只能发出一声轻轻的喵喵声和把我的爪子放在她的手上。不知为何，这让她哭得更厉害了。我不明白为什么她那么伤心。我的一生都过得很快乐。我唯一的遗憾就是不能活得和她一样久。

我感觉我的手臂又被轻轻地戳了一下。我的视线开始模糊，但我一点也不害怕，因为卡拉在我身边。

我感到眼皮很重，但我还是努力盯着卡拉看。但是，我的眼睛快要睁不开了。

“我爱你，毛毛。”卡拉说。

“我也爱你。”我低声回答道，然后闭上了我的双眼。