Wait for me Kedi.

He’s about half a body longer than most cats and his weight probably reflects that. The first time I saw Kedi was when my then-girlfriend and I were picking him up from his first owner’s home. Despite being as big as a sack of potatoes, he was hiding in the first owner’s arms. He wasn’t just being shy, somehow he knew that we were coming to adopt him.

By the end of his second night with us, he was already sitting on my lap. The nights in Melbourne were chilly, so it felt great to have a warm furry sack of potatoes on my lap. That’s how it was for the first few months—Kedi was a cute pet and just that.

There were times when he seriously tested my patience. Kedi is a big cat, so he has big teeth and claws that he wasn’t afraid to use during “playtime”. I had so many bright red scratches on my arms that I had to assure my friends that my then-girlfriend isn’t the abusive sort. Kedi was also very mischievous—knocking bottles down from the kitchen counter and shelves, and scratching everything around the house. I used to scold him and if that didn’t work, I’d chase him away with a spray bottle.

It all changed one day when he was relaxing on my lap (as usual). From the corner of my eye, I saw him looking up at me. It was cute (nothing new) but something compelled me to tell him, “I love you.” I did that and he continued looking straight into my eyes. He understood. It was a feeling I’ve never experienced before—a sense of deep intense connection with a fellow living creature. That moment felt so perfect and beautiful that I started tearing up. And I swear, his eyes looked more shimmery at that moment too. It felt like love, not the kind we see in cheap Hollywood films, but a profound kind of love, it felt like oneness—I truly felt that the same essence of creation was in him as it is in me.

We became much closer since then. Whenever he tried to bite me when we were playing, I’d just let him do it. It didn't hurt; he’s never tried to hurt me. (I later learned that cats would only playfully gnaw on their play partners whom they love and trust.) And, no more spray bottles; I’d just laugh because I started to see the humour in his personality. He was the little brother I never had.

Unfortunately, I had to leave him in Melbourne after I graduated from university. My ex-girlfriend is still taking (very good) care of him. It’s been three years but I don’t remember a night when I fell asleep without thinking of him curling up next to me. Some of my friends laughed at me, saying that Kedi will not remember me if I visit him now. If that means getting to know each other all over again, wait for me Kedi.