For Kylene, Stuart and their children, the word ‘hope’ seemed like an empty phrase. But sometimes, a little hope in hearts; a little hope in prayers; a little hope whispered, spoken, cried, shouted becomes reality.
Quite a while ago, I read something on a local Facebook group that ‘Lewis,’ the family cat (a ginger cat) had gone missing. I whispered a wee prayer and hoped he would be found. He wasn’t. I had seen a ginger cat in the back yard recently but it was skittish and ran away within seconds. It kept showing up, terribly thin and clearly hungry. I put out some food and hoped it would come and eat. It did. The food was gone, but the cat was nowhere to be found.
Then I saw the “Missing Cat” notice and when it showed up again, it must have trusted me after several days of my feeding it and I was able to bring it indoors. I contacted the family and Stuart immediately came over. Oh how I hoped that Lewis was their family cat. Stuart did, too. Sadly, it wasn’t their Lewis, but it was very ill and Duncan Animal Hospital (one of our local vets) kindly cared for it. Then Cowichan Cat Rescue took over.
That was all before Christmas. Over Christmas, I prayed a wee prayer that Lewis would be found and the family would have a special gift this year but … it didn’t happen. And then this morning, I received an email … “Our ginger cat, was found in Arbutus Ridge!” Positive identification was made (thanks to Lewis’ tattoo he’d received from Cowichan Cat Rescue prior to his adoption by the family), and the rest, as they say, is history!
How ever Lewis made it from here (in Duncan) to there (14 km) is a story that will remain with Lewis, but oh how I’d love to still be teaching, tell the students about Lewis and have them write a short story of Lewis’ Adventures. Welcome home, Lewis! There is a special family who is soooooo excited to have you back. And I’m looking forward to meeting you in person!
At one time, the word ‘hope’ seemed like an empty phrase. But a little hope was in hearts; a little hope was in prayers; a little hope was whispered, spoken, cried, shouted and hope became reality! Lewis is home!
