My Black Cat

When I was little, my grandma told me that black cats can bring me a bad luck. She also told me that if one crossed my path, I should turn in a different direction. I trusted everything my grandma would say to me, so I believed her. Small towns in Dalmatia, in which I spent my childhood, are known for feral cats. They are practically everywhere. They learned to live in harmony with people.

Whenever I walked alone, I would have paid a special attention to the road ahead of me, making sure that the black cat does not cross it. So many times they did and I would turn back picking another way to get to my destination. Then one night I spotted a tiny black kitten, sitting on the side of the street, apparently abandoned. I came closer and I could tell she was starving. She did not run away from me. She kept looking at me and meowed with very sad voice. Her eyes were big and blue. She must have been very young. I wanted to help this cat, but she was black. I was so worried that she would bring me a bad luck, like my grandma said. So, I started to walk away. The little kitten was following me. She was dragging her left leg and could barely walk, yet kept following me with continues meowing, crying for help. I finally stopped walking, turned around and picked up the black kitten.

She was a male. I named him Pepper. I nursed Pepper back to life and he became a very good and huge cat. He became very smart. He even figured out how to open the door by himself, so that he can come into my bedroom at night and sleep by my bed. I learned that my grandma was wrong about the black cats. Black cats are just like any other cats and, actually, can bring you a good luck. They can bring you so much love, like my Pepper did.