Cats who teach me to fly…

I picked up my AirPods and tucked them into my ears. I chose the most relaxing way to travel. The small micro kick scooter made it perfect.

I fell in love with the song “Tell Me You Love Me” from the Korean drama. With the music in my ears, I started to scoot. I wasn’t trapping myself inside rhythm. I was aware of the world around me.

I saw birds trying to scoop water from an empty bowl I had left out. I quickly took a bottle and filled it. Watching them quench their thirst made me smile.

The music continued to play. Yes, there was an ache. But the feeling was not mine, even though there were traces of calm. They were never mine. There is no “mine” to begin with. They were simply conditions arising. I wasn’t disturbed. Not even a trace of past memories appeared.

I have loved kick scooting since I was very young, and I still feel the same way. We grow old physically, but the mind always remains young.

I went to check on the cats whose food and shelter were thrown away recently. All looked well today. I did not feel contented. Things keep changing.

As I scooted on, I saw a purple heron. It was alone. Purple herons are solitary birds. Being able to be alone is good.

I went to my favourite vegetarian stall at the market. I ate what I always eat and left. With Chinese New Year approaching, the pasar malam are back. They sell the same things every year. There is nothing new to look at. I kept listening to the music and scooted on.

Along the way, I met a resident in Whampoa. She asked me where all the cats were. I explained the situation. The cats are old. Many have died. Sterilisation has played a big part in managing the population. That is why we don’t see many cats now. I also told her that killings are still happening under NParks. Cats are still dying because of complaints. It only takes one complaint. I said it is better to keep things this way. Much consistent work has been done to keep the population low. She said she felt sad. I told her it had to be this way to prevent more unnecessary killing and suffering. She agreed.

I wished I could do something for her. But her sadness is not mine to carry. I can always smile at her when I see her.

What was different today was this: I hadn’t listened to music on my AirPods for a long time. I stopped because I didn’t want to drown myself in rhythm and invite old dramas back into the mind. And today, that didn’t happen at all.