That morning, the park was still quiet. The remaining dew hanging lazily on the tips of the leaves had gone, fresh air slipped through the gaps in the trees. I sat on the cold concrete bench, rolling up my shirt sleeves. Beside me, a white cat slept peacefully, as if this world never had anything to do with war, politics, or electricity bills that always went up without any clear notice.🙃
The cat was no ordinary cat. I mean, of course he was an ordinary cat with legs, a tail, and ears, but there was something extraordinary about the way he slept. He was like a small cloud that fell to the world, his fur was pure white like cotton that had not been touched by city dust. His breathing was regular, his tail twitched occasionally, maybe he was dreaming of hunting mice or being chased by his own shadow.
I looked at him and suddenly felt envious. Imagine being able to sleep on a park bench without any burden, without having to think about a to-do list that was longer than the highway. I tried to imitate him, leaning my head back, taking a deep breath, letting gravity pull all my problems into the ground.
A bird landed on a branch out of nowhere, making a loud noise. I only flinched a little, but the cat? Its eyes opened for a moment, staring at me like a professor interrupted in the middle of an important experiment, then went back to sleep. Just like that. No panic, no paranoia. As if to say, "Life is too short to panic, guys."
I nodded slowly. Life lessons can come from anywhere, including from a white cat sleeping on a concrete park bench. Maybe, in the end, we are the ones who are too busy running around in our own heads, while true happiness lies on a cold concrete bench, under a clear morning sky, with half-closed eyes and an occasional twitching tail in our dreams.
