Me gustan los animales, sobre todo los perros y lo gatos. Mi primer gato lo tuve en coro; estado Falcón. Estaba en primer año de bachillerato si mal no recuerdo, y lo encontré, mejor dicho lo encontramos aquella noche en que íbamos Juan y yo en una bicicleta a full velocidad, cuando de pronto en nuestro a camino se nos topó un pequeño gatito que casi atropellamos. Desde muy temprana edad he sentido cierta sensibilidad por los animales abandonados en la calle. así que no me resistí y me lo llevé sin importar el regaño que me iba a dar mi padre.
Pedaleamos hasta la casa, y creyéndome todo un actor dejé al gato en la parte trasera de la casa, como si yo no supiera nada y entré, pero era obvio que papá se iba a dar cuenta y efectivamente cuando “puchi” mi gato que ya había bautizado con ese nombre, comenzó a maullar y no supe resolver la mentira que yo estaba planeando. Papá se molestó pero al final el gato se quedó.
Puchi dormía conmigo, todas las noches me lamia el cabello hasta quedarse dormido. Todas las mañanas antes de ir a la escuela le dejaba el desayuno afuera en un plato pequeño con una tasa de agua. Puchi era negro, con un detalle blanco en la punta de su cola. Parecía un poema, tenía mucho estilo. Al paso del tiempo creció muchísimo y era muy buen cazador, papá se contentaba ver a puchi cazando ratones.
Una mañana me levanté y no lo vi, le dejé el desayuno y me fui a la escuela, en el camino iba pensando en donde se habrá quedado el gato anoche. Me fui pensando en eso y cuando crucé la avenida me percaté de algo: Había un gato negro en el medio de la carretera aplastado, deformado por las ruedas de los carros que pasaban. Se me paralizó el corazón, ya que mi gato también es negro. Me acerqué poco a poco, tenía un detalle blanco en la punta de su cola y mi mano comenzó a temblar misteriosamente. No quise seguir viendo y me fui a la escuela con el corazón en el cuello. Todo el día me la pasé pensando si era él o no, y la única forma de saberlo era esperar a que cayera la tarde para regresar a casa con la esperanza de encontrar su plato de comida vacío.
Se hicieron las seis de la tarde y sol pintaba el cielo de naranja, la ansiedad me dio por correr, tomar el bus y regresar casa. Pasé por el mismo lugar, aquel gato en el medio de la carretera se iba convirtiendo en asfalto. Abrí la reja de afuera y entré, vi el pasillo que conectaba con el patio trasero de la casa e identifiqué su plato de comida a lo lejos. Me acerqué, el plato estaba intacto, repleto de hormigas que disfrutaban la comida. Lo busqué por toda la casa, lo llamé y no apareció. Silenciosamente me senté en la cama, había caído la noche y apagué las luces de mi cuarto y me arrinconé, tratado de aceptar que puchi se fue con la noche, y la noche vino sin él.
I like animals, especially dogs and cats. I had my first cat in Coro, Falcon State. I was in my first year of high school if I remember correctly, and I found him, or rather we found him that night when Juan and I were riding a bicycle at full speed, when suddenly on our way we ran into a small kitten that we almost ran over. From a very early age I have felt a certain sensitivity for the animals abandoned in the street, so I didn't resist and I took it with me regardless of the scolding my father was going to give me.
We pedaled to the house, and believing myself to be an actor I left the cat at the back of the house, as if I didn't know anything and went inside, but it was obvious that dad was going to notice and indeed when "puchi" my cat that I had already baptized with that name, began to meow and I didn't know how to solve the lie that I was planning. Dad got upset but in the end the cat stayed.
Puchi slept with me, every night he licked my hair until he fell asleep. Every morning before going to school I would leave his breakfast outside in a small dish with a cup of water. Puchi was black, with a white detail on the tip of his tail. He looked like a poem, he had a lot of style. As time went by he grew up a lot and was a very good hunter, dad was happy to see Puchi hunting mice.
One morning I woke up and didn't see him, I left him breakfast and went to school, on the way I was thinking about where the cat must have been last night. I left thinking about that and when I crossed the avenue I noticed something: there was a black cat in the middle of the road, squashed, deformed by the wheels of the passing cars. My heart stopped, since my cat is also black. I approached little by little, it had a white detail on the tip of its tail and my hand began to tremble mysteriously. I didn't want to watch any longer and went to school with my heart in my throat. I spent the whole day wondering if it was him or not, and the only way to find out was to wait until evening to return home in the hope of finding his empty food dish.
It was six o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was painting the sky orange, the anxiety made me run, take the bus and go back home.
I passed by the same place, that cat in the middle of the road was turning into asphalt. I opened the outside gate and went inside, I saw the corridor that connected with the backyard of the house and I identified his food dish in the distance. I approached, the plate was intact, full of ants enjoying the food. I looked all over the house for him, called out to him and he did not appear. Silently I sat up in bed, night had fallen and I turned off the lights in my room and cornered myself, trying to accept that puchi left with the night, and the night came without him.
