Tina noticed something sneaking through her garden late in the evening, the vegetable plants were tall enough to prevent her from seeing what was there and immediately she stood, the movement stopped.
Hmmmm! She sighed and paused for a few seconds to see if whatever was there would move again but it didn't.
Tina threw one of her footwear into the garden and saw something hop out of the garden into the drainage. She rushed to see what it was but it had gone before she got there.
She stood for a while and pondered what it could be, Tina went to see if the creature had caused any damage but it hadn't.
"Oh my goodness, what in the world ate my carrots?" Tina screamed as she rushed out of her apartment the next morning.
She entered and saw a tiny cat lying half dead in her garden.
"Did you do all this?" She screamed at the cat forgetting at that moment that it couldn't speak back to her.
She was pissed and didn't know what to do with the cat.
"Don't die here and I don't want to see you in my garden when I return." She screamed and almost kicked the cat but her younger brother was quick to intervene.
"Don't hurt it more, it's just a cat." Daniel interfered and went to check on the cat.
"Do you know the owner?" Tina asked but Daniel was lost in thought as he wondered what could be wrong with the cat.
"What could be wrong with it?" He asked and brought out his phone to check for answers.
"Could it be poison?" Daniel asked and looked around like he was checking for clues.
"I don't know but it ate some carrots, I was hoping to harvest them soon." She replied.
"Does cat eat vegetables?" Daniel asked and checked on his phone again.
"That's it, I think raw carrots aren't edible for cats" Daniel replied as he turned the cat to the other side.
The breathing was slower than before and Tina could see its eyes closing gently.
"Poor thing, let us take it to the vet nearby," Tina suggested and they rushed to the nearest veterinary hospital in the neighbourhood.
"You guys aren't taking care of your cat, look at how skinny it is." Doctor Ben said to Tina and she was quick to respond.
"It's not mine, I found it in my garden and just wanted to help."
"Oh, it is homeless. I don't know why people get pets when they can't cater for them properly." The doctor replied and continued with the diagnosis.
Doctor Ben treated the cat and told them he would keep it since they weren't the owners.
They agreed and left the place but while going home, Tina felt bad about the cat's condition and went to get some cat food. She returned with them and the doctor was happy for the affection Tina showed the cat.
A few days later, Tina went to the hospital and asked if she could keep the cat. The vet was hesitant at first since Tina never had a pet but finally allowed it after a brief discussion.
Tina returned home happily with the cat and her family accepted it wholeheartedly.
"Let's name him, Correy," Daniel suggested and they found the name lovely.
Tina's love for Correy grew with every second they spent together. The two were inseparable and she took care of him like a child.
Correy recovered and grew quicker, Tina would carry him around just to flaunt how huge her cat was.
Tina went with Correy to the university and he made her famous, people found him cute and made friends with her just to play with Correy.
She finished university and needed to do a year-long course abroad. Tina was happy about the trip but the thought of leaving Correy stole the excitement of traveling abroad.
As the departure day drew nearer, she felt sad. The day finally came and Tina couldn't let go of Correy at the airport. Correy stared at her as she waved goodbye when it was time for her flight to take off.
Every day, her family sent her pictures and videos but they weren't satisfying her. Tina wishes she could hold him and many think she was crazy whenever she spoke about Correy.
Month passed and Tina couldn't wait for the training to end. She couldn't wait to reunite with Correy and her family.
"Will he still recognise me?" Tina asked Daniel a day before the end of her training.
"Time will tell. Please rest because of tomorrow's trip, I wish you a safe trip sister." He replied.
Tina's plane arrived and her family were patiently waiting for her.
They were looking around when Correy started waging its tail. It was strange to Daniel because Correy does that only when he sees Tina and he didn't see her around.
Correy eventually jumped out of Daniel's hand and ran into the arrival section of the airport. The family looked in the cat's direction and saw Tina. Correy ran through crowd and eventually got to Tina, she carried and hugged him as excitement flow through her veins.
Tina couldn't hold back tears as she rubbed Correy's back. "I miss you," she whispered into his ears and he didn't stop licking her face.
She got to the family and they were happy about Tina's success abroad. "I am never going anywhere without Correy," Tina told her family as they drove back home.