The Breath of Love
It's been really hot these days, and the main bedroom's AC broke and hasn't been fixed yet.
So the whole family grabbed our blankets and pillows and moved to Boons's room to sleep for now.
Normally, our cat Bò isn't the cuddly type.
He likes to pick a perfect, strategic spot to lie down and watch everyone, quiet like a gray guardian spirit.
Every now and then, he'll walk around the room, stick his butt up, and stretch his neck out so Mom, Dad, or Boons can give him a few scratches.
Every time, Dad scratches him and jokes:
— This Bò with the itchy head, always scratching his head.
But tonight was different.
Boons's room doesn't have a cat door.
If we close the door, what if Bò needs to use the bathroom or gets hungry in the middle of the night? He wouldn't be able to get out.
So Mom decided: tonight, he's staying outside.
At first, Bò still got to come in and play with everyone for a bit.
When it was time for bed, Mom had to escort him out and block the door with a doorstop.
Not long after the lights went out, we heard scratching at the door from outside.
Then came the sound:
— Meow... meow...
It sounded just like he was calling: Dad, Mom, big brother...
We felt so bad, but everyone just lay there quietly. 😿
A few minutes later, Mom suddenly saw the door crack open.
Our cat Bò had defeated the doorstop.
Mom crawled out of bed again and escorted him out one more time.
This time, as if he understood what was going on, Bò darted under the chair so Mom couldn't reach him.
Mom struggled for a while before finally pushing his round little butt out the door.
To be sure, besides the doorstop, Mom also blocked the door with a chair.
More scratching at the door.
More desperate little meows.
Mom and Dad thought: there's no way he can get in this time.
But about ten minutes later, the door cracked open again.
And like a gray ninja, Bò slipped quickly into the room.
At that point, we thought Boons was already asleep.
But in the dark, he suddenly whispered:
— That's the breath of love, Mom...
The whole family burst out laughing.
Dad laughed too and said:
— That really is a powerful breath of love.
These days, our family eats dinner while watching Demon Slayer.
In the show, every demon slayer has their own special move: Water Breathing, Sun Breathing, Mist Breathing...
So that night, when Bò broke through the doorstop and the chair just to be with the family, Boons named that power: the breath of love.
And honestly, that name fits perfectly. 💖
For the last time, Mom and Dad pushed Bò out again.
This time they really secured the door, so no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get back in.
Early in the morning, Dad got up to use the bathroom, opened the door, and saw Bò lying neatly right outside.
No scratching, no meowing anymore.
He just lay there, like he'd been on watch all night to guard the family on the other side of the door.
Feeling sorry for him, Dad let him in.
Bò quietly walked over to Mom and pressed his little head into her hand.
Mom was still half asleep, petted his head a few times, and then both of them went back to sleep for a while, like nothing had happened the night before.
When morning came, Mom woke up and found a perfectly round pee spot on the mattress.
So Mom had to drag the mattress out to wash it.
But strangely, Mom wasn't mad at him at all.
She understood, that was just his very cat way of saying: this spot belongs to our family, and I belong here too.
Maybe he was just hoping that tonight, he won't have to sleep outside the door again. 💤
