The hot season began to get much hotter than usual and the micro dusts in several cities have made people very sick. The train journey was very uncomfortable when the over heated air conditioner went quiet. Luckily there were three ceiling fans to make like more tolerable. So, we were so glad when the sun started to set me the heat subsided. By the time the train reached the destination, the air conditioning system started to work once again.

There was hazy dust in the air as the wind direction had changed from Laos towards Thailand. Factories along the other side of the river have been blowing dust and smoke into the air. I bet some factories also let untreated chemical laden water into the river too. Progress proceeded at the expense of water pollution in the river. It’s a cruel world of struggles for survival. I sighed while observing evening activities along the riverfront in town. There have been two more restaurants and a huge pub opening by the riverfront on my way home. Some people became very optimistic about better prospects in making quick money.

By the time the tuk-tuk arrived at the house, the sky was getting dark. After the driver left the front yard, I could hear a cat crying like a baby. Kwan’s voice was full of emotions as if she was crying for some comforting words from me. She was somewhat too timid or uncertain to approach me; as if she wasn’t sure I was the same person. So, I had to approach her gently and let her come to me. Her voice was like a child crying for love and attention. So, I had to caress her and massage her for ten minutes to pacify her feelings of rejections and being abandoned, as I had to get back to the city twice a month.

As her big brother, Joan moved away to the next house Kwan had been feeling very lonely and crying around the house for her brother. So, during the last two weeks I have begun to send telepathic messages to Joan, asking him to drop by to keep Kwan company. I asked him to drop by every two days. To my surprise, my gardener told me that Joan has been coming to the house twice last week. She saw Kwan and Joan sitting in the front yard together.

I was so glad that Joan got my message and Kwan still could recognise her brother’scent. So, Kwan wouldn’t be left alone everyday. It’s a pity that my gardener wasn’t very fond of cats, so she couldn’t get closer to my cats. I treated my cats as if they were small children with high sensitivity. They proved to be very sensitive and receptive to my feelings; sometimes I thought they were psychic too. I had to communicate with my orange cats with constant gestures of kindness and gentleness. That’s probably why they always came to me like puppies when I called their names.

After settling down and finishing all my unpacking, I sent a message to Joan telling him that I was back home. The following day, Joan came running upstairs to greet me, at first I thought it was Kwan coming for some snacks. Kwan had put on over one kilo while I was away for two weeks. So, I told her she needed to lose some weights. I gave her less dry biscuits but gave her extra wet food. This seemed to work quite nicely. I was getting quite alarmed that these cats have become very much like persons to me. They could express their emotions and moods very clearly so I had to be more careful with my expressions. I thought I was going crazy for being so considerate towards my cats. I thought being somewhat psychic had made things rather strange and interesting at the same time.

So, I tried not to encourage Kwan to be too dependent on me. I had to let her spend the night downstairs where she could hunt in the garden at night. Sometimes she spent too much time sitting around me. On the other hand, Joan was more independent but he’s always very sweet to me. He has his special sweet voice when he called me for attention. I thought he’s calling me ‘dear one’. Good thing these cats couldn’t talk in Thai! They could have made me feeling very guilty!

These days, two cats had their separate sleeping bunks. Joan would sleep on my bed using my pillow as his own. He preferred the dark and quiet atmosphere of that room. Kwan preferred to be by the east on the table. There she could hear birds singing outside and listened to various YouTube videos I played throughout the day. I thought her English would be quite good soon she she should have accumulated a lot of knowledge on cryptocurrency and macro economics too.

Joan stayed for one day and then disappeared along the dirt road. On the third day, he came back again to spend the day with us. This was very nice of him as the journey could be quite hazardous, three to four dogs kept patrolling the dirt road. So,Joan had to walk here at odd hours and sometimes he came through the bamboo groves. It was so good to see two sibling cats together again. I just wished Joan would be dropping by more often and decided to stay with us permanently.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.