Ning Disappears - Pt.1

The last few days had been unbearably hot.  Even with the fan on, the nuns were drenched in sweat, not to speak of furry creatures like us cats!  Apart from feeling hot, I had also been feeling rather bored and longed for some cat company.  I looked forward to meal times when Ning would be here but strangely, he did not appear for several days, which started me worrying.  "Oh, you know Ning," said one of the nuns.  "He's as unpredictable as the weather, I wouldn't worry about him."

Still I worried, and when he did not appear after a week, I decided to go to his hideout not far from the temple.  He wasn't there.  I next tried the river.  Ning isn't exactly a nature lover but sometimes he likes to take a stroll along the river and do some fishing.  There was no one in sight.  I walked some distance, calling his name.  Nothing but the sound of water gushing by.

Then an old man came by and I asked him whether he had seen a cat that fitted Ning's description.  He exclaimed, "Oh yes!  I was going to do some fishing this morning when I saw this brown and white cat sitting by the river.  I didn't pay much attention to him until I heard screams coming from further down the bank.  I saw a young woman frantically calling for help - her baby had fallen into the river!  Then I saw that the cat had jumped into the river, pulled the baby out and put him back safely on the bank into his mother's waiting arms. I must say he was very brave."

"Then what happened?  What about the cat?"  I asked, anxiously.

"He was still in the river when I last saw him.  The current was very strong and he was struggling hard to swim back to the bank.  Before I could get help, it had swept him away...."

"Oh my God,"  I gasped.  "Ning's dead!"

"I'm sorry, my friend," said the old man.  "I wish I could have helped him but I can't swim ..."  The old man patted my shoulder and went away.

I walked slowly to a tree near the river and sat down, my heart wrenched with sadness.  Ning, oh Ning, my dear friend, I sobbed uncontrollably.  Memories of the good times we had together flashed before me, it would never be the same without him.

Then I felt a tap on my shoulder and a voice drawled, "For goodness sake, what are you crying about?"

The voice sounded familiar, no, it couldn't be, I turned round ... it was Ning!

"Ning!  I thought you were dead!  The old man said you had drowned in the river ..."  I stammered.

"Of course not," he replied.  "Well, I almost drowned ..."

"What happened?"  I asked, wiping a tear from my eye.

He looked at me and said, "Remember that dream I had about me dying?  Well, I couldn't get it out of my mind.  I had been spending time by the river doing some deep thinking for the last few days.  I know I haven't been a saint and it's true I drink too much, but I have never harmed anyone or done any bad deeds.  You know me, Da, I'm not one for sitting with my eyes closed for hours thinking about God or burying myself in holy books.  But that doesn't mean I'm a bad guy.  I was contemplating all this when a young woman came along with her baby.  They were playing by the river when suddenly the baby fell into the water.  Well, I had to do something, so I jumped in and dragged her out.  But the current was stronger than I expected and it pulled me back and further and further away from the river bank.  I felt myself being swept away and going down, deep into the river ...."

"Go on,"  I said, listening wide eyed.

"I reached the bottom of the river ... it was dark and cold down there ... I remembered thinking to myself  "This is it, old boy, the end of the line for you!", then to my surprise, I saw a bright light suddenly appear in the water ... it was a cat angel, one of those I had seen in my dream.  It smiled at me and said, "I have been sent to rescue you ... I shall have you out of here in no time!"  Then before I knew what was happening, I found myself back on the river bank!"

"Ning, that's an incredible story!"  I said.

"Yeah, but I don't understand why I wasn't left to drown ..."

"Ning, you did a good deed, saving a life, and in return, your life was saved!"  I said.

"Oh, yeah?"  he said, still looking doubtful.  "So where do I go from here?"

I really didn't know what to say.  I knew that if I told him to go back to the temple and "be good, do good, see good", he wasn't going to buy that.  So I said, "Just follow your conscience, Ning.  I can't tell you what to do."

He looked at me and for a while was silent, then "See yuh!" he said and got up.

"Ning, where are you going?"  I yelled.

"Just following my conscience, like you said," he replied.

I watched him walk down the riverside and disappear from sight.  I wanted to run after him and accompany him but I knew he wouldn't want that.  He had to find himself, all by himself.

(To be continued)