She was 47 when she decided to adoptnot a child, nor a dog, nor even a cat.
What she took in was silence.
She lived alone in a tiny flat, surrounded by plants, markedup books and a collection of cups she never knew why she kept. Her whole life had been spent putting things off: love, travel, children. There was always something more pressinguntil one day she stopped and realized there was nothing urgent left.
On an ordinary Tuesday, she went down to the dumpster and heard it.
A meow.
Soft.
Persistent.
Broken.
She scanned the area. Nothing.
Then she lifted the lid of a bin.
And there it was.
A small, filthy cat with a torn tail and eyes crusted with discharge, barely breathing.
She didnt think twice. She wrapped it in her scarf and brought it up. She washed it, dried it, and whispered,
I dont know if youll make it, little one but at least you wont die alone.
She spent the night awake. He curled against her chest. She held him as if she had to keep something more than just a cat.
Against all odds, the cat survived.
And more than that.
He learned to walk again.
To eat.
To purr.
Every time Elena returned from work, he bolted to the doortail missing, limping on one leg.
They named him Remo, for the effort it takes to row when everything seems against you.
Months passed. With the cat came habit, routine, warmth. Elena began to laugh again, to sleep with a relaxed body, to speak aloud, knowing someone was listening even if there was no reply.
One Sunday afternoon, while Remo slept on her lap, her friend Julia asked,
Do you realize it wasnt you who saved him?
Elena looked up.
What do you mean?
That cat showed up when you needed him most, when you were beginning to fade. He was your reminder.
Elena lowered her gaze. Remo lay there, belly exposed, wet nose, little body pressed to hers as if they were one.
And then she understood.
She hadnt adopted him; he had chosen her.
Not every adoption requires paperwork.
Some only need a coincidence, a wound, and a heart ready to love whats still broken.
Since then, whenever someone asked why she hadnt married, had children, or formed a normal family, Elena answered,
We dont all adopt children. Some of us adopt souls.
And sometimes those souls meow.
There are beings that arrive uninvited, yet stay as if they were a promise.
