Not long ago on a very quiet afternoon while I was catching up on my winter readings, I caught Remus, my 5 year old faerie main coo when he interrupted me, saying “although I distrust technology, I keep finding myself drawn to its useful qualities, for example, snapping up a picture of me reminds me that sometimes, I may look a little bored or aloof, but most of the time, I’m just anxious and awkward. I think a lot about that, I prefer memories and I try to remember, as best as I can”
His thoughts got me thinking on how important it had been for me to preserve memories in the form of words and pictures. I recently came across a post I made about the passing of our little Minerva, who came into our lives alongside Remus half a decade ago. As if he had read my mind he said to me “I like looking out the window, to remind myself of when I was outside with that little white cat. We were found together, you know that right? I look at the stray cats in the alleyway in front of our house and it reminds me of her, today it’s been 5 years since she left us”
There are so many of my own memories that don’t actually have documentation. Like the time I met Craig for the first time in a place called The Hole in The Wall, and we karaoke’d to the rythm of mojitos, and the rallies, time spent together and the hard times.Or the first time I hung out with Virtute on the roof of Chester House. I found myself remembering that some of the most awesome memories still live in my brain, so I asked remus if there was anything he wanted to say about that “I finally got to spend some quality time with Craig this summer, and we had good chemistry. I was kind of glad he doesn’t enjoy picture-taking as much as you though, my fur on a sweaty summer day is not flattering at all. As for Virtute… is that an alter ego of his’, a place to ponder on humanity itself? or is he truly a living cat?
For anyone who knows Remus, his skepticism shouldn’t come as a surprise, his own life experiences have left him with difficulty trusting others, usually running right underneath the bed when hearing footsteps or laughter.
On the topic of birthdays, Remus added “Birthdays are all kinds of complicated, but I feel like these are moments that warrant documenting them. It’s awesome to see your friends grow into themselves, and it’s always fun to look back at who we were that got us into today.” A little while later, after eating dinner, Remus jumped onto my bed and said “memory is habit sometimes, like looking out the window, sweet friendship memories, or having a favourite spot on the bed, I don’t need pictures to show you that I’m always little spoon”
Happy birthday Virtute and Craig! and Minerva, you’re always with us.
diaries of a cat named virtute 