An Interview with Mama

Nikki: Thank you for agreeing to speak to me, Mama. I must admit it was difficult trying to set an appointment with you although we live under the same roof.
Mama: Nikki dear, you of all people know how I have neglected work, neglected the family, neglected my friends, our blogger friends...everyone....all because of that princess. It was as if time stood still for a week. So now I'm making up for those lost times.

Nikki: Yes...I understand, Mama. Hmm...shall we get on with the interview?
Mama: OK...let's get it over with.

Nikki: Could you tell me what happened on May 17?
Mama: As far as I can recall, it was a public holiday, religious day for the Buddhist - Wesak Day. You all had a nip fest in the morning...oooh...remind me to buy a new pack, OK? Then in the afternoon, we bathed Angelina...or rather Dad bathed her. You know how only Dad can make her wet. I can't do it to her.

Nikki: Oh yes. I remember how angry she was when you put her outside on the balcony so that she gets solar-dried like how we all do.
Mama: Yeah...I remember that as well. You and Nicole were inside the sliding door, she was outside and went all hissy hissy and angry.

Nikki: She could have just kept quiet and lick herself dry. I did just that when you gave me a bath last weekend.
Mama: True. Angelina, I'm afraid, still doesn't get the hang of wet cleaning.

Nikki: Ooops… we've digressed. Can we go back to what happened that day....
Mama: Oooh...sorry. OK, so we towelled her and let her stay inside my room while she dries herself completely. Then we all came out of the room for dinner. Light dinner for your Dad and I while Angelina was perched on top of the kitchen cabinet, as usual. There she was until we went in to sleep. That was the last I saw of her.

Angelina usually hangs out on top of the kitchen cabinet.

Nikki: So, we’re assuming she ran away between the time we all went to bed and our breakfast the next morning?
Mama: Correct. What was she thinking, eh? Causing so much distress to everyone.

Nikki: What was your first reaction when you discovered her missing, Mama?
Mama: It was odd that she wasn’t there during breakfast, you know. I looked in all the rooms, climbed to look at the high places where she usually likes to lie but she wasn’t anywhere. Dad had gone to work earlier and I phoned him to come back. I went down to ground floor to look for her, in case she fell down…..you remember what happened to Ralf……but she had simply vanished.

Nikki: What were the efforts done to find her?
Mama: We alerted the security people, we printed posters and pasted them all over the area, we offered monetary reward – every entrance, guard house, shops, amenities. We also had people from the office came and knocked on doors, talked to the neighbours....

The poster (this one's edited) that we pasted all over the area.

Nikki: Did anyone respond to the posters?
Mama: Actually, many people called. Some to say they saw a similar cat here, there and everywhere. Some even caught a cat and asked us to come and see if it’s really her…..I’ve actually made some new friends in this area. All because of Angelina.

Nikki: So something positive did come out of it?
Mama: I have to admit, yes. Also, many of our blogger friends rallied and prayed for her return. Some even texted me and lent me shoulders to cry on. Aunty Amal and Aunty Rose came to check on me....

Nikki: Could you describe your feelings the whole time that she was gone? It was about a week, right?
Mama: Hmmm….we discovered her missing on the 18th morning and then found her on 26th morning…yes…about a week. I must confess that I had mixed emotions as time passes by. It was 1. Distress, 2. Worry, 3. Sad, 4. Angry and 5. Disappointed.

Nikki: Wow! That’s a long list, Mama. Would you explain them one by one?
Mama: You’re quite an interrogator there, young lady. OK…let’s start with 1. Distress. Understandably I was distressed, greatly, when I couldn’t find her anywhere in the house. 2. Worry – it was that never ending questions in my mind, is she still alive, is she hurt, did she fall and get injured, was she kidnapped?

Nikki: Why would you then feel sad, Mama?
Mama: I was sad because I love her so much and she left me. It was as if she rejected me. Then I became angry at her. How could she do that after all these years? Didn’t she like living with me? Later on, I became disappointed that she, whom I have tutored and taught well, would still behave like a mongrel. Why would she want to live like a feral? I'm sorry to say that she didn't live up to my expectations. Maybe I over estimated her.

Nikki: Hmmm….would you feel the same way if any one of us, other than Angelina, run away instead?
Mama: Nikki, let me put it on record that I love all my furkids equally. If it had been you or Tom or Nicole or Mike or even Brad, I know I’d feel the same. Each of you are unique. Anybody who says it’s fine to lose one as I still have five, doesn’t really know me or understand the depth of love I feel for all of you.

Nikki: Thanks for telling me that, Mama. I promise I won’t behave like Angelina.
Mama: Thanks for letting me pour out my feelings, Nikki. You’re assuring me that I’ve done right in my upbringing of you all.

Nikki: Hmmm…let’s wrap up this session, Mama. Thank you very much again for giving me a slot in your tight schedule.
Mama: No problem, Nikki.

There you have it. Mama has spoken. It was quite an emotional interview, for me. You don’t know how lucky you are, Angelina. meowww....Nikki!

The family welcoming Angelina and Brad when they first arrived from Sydney.