But neither was healing – and here we fucking are.
I wasn’t planning on getting a cat.
But one morning, my friend – who happens to be a vet tech – texted me about a kitten she had found alone, helpless on the street. Less than two weeks old. Hissing. Shaky. Not doing great.
By late afternoon, she was in my house. In a cage. Wrapped in a blanket the vet had given her. I didn’t think. I just knew I could help – and that I wanted to.
I didn’t know I needed her.
Not really. Not in the middle of this recovery and this quiet, strange new chapter I’m learning to live in. But she arrived anyway – small, unsure, half-feral and full of ghosts. And somehow, despite everything, Sofia fits.
She’s not even two weeks old. Barely more than breath and instinct. Hissing. Defensive. A baby built from fear and survival. And I get that. God, I get that.
Because I’ve been the one who hissed when love got too close. I’ve been the one clawing at doors I thought would trap me, only to realize someone was trying to let me rest. I’ve lived in survival mode so long, I forgot how to play. So did she.
But now she’s here. And I’m watching her learn. How to curl up instead of brace. How to meow back instead of run. How to sleep while someone stays close – without being hurt.
We’re figuring it out, one day at a time. She doesn’t have to be perfect, cuddly, or trusting. She just has to be here – and she is. And I’ll keep showing up. With patience. No doubt. Just us, getting better, together.
So maybe we’re both a little scrappy. A little cracked. And a little brave. And maybe she doesn’t feel safe yet. But I’m here, working to show her she can.
Sobriety gave me that.
The ability to be still. To notice. To save something that needed saving. Her. And, honestly – me too.
And maybe that’s not profound or poetic – but it’s real. And that’s enough.
If you’re healing too – feral, tired, softening slowly – I see you. And I hope you find your Sofia.
Or maybe you already have… just too caught up in survival to notice yet. That’s okay. They’ll wait. So will you. That’s kind of the point.
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