RICHARD

My name is Richard and I am a mixed breed cat.

My rescue was quiet. No sirens, no explosions, no loud words. It was just that one cold day I smelled a long-forgotten smell - milk. I walked towards it slowly and with distrust. I had lived too long among the ruins, among the gunshots and empty streets to immediately believe that I would be able to have a normal meal again.

I didn't know these people. I didn't know who left the bowl by the fence, among the stones and garbage. But my whole wounded body was drawn to this food, and my heart - to be needed by someone again.

When I came closer, they didn't drive me away. On the contrary, one of them leaned towards me and quietly said: “Well, hello stranger!” Then there were hands, a soft towel, a warm carrier and… safety.

Now I live in a shelter, and everyone calls me Richard. There is something important in this name - something royal, as if I had regained the dignity that I lost when I was left alone.

I am still a little cautious. I don’t rush to people from the doorway. I usually watch, observe, and sit silently nearby. But if you give me time, I am sure that I will become open again. After all, I know how to be faithful and very affectionate. Everyone also often tells me that I am a real gentleman - sedate, calm, with big eyes, in which it is immediately clear that I have understood a lot in this life.

I am happy to be here, in the warmth. But I know that real life begins when you have your own person. Where you are accepted completely. And if you are reading this message from me now and smiling - perhaps, it is not by chance. Perhaps, I decided to approach not just a bowl of milk, but to you.