The Same Stray Cat

Ruby has noticed the same gray cat all over her neighborhood lately. She sees it outside the bakery in the morning. Then it appears near the school gate at lunchtime. Later that evening, it's curled up on a bench by the park. It seems impossible for one cat to be in so many places in a single day.

Belakangan Ruby sering melihat kucing abu-abu yang sama di seluruh lingkungannya. Ia melihatnya di depan toko roti pada pagi hari. Lalu kucing itu muncul di dekat gerbang sekolah saat makan siang. Malam harinya, kucing itu meringkuk di bangku dekat taman. Rasanya mustahil satu kucing berada di begitu banyak tempat dalam satu hari.

"Maybe it's a ghost cat," her friend Theo jokes when she tells him about it. "Or maybe you're just noticing it more because you're looking for it now."

"Mungkin itu kucing hantu," canda temannya, Theo, ketika ia menceritakannya. "Atau mungkin kamu cuma lebih sering menyadarinya karena sekarang kamu memang mencarinya."

Ruby isn't so sure. She starts keeping track of the times and places on her phone. It feels like a joke at first, but the pattern genuinely bothers her. After a week, she has noticed something interesting. The cat by the bakery always has a small white patch on its left ear. The one near the park doesn't.

Ruby tidak begitu yakin. Ia mulai mencatat waktu dan tempatnya di ponselnya. Awalnya terasa seperti lelucon, tetapi pola itu sungguh mengganggunya. Setelah seminggu, ia menyadari sesuatu yang menarik. Kucing di dekat toko roti selalu punya bercak putih kecil di telinga kirinya. Yang di dekat taman tidak.

She brings her notes to Theo, who has always been better at solving puzzles than she is. He looks closely at her photos and laughs. "Ruby, these aren't the same cat. Look, this one's tail is shorter, and this one is wearing a collar."

Ia membawa catatannya kepada Theo, yang selalu lebih pandai memecahkan teka-teki daripada dirinya. Theo mengamati foto-fotonya dengan saksama dan tertawa. "Ruby, ini bukan kucing yang sama. Lihat, ekor yang ini lebih pendek, dan yang ini memakai kalung."

At first Ruby feels a little silly for not noticing sooner. But then she realizes the real story might be even better than one well-traveled cat. There are at least three cats living around the same few streets. None of the neighbors seem to know about the others.

Awalnya Ruby merasa agak konyol karena tidak menyadarinya lebih cepat. Tetapi lalu ia sadar bahwa cerita sebenarnya mungkin lebih menarik daripada satu kucing yang berkelana jauh. Ada sedikitnya tiga kucing yang tinggal di sekitar beberapa jalan yang sama. Tampaknya tak ada tetangga yang tahu soal kucing-kucing lainnya.

Over the next few days, Ruby and Theo make a simple map. It shows where each cat likes to spend its time. They give the cats nicknames: Patch, Shorty, and Collar. They start leaving small bowls of water near each spot.

Beberapa hari berikutnya, Ruby dan Theo membuat peta sederhana. Peta itu menunjukkan di mana setiap kucing suka menghabiskan waktu. Mereka memberi kucing-kucing itu julukan: Patch, Shorty, dan Collar. Mereka mulai meletakkan mangkuk air kecil di dekat setiap tempat.

By the end of the month, half the neighborhood has learned the names too. Someone has even put up a little sign asking people not to feed the cats too much food. Ruby still smiles every time she spots one of the three cats. Now she's sure exactly which is which.

Pada akhir bulan, separuh lingkungan itu juga sudah tahu nama-nama itu. Seseorang bahkan memasang papan kecil yang meminta orang agar tidak terlalu banyak memberi makan kucing-kucing itu. Ruby masih tersenyum setiap kali melihat salah satu dari ketiga kucing itu. Sekarang ia yakin persis mana yang mana.