Lots of Love

My eldest brother is one of the most loving people I know. If he loves you, he has to show it, mostly through hugs. Not the regular, pat-on-the-back kind but the rib-crushing, knocks-the-air-out-of-you kind. Now that we have this important fact in place, we can move on. 

One day, when he was very little, he decided he wanted to adopt a kitten. Now my mom is dead against anything that crawls and is not her kid. Don’t get this wrong, she loves other people’s kids. But that’s all the crawling she can process amicably. Any other crawly thing that crosses her path must a) die or b) be scared to death by her screams.

But my brother is anything but a conformist. He found this cute little kitten while he was playing one afternoon, and decided to dote all over her. First he bullied someone to give him milk so he could fed her, then he rubbed her belly, smiling happily. By this time, both of them had mom’s attention.

Skeptically, mom marched over to them to see what was up. It was one of those moments for her, I'm sure, when she just knew disaster awaited because her kid was so happy. On seeing her, my brother took it upon himself to convince her that he really loves this kitten, and that he should be allowed to keep her. So he lifted the baby kitten, now full of food, and gave her a nice, warm hug.

Yeah, he hugged the kitten so tight that she died. My mom quickly snatched her away from his outstretched hands and his big grin instantly began to subside. Before he could wrap his head around what was going on, she demanded that he continue to play indoors that instant.

My poor, sensitive mother was left to deal with a situation that was way beyond her control. That day, she was completely convinced that her aversion to animals was a good thing after all, and that's why we were never allowed a pet. (She always narrated this story when we demanded one!) 

Also, it was years before he learned what his 'power of love' had done. 

PS: My brother has a very handsome pit bull, and a cat finally adopted him. And as per my knowledge, all of them are aging rather gracefully. 

This is a happy kitty, quite unlike the kitty who met her rather ill fate in my brother.