26/08/2025
Daniel never wanted a cat. Not because he disliked them, but because loveâreal loveâalways ended in loss. He had lost too many people, too many things, and he wasnât willing to open his heart to something that could be taken away.
But then came Luna.
A scrappy, gray tabby with striking blue eyes, she appeared on his doorstep one rainy night, meowing insistently as if she belonged there. He tried to ignore her. He told himself not to care. But when she pressed her tiny, wet paws against his leg and looked up at him with those eyes, something inside him cracked.
He let her in.
Days turned into months, and Daniel found himself laughing againâfor the first time in years. Luna was everywhere: sleeping on his laptop, batting at his shoelaces, curling up on his chest as he read late into the night. He would wake up to her soft purring, her warm body curled against his own.
Then one day, she was gone.
He searched everywhere. Called her name into the empty streets. Left food on the porch, hoping she would come back. But as days turned to weeks, hope faded.
Daniel told himself it was his fault for letting her in. That this was why he didnât love things. Because they always left.
Months passed. The house felt hollow. And then, one autumn evening, as he sat on the porch, staring at the setting sun, a familiar sound cut through the silence.
A soft, scratchy meow.
His breath caught. He turnedâand there she was.
Luna.
She was thinner, her fur matted, but those blue eyes still held the same stubborn spark. She took one slow step forward, then another, before leaping into his arms.
Daniel held her close, pressing his face into her fur. âYou came back,â he whispered, his voice breaking.
Luna purred, rubbing her head against his cheek, as if to say: I was always yours. I just had to find my way home.
And for the first time in a long time, Daniel let himself believe in love again.