CHAPTER SEVEN
TILLY AND THE MORNING GLORIES
CHAPTER SEVEN
Gershom and Tilly walked together out of the small room and down the long hallway.
“Have you seen Buddy before?” Tilly asked.
“Yes, I’ve been there a couple of times. He’s really sick, and very scared. He sometimes gets angry and tries to attack others. I know he used to run around with Joey when they were on the streets. He never had a real home, just the streets. I don’t think he has very long to live, and I’ve got to try to make him understand that I love him and that Jesus loves him. I don’t want him to feel like he’s all alone. I want him to accept Jesus into his heart so that he can go to heaven when he dies.”
“I want him to go to heaven, too,” Tilly said. “What can I do to help?”
“You can pray for us,” Gershom answered. “That’s very important. Also, if you visit with the other cats who are in the special rooms I’ll have more time to spend with Buddy. I would be very grateful to you for that.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do. I know your work for Jesus is very important. I’ll do whatever I can to help you out,” Tilly told Gershom.
“Everyone’s work for Jesus is very important,” Gershom gently reminded her. “Remember, Jesus said that whatever you do for someone else, it’s just like you did it for Him. When you visit with others who are lonely or afraid, it’s like you visited Jesus.”
By the time Gershom and Tilly finished talking, they were at the end of the long hallway. The doors leading into the special rooms were open, and Gershom pointed to the first, very small, one.
“That’s the room I’ll be in,” he said. “No one else except the workers go in there. They left the door open just for me. I want you to go into the next room. Tell them you’re a friend of mind. If they ask, you can tell them that Buddy is very sick, and I’ll be staying with him tonight. Carly will be around. She checks up on all the special rooms, and she’ll help you get started. When you get tired, you can go back to our room. If you want, you can stay in the special room for the night. Just remember, Tilly, the doors all get closed late at night, so if you don’t get back to our room in time you’ll have to stay in the special room until morning.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that,” she told him, as he went into the first special room.
Tilly walked up to the second special room. It was much larger than the small room Gershom went into. There were many cats living in it. She felt a little afraid looking in, because she didn’t know what she would see in there. She entered the special room slowly. The first thing she saw was a large window. It showed the shelter’s small outside yard, with grass and real trees and bushes. A fence that went all the way around the small yard was covered with a green vine. Tilly’s room, like all the rooms in the back of the shelter, had no window. It had been a long time since she felt the warmth of the sun on her. She wanted to just sit by that big window and bask in the afternoon sunshine. But, she knew she had come here to visit with the cats who stayed in this room. She promised Gershom that she would do that for him, and she was keeping her promise.
Looking around at the rest of the room, Tilly saw perches built into one of the walls, where the cats could sit, sleep, or play on. Another wall had a row of cages on the floor. Some of the cage doors were open, and the cats were allowed to walk around the room freely. The cages that held very small kittens were locked. Tilly saw a few cats walking around, or up on perches. Most stayed in their cages, even if they didn’t have to. There was another door at the end of the row of cages. It was open and led into another special room. She walked up to it and looked inside. It was exactly the same as the room she was in, with a window and row of cages. She saw some cats who were visiting with each other. They were sitting together in small groups, or talking to one another privately.
Turning back to her own room, Tilly saw a grown cat sitting in one of the cages. He was so far back in the cage that she had not seen him the first time she looked at the row of cages. The cage door was open. She walked up to the cage and stuck her head inside.
“Hi, my name’s Tilly. I’m a friend of Gershom. What’s your name?” she said.
For a minute, the cat in the cage didn’t say anything. Then very slowly, he said, “Hi, Tilly. I’m Calvin.”
“Can you come out, Calvin, at least for a little while? You must be tired of sitting in your cage. Come out, and warm yourself in the sunshine,” Tilly said.
“I like to stay here,” Calvin told her. “I feel safe in here.”
“Wouldn’t you like to get some sunshine?” Tilly asked again.
“I’ll come out for a little while, but only if you stay right here,” Calvin replied.
Calvin slowly got up in the back of his cage. He was very unsteady on his feet at first. Tilly began to worry that he might fall down. She began to think he might be better off staying in his cage.
“Maybe you should just stay there,” Tilly said. “Maybe it’s too hard for you to walk.”
“I don’t mind being slow,” Calvin answered. “But it bothers everyone else so much, that I feel like they would rather I just stayed in my cage. I can make it. I just need some time.”
“Okay, Calvin,” Tilly said, because she knew that she would not want to miss out on sunning herself just because someone else thought she walked too slow. “You take your time, and we’ll enjoy the sunshine together.”
A few minutes later, Calvin made his way out of his cage. Tilly led him to a nice warm spot where the late afternoon sun was shining. For a while they just rested there, enjoying the warm sun. Then, looking back around the room, Tilly thought that there might be other cats who would like to come out and warm up in the sunshine.
“Calvin, are there any other cats like you in the cages? Maybe we can invite them to come out, and warm themselves too.”
“I haven’t been here very long,” Calvin answered. “I came here after I had an accident. I don’t know anyone around here.”
“What happened?” Tilly asked.
“I was living in an old garage, and some wooden boards that were left there fell on me. I don’t remember how I got here. I was in another room here until I was good enough to come in this room. The people who helped me did all they could to get me well, but I’ll always be slow like this.”
Tilly didn’t know what to say when Calvin told her what happened to him. She thought for a minute, then said, “Calvin, I love you just the way you are. Jesus loves you just the way you are. You have your life, and you have every right to enjoy yourself, just like anyone else.”
“You know, Tilly,’ Calvin said, looking right at her, ‘some of the others think that I don’t like being alive. They think I would rather not have lived if I was going to be slow like this. They’re wrong. You really are my friend, because you can see past my slowness. Everyone else sees what’s gone. You see what I still have. I still have lots to look forward too. I saw others who were hurt like me in the other room. When I started to get better, I helped them. They listened to me, because they knew what happened to me. I knew what it was like for them have to try so hard to do one little thing. I can help them because I know what it’s like to be slow. I know how it feels both outside and on the inside where your heart is.”
For the rest of the afternoon, Tilly and Calvin warmed themselves in the sunshine. When the sun went down, they walked together back to Calvin’s cage. On the way, they talked to all the cats in the other cages, and the ones sitting on the perches. Calvin and Tilly knew that many of the cats were sad and scared. Calvin told them not to be afraid. Tilly told them how much Jesus loved and cared about them. Some of the cats they talked to liked Calvin and Tilly right away. Others refused to talk to them at all. Tilly didn’t let that hurt her feelings, or stop her from loving them. She remembered what Gershom taught her. She explained to Calvin how sometimes one sows, and another reaps.
Since it was already getting late, the shelter workers were starting to close all the doors. Tilly decided that she would stay in the special room until morning. She wanted to stay here with Calvin and the others. The cardboard box back in her room just didn’t seem as important to her now. After Calvin got back in his cage, Tilly found a perch on the wall where she would sleep through the night. Lying down on her new bed, she felt very comfortable. The rug covered perch was very warm, and it fit her small body just perfectly.