I'm very thankful to the cat and it always makes me think of the time I was with him.
Five years ago, when my father was dying, I travelled a thousand miles from home to be with him in his last days. I felt very sad and it was one of the most difficult and painful times in my life. After he passed away, I started alone in his flat. There were so many things to deal with. I was lonely and I hated the silence of the flat.
But one evening the silence was broken I heard crying outside. I opened the door to find a little cat on the steps. He was thin and poor. He looked the way I felt. I brought him inside and gave him a can of fish. He ate it and then almost immediately fell asleep.
The next morning, I checked with neighbours and learned that the cat had been left by his owner. His owner had moved out, so the little cat was there all alone, just like I was. As I walked back to the flat, I tried to work out what to do with him. Having another thing to take care of seemed like the very last thing I needed. But as soon as I opened the flat door, he ran to me and jumped into my arms. It was clear from that moment that he didn't want to go anywhere. I started calling him Willis in order to remember my father's best friend.
______With Willis on my lap, time seemed to pass much faster. When the time finally came for me to return home, I had to decide what to do about Willis. There was absolutely no way I would leave without him.
It's been five years since my father died. Over the years, several people have said how nice it was of me to rescue (拯救) the cat. But I know that we rescued each other, I may have given him a home but he gave me something greater.