Little Friends of Cotton

On the first day of summer vacation, Bong woke up and her mother had already gone to work. On the table was a yellow note that her mother had hastily written, telling Bong to finish breakfast and find a book to read while waiting for her grandfather to come pick her up to visit her grandparents.

After breakfast, Bong was absent-mindedly thinking about what to do to relieve her boredom. She and her mother had just moved into this apartment less than a month ago, and they were not yet familiar with the neighbors, so they had no friends to play with. Suddenly, Bong burst into tears, remembering the cats that had lived with her. When she moved, Bong was busy studying for exams and saying goodbye to her senior year. With many other considerations, Bong and her mother could not bring the cats with them.

Bong missed Chanh the most. After Sua was kidnapped, seeing how sad the mother and daughter were, Ms. Lien - the neighbor of her grandparents' house, brought Chanh to Bong. Chanh was a handsome, healthy mixed-breed cat. However, after being caught by a rope, Chanh became timid. Chanh always stayed at home, and when he heard a strange noise, he ran inside to find a place to hide. Ms. Linh - Ms. Lien's daughter loved Chanh very much, but this year she went to university in the city and couldn't take care of Chanh, so she gave Chanh to Bong so that every time she came back from vacation, she could visit Chanh to ease her longing.

The first day she brought Chanh home, Chanh hid under the chair, climbed up the crossbar, and curled up like a thief hiding on the roof. Mom and Bong searched for her for a long time but couldn't find her, thinking she had climbed over the balcony and gone. Bong cried so much, both because she felt sorry for Chanh and because she was afraid that Linh would be sad and angry. It wasn't until evening that Chanh crept out of her hiding place, probably because she was hungry. After half a month of cuddling and comforting her, Chanh got used to the mother and daughter, let her fur be stroked, and loved to rub against her mother's feet. Although she was a little sad, Bong still had to secretly admit that Chanh loved her mother more than Bong. Mom said it simply because she was the one who fed Chanh and cleaned up the things she had set out. Maybe that's why every time Mom came home from work, Chanh rushed out to greet her. If Mom was away for a few days, it would be terrible. When Mom came back, Chanh would rush to the door and throw herself at Mom to the point that even Bong was jealous. Bong teased Chanh several times: How dare you steal my mom? Chanh didn't take Bong's threats seriously. Many times Chanh glared at Bong when Bong pushed Chanh out of her mother's arms. Her attitude was very rude.

Then Bong met Nho.

Nho came to Bong and her mother in a very special way. That day, Thanh - the son of Hai helped his mother pick Bong up from school. When they passed by the small park near their house, Bong suddenly saw some dogs chasing a tiny kitten. Seeing the kitten's round eyes pleading for help, Bong insisted that Thanh stop. Thanh chased the dogs away, while Bong crept closer and the kitten seemed to sense Bong's affection, so she just stood there waiting. So the two brothers brought the kitten home, Thanh bathed it and fed it. Bong named the kitten Nho because of its black fur and small figure.

Nho became a new member of the family. Nho was not as pretty as Sua in the past, nor as tall and handsome as Chanh, but Nho was obedient, gentle and most importantly, Nho loved and clung to Bong very much. The things Chanh used to do with her mother, Nho now did with Bong. Unlike Chanh who was very picky, Nho ate everything, from fish, meat, shrimp, prawns to green vegetables and grass. Eating like that made Nho grow very quickly. A few months later, Nho was almost as big as Chanh. Many times, Bong and her mother saw Nho scolding Chanh and putting his foot on Chanh's head to remind her, just like Chanh had done before. That act of debauchery made Bong and her mother laugh so hard their stomachs hurt.

Mom and Bong's life with Chanh and Nho is full of incidents and laughter.

As Chanh and Nho grew older, Bong was also old enough to realize that her mother had to work to provide for Bong's education and take care of two cats, which made her very tired and had to worry a lot more. In addition, because her mother had changed jobs, Bong and her mother would move to a new place, making her even busier and more stressed. So Bong was not surprised when one night her mother hugged Bong and whispered about finding a new home for Chanh and Nho.

Chanh could be sent back to her grandparents' house because it was near her previous owner, Ms. Lien, so it would be convenient to take care of her. Her grandparents were old and could not take in Nho. So Nho was the only problem left. While Bong was worried and busy, Nho happened to help Bong and her mother.

That day, Aunt My, Mom’s friend, came to visit. As usual, Chanh hid under the chair as soon as she saw a stranger, not showing her face. But Nho, with his bold and friendly nature, wagged his feet and lay down to listen to the conversation. Luckily for Nho, everyone in Aunt My’s family loved and cared for cats.

Bong did not know the details of what the adults talked about, but she only knew that when she came home from school, Nho was no longer at home.

From then on, every time she missed Nho, Bong drew a few comic books, recounting the first day she met Nho, imagining Nho leaving home in Aunt My's backpack, looking at Bong with wide eyes. Sometimes on weekends, Bong's mother would take Bong to Aunt My's house to play. Nho would always recognize Bong right away and would often curl up in Bong's arms, rubbing his head against Bong's chest affectionately. At Aunt My's house, Nho had a beautiful wooden cage, a new collar, good pate food, and fragrant litter. So Bong felt secure.

Bong also often went to her grandparents' house to visit Chanh. Chanh did not sit and watch Bong when she was sick like Nho, but Chanh knew how to entertain Bong. Over the years, every picture and clip taken with Chanh contained many memories.

Bong sat up, ran to the bookshelf to get paper and pen, sat at the desk and wrote and drew while waiting for her grandfather.

At night, before going to bed, Mom opened Bong's desk drawer and saw a comic book of cats. In addition to the title clearly stating "My little friends" were dozens of words "remember, remember, remember, remember!"

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/nhung-nguoi-ban-nho-cua-bong-a187284.html