A Gift of God
By Janine R. Cañosa
Do you believe that guardian angels exist? Because I do believe them. My grandmama Flore
often tells me a story about her guardian cat, Penny, every time we visit our hometown in the
countryside. Penny was an average size cat with tiger-like skin and fur, but sadly, I never got to meet
him since he passed away even before I was born. Grandmama described him like he was her
brother since they were inseparable.
Meanwhile, according to my mother, Penny was a stubborn and annoying cat who did not
like everyone but grandmama. My family would tell me that Penny was always ready to slash anyone
out who would dare come near him or bother him. He was a temperamental cat to everyone but
soft and kind to my grandmama.
Our family originally lived in the countryside because animal farming is our way of living. But
my mother moved to the city when she married my father. My grandmama stays with my grandpa
and my mother’s siblings, Uncle Samon and Aunt Belinda. When grandmama was a six-year-old kid,
they lived in a small nipa hut with vast land for their animal farm. They have cows, pigs, chickens,
turkeys, roosters, and horses on their farm. One day, when my great-grandfather went out to feed
the animals, she asked him if she could come, and her father let her. Beaming excitedly, she jumped
up and down and tip-toed while following her father into the yard. While feeding the chickens with
her father, she suddenly noticed a cat sitting outside the fence. It was creepily staring at her; on the
contrary, she thought it was staring at her for food. She ran towards the cat and splattered the
chicken feeds on her hands. She believed that it would eat it, but it just walked away.
“Papa! I saw a cat a while ago,” she said to her father while running to her father’s side.
“Really? Where is it?” she frowned and said, “It ran away when I splattered the chicken feeds on it
because I thought it was hungry.” Her father laughed, and she pouted.
The following day, she went with her father again to feed the animals. She asked her father
what food she should give the cat if it ever appeared again, and her father gave her a piece of bread.
Unfortunately, the cat does not show itself. Her father cheered her up and told her the cat might be
sleeping somewhere. After that, her father asked her if she wanted to come to clean the farm yard
tomorrow. Despite being disappointed with what happened, she still said yes to her father.
The morning has come, and she remembers that they will clean today. They went to the
barn to get the materials needed for cleaning. Unknowingly, while she was trying to get the rag on
the table, a snake was ready to bite her ankle when out of nowhere, the cat came running towards
the snake and fought with it. Shocked and scared, she stumbled and fell on her back. She cried
aloud, which caught her father’s attention, and he ran towards her to pick her up from the ground.
Her father saw how the cat slashed the venomous snake with its shiny and sharp claws, which
caused the snake to turn away immediately, but the cat caught it by its neck and tried to bite off its
head to kill it. Her father reluctantly settled her down when she stopped crying after ensuring the
snake was dead. It shocked him when he saw the cat instantly make its way to her daughter, and just
like a human; it seemed like it was comforting Flore by constantly rubbing its head to her little feet.
When he tried to snatch the cat from Flore, it snarled at him, ready to pounce like a tiger.
Ever since that incident, the cat was always on her side and seemed to guard her against any
threats. The cat's unusual behavior never failed to make her parents puzzled and amused
simultaneously. Flore, who began to be fond of the cat, appeared confused as to why the cat never
left her side, so she decided to ask her parents about it. “He never leaves your side because he is
your guardian angel,” her mother answered. “Guardian angel?” she confusedly uttered. “God
bestows upon guardian angel to good people. In your case, your guardian angel is in the form of a
cat.”
“Max!” I snatched the attention of my dog. Max turns his head to me and runs towards the
bench I am sitting on here in the park. I cannot contain my smile when I remember the story of my
grandmama and her cat, Penny, which reminds me so much of myself and my dog, Max. Max is one
of the rescue dogs from the meat factory. He was just a puppy then, but I saw he had suffered
abuse. He had no voice and was so thin that I could see structured bones in his body. I took care of
and loved him. Until now, the grieving state of every dog rescued on that day was marked on my
mind.
Max, just like Penny, is a guardian angel. I believe he is my angel sent to me by God.
Coincidentally, the day he was saved was when I nearly took my life. I was framed at work for a
crime I had never committed. My life started to fall apart because of that. But the truth came out,
and I was free. I thought I could finally be myself again, but I was wrong. I suffered from depression.
But Max was given to me, and he helped me cope with it. I saw hope in his eyes despite the life he
had been through, just like me. I guess God has His way of lifting me and lighting my way.
While we were on our way home, suddenly, we saw a girl running to the pedestrian lane,
and with the blink of an eye, Max was already on the ground in a pool of blood. I cried aloud. I
quickly ran towards him, and the blood left my face when I realized my Max was gone. I begged God
to save my dog but only felt his body's coldness. I trembled when I kneeled beside his body and
shouted about the pain I was currently feeling. I cried and cried and cried. It seems like crying can
never ease this heaviness I feel inside.
“Thank you, Max,” I said while sitting beside his tomb. I realized his death would not be in
vain since he saved that kid's life. He was my guardian angel. He saved not only my life but also
someone else’s. I embraced myself as I felt the tingling sensation of the wind blowing. I looked to my
right when I saw someone standing a few feet away from me. It was a boy. I stood up, went straight
to him, and saw him warmly smiling. As I made my way to him, I could hear the fast beating of my
heart that felt like it wanted to go out of my chest. When I stand in front of him, I look down and ask,
“Who are you?” I gasped when he vanished after he spoke.
“Hi, Florina. I am Max.”