Kill the Cat
Everybody loves cats, right?
You’re supposed to.
Who wouldn’t love cats? They are a bunch of cute little fur-balls that litter your house with their silk-like hair. I have had my fair share of the feline creature in my life. Asides being a Nigerian, I’m also Yoruba. Though some people would argue I am not a full-fledged son of the soil, na your wahala be that, deal with it!
If you grew up in my part of Nigeria, and you saw my kind of childhood movies, there is a higher percentage that somewhere in your heart, you won’t like cats or at least have some reservations, not because of any overly factual reason, but because most Nigerian movies at that time, portrayed them as an object of witchcraft.
However, I grew up in a closed Residential Area that had a lot of stray cats. I see them everywhere. When I walk at night, they are on the road, on the roof and at a time, we even had a cat in our house, but that’s another story entirely.
My actual first encounter with a cat was at a friend’s place. I went to play Xbox360 and entering through the kitchen door, the sight that greeted me en route the sitting room was a black cat. A big one. Imagine something big enough to take ample space in the passageway, and I could have sworn that this cat snarled at me (do they even do this!!). The next thing I knew was that it was coming close violently, before the owner, my friend, came to pick it up.
From that day, I started respecting cats.
I cannot even call it fear sef! Cos I am not scared of them. Yes, I no dey fear cats but I just respect them and try to always keep my distance, like a few metres to be exact.
I guess I should get into why I am telling you this story shey?
I want to kill the cat.
‘Curiosity kills the cat.
I was about to sleep last night and that quote, adage, whatever it is, came to my mind.
And I can guess that it is because I have been curious about a lot of things lately. Like, really, this life no balance, at least that’s what they say.
Yea, so, I was curious about a few things and maybe like a reminder or a note of warning, I heard it at the back of my mind, ‘curiosity kills the cat!’ and I’m like, what the hell?
For a larger percentage of the time, stuff like this comes to mind anytime I want to try something new, or I’m “chuking” my nose inside what does not concern me, and someone — maybe as a note of warning — would say to me, curiosity kills the cat.
And those words have sounded in my mind like a subtle limiter whenever I’m about to step into a place I’ve never stepped into, or do something I’ve never done before.
So, last night I determined I would kill the cat! There are a few things I’ve learnt since the lockdown began, and all of them were borne out of curiosity.
They’re not all that good. Some left me burnt out, but the overarching benefit is that I’ve learnt a few ways not to do some particular set of things.
I know some of you are looking for specifics. Maybe I should give a few. What do you think?
Yea, let me give an example. Shhhh, don’t shout.
…………..
So, that’s it. #Lol
Don’t let the fear of doing something new stop you from doing something new.
And yea, I love cats. I have loved them since I began watching documentaries on wild cats on National Geographic Channel before NatGeo Wild came on the scene.
I don’t know when I’ll write again. But until then, have a nice time.
