The Old Man and His Cat
This is an one-shot, Human AU (human names used) GerIta-mentioned story. Inspired by a recent conversation between a friend and I. Please enjoy. I realize it is a tad short, however, this is the length I chose to make it because it is a one-shot.
Everyday, if one were to walk down the streets of Italy, he would eventually find an old, forgotten house by a small vineyard. There, at that ancient house, lives an old man and his cat. Anyone who knew the old man since youth have long passed on, and no one remembers how the old man came to live there. He has always lived there, him and his cat.
Anyone lost always find their way to that house and find the old man on the front porch, sitting on a wooden, creaking rocking chair with his cat on his lap. The old man would slowly look up at the stranger and smile at them.
"Hello! Are you lost?" he'd say in Italian. Though he knows that tourists mostly find their way to his little, old home, he always greeted them in his native tongue. Almost on cue, they'd look at him, startled, confused. They reach for their Italian dictionaries and try to translate his words. He chuckles to himself as if laughing about an inside joke.
"It's ok," he'd try again, this time in English in case the tourist were American or English.
If he didn't get the reaction he wanted from that, he'd try again in a different language since he spent a lifetime learning different languages.
Finally, he'd get to a language they understood and they'd ask him how to get somewhere: to Rome, to this vineyard, to that city, to this street. He was always more than happy to comply; it would be the first contact with the outside world in months.
They'd chat and laugh at jokes, until it was time for them to go. He'd be sad to watch them leave, but knows that if fate would have it, they would meet once more. He would look down at his cat and stroke it's back, soothingly whisper to it, "Ne, Ludwig… They were nice, huh?"
The cat named Ludwig would lazily look up at his master and meow softly in response. The old man would chuckle and sigh deeply. "Ludwig… Ludwig…" he'd chant as if to remember something long lost. "Ludwig… I'm glad I have you with me."
It'd get lonely sometimes at that little forgotten home. Ludwig the cat usually spends his time chasing around mice that happened to come across him or lurking about the house. The old man would only chuckle as he watched Ludwig the cat chase yet another mouse.
Sometimes, the old man would put Ludwig the cat's leash on and tell him, "Come on, Ludwig! Doesn't going out for a walk sound nice?" They would stroll around the country side until they reached the marketplace. The merchants would wave at the old man.
"Signore Vargas!"
"Signore, signore! Come, I have a fresh batch of bread I think you'll like!
"Signore!"
The old man would smile at them all and take his time at each stall, not able to resist any bargain he came across. The children who lived nearby would take his cat and play with it while the old man shopped, their mothers asking for permission first of course.
"Signore Vargas, do you mind?"
"Not at all!" he'd answered cheerfully, "Sometimes, I think Ludwig needs to have some fun as well!"
Everyone loved the cheerful old man, though no one remembers how he came to that place, whether he was born there or drifted by and stayed. He was there as long as anyone could remember. There were some who remembered that there was another man living with him.
No one remembers his face or his name, but Signore Vargas used to live with a tall, intimidating man. The children's grandparents tell them the man was German and it was thought that this German and the sweet old man were lovers, though no one knew for sure. Memory fades over time, what seemed like gestures of romance may have actually been nothing but brotherly love, and everything gets fogged, leaving nothing but shades.
The German stopped coming one day, so did Signore Vargas. Everyone worried that an ill fate fell on them until years later, Signore Vargas reappeared, now older and more tired. After those years, everyone forgot about the German and the old man, until other old man recognized the random curl that always stuck out of Signore Vargas' hair. When he was asked about his German friend, he never answered.
As the sun began to set, Signore Vargas took his cat back and bid goodbye to the people. He thanks them all for their hospitality and walks back to his little forgotten old home.
There were times when at the dead hours of night, the empty little home would fill with terrified screams and night terrors. Signore Vargas constantly has nightmares of old forgotten memories, memories he wished to forget or memories he couldn't forget. His frail body would jolt up, and shake with fear. Even after all these years, his pool of tears were still full.
"Ludwig! Ludwig!" he'd rasp out, scared of the lonely night, scared of being alone. Ludwig the cat would awaken, startled by his master's screams and go to his side. Signore Vargas finds comfort in the cat, silently sobbing as he holds onto Ludwig the cat in a bear hug. After the night terror passed, the old man would stare off into the darkness and stroke Ludwig the cat's fur.
"I had another dream, Ludwig," he'd begin, "the same one… The same one where you… where he… Ludwig… Lud…" Several times now, he'd furrow his brows and rather than say "Ludwig", he'd ask it to himself. "Lud… Lud…wig? Ludwig…?" Other times, he'd mutter to himself, determined, "Can't forget again… Ludwig. Yes… That's right… Ludwig."
He spent many years with Ludwig the cat, given to him by his brother after an incident. At first, he didn't understand why his brother had given him a cat but after, he was grateful that after years of all his loved ones leaving him for the next world, he still had Ludwig the cat.
"Take this damn cat. You still like cats, right? You could name it after that… that guy," his brother had told him. "B-But Lovino -"
"No buts Feliciano! This is getting out of control! Just take the damn cat so you won't be lonely anymore ok!"
"V-Veh?!"
After…
"…Ok, ne…" he held up the young kitten high. The kitten turned its head, unable to see who was holding him yet so very cold. He mewed weakly, wanting to be held closer to warmth. He began to cry, squirming in Feliciano's hands.
"Veh! Veh! Ok, here…" he brought the kitten close to his chest. The kitten desperately wriggled and buried himself as deep as he could in Feliciano's shirt. "Oh! You're cold! Babino is cold!" he exclaimed, now understanding why the kitten begun to cry.
He wrapped the newborn in the softest, warmest blanket he could find. The kitten, content now, purred and drifted away to sleep. Feliciano smiled sadly at the sight and felt tears run down his face. He shakily sighed and wiped them away.
"…I… I can't ever forget… Lovino is right. I can't just let it keep me from living on… I can't forget him though…" Feliciano looked at the kitten once before deciding, "… Ludwig. That'll be your name. That was his name and now it's yours. It's selfish… but maybe this way, he'll still be close to me.
And so years went on by, as Signore Feliciano Vargas and his Ludwig lived in the little house, living together. Just as everything must end, so does life. Ludwig the cat noticed the signs: the constant coughs, the unbearable aches and pains, forgetting simple things like putting salt on pasta water or going outside without shoes (sometimes clothes for that matter), until finally the day came when Signore Feliciano Vargas couldn't find the strength to get up from bed.
His breaths came in shorter and quicker, and his eyes were dulled over. Ludwig the cat meows at him, wanting to comfort him as he always would if the old man began to get pains. "I-It's ok… Ludwig…" Feliciano says, reaching out for the cat. He meows and goes to his master's hands. The old man places him on his lap and gently strokes his fur as always.
He smiles bittersweetly and whispers to no one, "It's ok Ludwig… I'm so glad to have you at my side at the end… I knew you'd never leave me. You'd always be here with me until the end. I love you. I've been waiting for the right time to tell you how… I never got to tell you but I do. I'd be so lost without you… I wish I could hear you tell me you love me too. I know you can't anymore but I want to. One day I'll hear you tell me," he let out a stifled sob and his lower lip trembled, "This isn't going to hurt is it? Please don't let it hurt, you know I never liked pain…"
Signore Feliciano Vargas' hand had stopped stroking Ludwig the cat's fur for a while now. The pained expression on his face smoothed and his eyes dulled, life escaping from them. "I'm so tired. I think I'm ready. I want to be able to see you again…" The lifeless eyes close for eternal sleep and with his escaping breath, he breathed out "Lud…wig…"
Wanting to feel his master's warmth as he did years ago as a kitten, Ludwig the cat wriggled his way closer to Signore Feliciano Vargas' chest, and buried himself in his shirt as deep as he could.