Derin Güntekin
On a cold but sunny March day, I woke up stretching on an old mattress warmed by the radiator pipe in the basement of the abandoned house where I lived. I thought it was the beginning of an ordinary day for me. Before telling you about that day and what happened afterwards, I want to tell you a little bit about the place where I live and about myself.
If you ask me if there’s a city ruled by cats in the world, I’d say my city is exactly that. And I won’t hide from you that I feel really cool saying ‘my city’ since our names are the same. Centuries ago, my great, great ancestors, who lived in this place known as Constantinople, passed down the name of Emperor Constantine to me through generations. If I have to introduce myself briefly, I am Konstantin the cat, a handsome tabby with gray and white fur, a large body, and what people call ‘a mischievous look’ – whatever that means! In the neighborhood, they call me emperor. I think that my name has a lot to do with this, but to brag a little, I believe that my dominance over the street also plays a big role.
Without further ado, let me tell you a bit about the city I live in. In this city, known today as Istanbul, we cats are neither pets nor street animals. We roam freely in every corner of this city and can pop up anywhere. A large part of the people living here take care of us, giving us food and water, so it’s very common to see a water bowl, a cat house, and dry food in every corner. They also build small huts for us to rest and protect us from the cold, some take us into their homes, and some invite us to their workplaces. While wandering around the city, it’s no surprise to see us in shop windows, cafes, or anywhere. In short, you can see both cats and dogs roaming freely everywhere in the city. In short, we have been free citizens of this city since these lands existed, and for that reason, we have been an important part of the city’s soul for centuries. What do we give people in return? We teach them love and protect this ancient city with magic, in ways that you humans cannot understand.
The street where I live is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods of the city, with a history dating back hundreds of years. I was born as one of three siblings in a cat house built by humans at the beginning of this street. I remember living happily here with my mother and siblings for a while, thanks to the help of people. Later, my sister was adopted by a young girl who lived at the end of the street. Shortly after that, we lost my other sibling under a car speeding down the street. I could never forget that day.
While we’re at it, let me share one of our cat secrets with you. You humans think of cats as sleepyheads who sleep all day, don’t you? Actually, we often go on astral travels in these sleeps and make contact with spirits. That’s why I can still see my deceased sibling and be with him as much as I want.
Later on, my mother also decided that I was grown up and left me. So, like every living creature in life, I had to face the reality of being alone.
However, unlike you humans, the knowledge that no pain lasts forever is ingrained in our cats’ genetic code. Our seemingly nonchalant attitude is due to this. We cats, on the other hand, accept life as it is and live each moment, cherishing it and staying in the moment. Therefore, I continued my days with classic cat routines such as hunting, sunbathing, chasing cats, sleeping, and grooming. However, in the meantime, I never failed to continue my duties of giving love to the neighborhood residents or people who crossed my path, and balancing their energies.
While we’re on the subject, we cats don’t show our love like dogs do. While dogs have unconditional and boundless love, the love we share with you is different from theirs; it’s momentary but very intense. We suddenly appear beside you when you need us most and convey that love to you, helping you feel better, by rubbing against you or making those sounds you call purring. Then, to get rid of all the negative energy we’ve taken on, we enter a trance state that you call sleep.
I know I’ve been rambling on, but I wanted you to know a little bit about me and my city before we get to the interesting story. Now that you know a little bit about me, I can tell you about the moment I met him.
After a heavy rain, wandering aimlessly to fill my empty stomach amidst the earthy smell that enveloped the street and the delicious aroma of food wafting from houses. As a last resort, as always, I started walking towards the large garbage can located next to the ruins of the Constantinople Hippodrome. If you don’t mind getting dirty, you can always fill your stomach with leftover food thrown away by the nearby restaurants.
Just as I was preparing to ransack the garbage as a last resort, a furry tail caught my eye between the wheels. At first, I thought it was a rat, but when I paid closer attention, I noticed a dirty yellow ball of fur with a silly, shivering face, who I later learned was named Lucky. With my insatiable curiosity, and because I had nothing more interesting to do, I moved to the wall opposite the garbage, cleaned my paws, and began to watch him sideways. To be honest, I was intrigued. The poor thing was in a pitiful state.
Hours later, I found myself walking home with him. All the way, I kept muttering to myself, “Ah, Konstantin, all you needed in your life was another dog who couldn’t take care of himself. Bravo, you’ve really done it to yourself.” We arrived home, him behind me. Life presents us with choices, and we only realize the correctness of some of our choices later. Luckily, I made the right choice that day by taking Lucky into my life. Sometimes, we need to set aside our prejudices to accept life’s gifts. We can understand at such moments that what we thought was right may be wrong, and what we thought was wrong may be right, and that is exactly what life is.
That evening when we arrived home, he told me his long story in tears. Lucky had been bought from a pet shop, which I call an animal gathering camp, which is very popular nowadays. He told me in detail how happy he was at first, having two human siblings and a family, how he spent the summer at the family’s summer house, and how he had a wonderful three months in the garden and on the beach. Then, when it was time for schools to open and they returned to Istanbul, everything began to change. First, he felt like a burden on the family, then the children’s interest in him faded, then they started taking him out less, and it became difficult for everyone to feed him and change his water.
As you might have guessed, the story ends tragically, as it does for many unfortunate victims of pet shops. One evening, he was taken out of the house for a walk, but instead of being taken for a walk, he was suddenly dropped off in a deserted street far from home, and from that moment on, he was left all alone in the big city. I met him five days after he was abandoned, which felt like a nightmare.
However, after we started living together, Lucky’s nightly whimpers gradually decreased. Over time, he began to wag his tail happily and make friends with people on the street. We went everywhere together, and we shared the food we found. As days turned into weeks, we had become inseparable friends, even more than that, we had become life companions.
But this happiness came to an end one ordinary morning. Early that morning, we were awakened by the screams of dogs living in a vacant lot at the top of the neighborhood. I rushed out into the street out of curiosity.
I learned what had happened from a dog that I occasionally encountered near the garbage container at the beginning of the street, whom people affectionately called “Lazy” because of his calmness. He told me, with tears in his eyes, how a few people he had never seen before had come and cruelly put the dogs they had caught into a van and taken them away. He had managed to escape and hide. Unfortunately, four days after telling me this, I found him poisoned and dead next to the same garbage can, for the last time.
In the following days, I heard the kind people in the neighborhood talking sadly and angrily. That’s when I learned exactly what had happened. With a decision that people called a law but that I couldn’t fully understand, they had started rounding up and killing street animals. Dogs were in particular trouble. The collected animals were first taken to shelters, then left to starve and were killed violently, and some were poisoned, just like Miskin.
From the moment I heard this, the only thing that overcame the countless indescribable feelings of sadness, fear, and anger was worry. I had forgotten about my own life, and there was only one question in my mind: I had to protect Lucky!!! But how?
For days, I pondered what to do, hiding with Lucky. Then one night, I woke up with the knowledge that I needed to consult the wise cat, the great master Sophia. Sophia, the sacred female, the protector of the Hagia Sophia for generations, is the immortal guardian cat of the Hagia Sophia, whom you humans, due to your inability or unwillingness to understand things, simply dismiss as a cat or a kitten. You don’t know, but it is none other than the mystical cats that give life to the spirit of the places you call sacred. The cat of a historical shrine like the Hagia Sophia is the master of all cats in Istanbul, the immortal wise cat Sophia.
I found myself at the door of the Hagia Sophia, walking with great confidence through the alleyways where I would never dare to go, as dawn broke. I found the great master in a deep trance. The ability to enter a trance, which is common in all cats, can last for hours or even days in Sophia, but fortunately, a few hours of waiting was enough.
Sophia came out of her trance and, not at all surprised to see me in front of her, began to speak. “For days, I have been in contact with the very soul of the Earth, and I can tell you this: Humans, especially in these lands, have been greatly harming the very soul of the Earth with their massacres, both within their own species and between species. They will sooner or later pay the price for this.
The consciousness that all street animals are part of a whole has reached people who are open-minded, both through telepathy and dreams. Now the outcome is up to people’s own free will,” she said, adding, “I pray to the soul of the world every day for people to make the right decisions for their own good.
As for you, Konstantin, in exchange for saving your friend from this slaughter, you will have to accept never seeing him again, or you will stay with him and one day witness his violent death at the hands of humans. The choice is yours,” she said. “I hope you will be waiting for me in the middle of the temple at midnight tomorrow. I hope you make the right decision,” she said and entered a trance again.
Time seemed to stand still that day. At first, I was deluded that I could protect Lucky no matter what, then we cried helplessly in each other’s arms, but when the clock struck midnight, Lucky and I were in front of Sophia, in a miserable state.
Sophia was standing in front of an old iron door in the middle of the temple. She began to speak in front of the ajar door: “The universe we live in holds many secrets that all species, especially the human species, do not know. What I am about to tell you may seem impossible to you, but listen to me carefully. This door is a one-way door to a time tunnel that opens to the past or the future, but understand this well, there is no return once you go. Now it’s time to decide, Konstantin! Will only Lucky go through the door, or will you go together? Whatever your decision, you can be sure that you will be in an era where these lands are safe for animals.”
I was stunned by this unexpected question. On the one hand, there was my neighborhood where I had spent my whole life, where I grew up, and many of my friends, in short, everything that made me who I am! On the other hand, there was my friend whose existence I clung to. I looked into his eyes, and in those eyes, I saw not Lucky but the soul of the world. At that moment, I realized that Lucky was also a part of the whole, and I said goodbye to him.
As a final word, I want to say this to you humans. The world is watching you humans through the eyes of us innocent animals, and it is determined to make you live the fate you deserve for us.
You need to remember the ancient knowledge that you have known for centuries but have now forgotten. This life is for all of us, and we need each other.
We, all living beings on Earth, are much more than just an individual, a gender, a nationality, or a species.
All the walls you have built between us and that you believe exist are actually nonexistent.
In conclusion, we are here for one purpose: to learn that we are all one.