I Love Stories That Touch My Heart
I read this story in a magazine many years ago. Don't remember the magazine. Another version of this story was once told by the science fiction writer Robert Heinlein.
THE DOOR TO SUMMER
A retired couple from Minnesota liked to drive their motor home South for the winter and spend the coldest months in Arizona.
One winter they stayed at a camping club RV park in the Arizona desert. They became friends with an appealing stray cat there. They fed him and he became part of their household. In late February it was time for them to go home. They decided to take the cat home with them. They got a litter box, stocked up on cat food, packed up and took off with the cat purring on the bed in back.
The couple took turns sleeping and driving and they drove straight through to Minnesota. When they got home, the cat was asleep in a basket so they carried him into their home, turned on the heat to warm their house and unpacked their motor home as the cat slept.
The next morning, as they are breakfast, the cat was up and about exploring his new home. The couple's house was built like a Mexican house, with a veranda around it and a number of doors to the outside.
The cat went to one of the doors and meowed; he wanted to go out. The couple knew it was a quest for the freedom the cat was used to because the cat had already used the litter box.
The couple discussed it. They lived on a two acre property with a tall mesh fence around it. They were at the end of a road. It seemed safe enough to let the cat roam the property. They opened the door and watched the cat.
The cat walked out the door, then stopped. He lifted up a paw and looked at it. Snow was falling lightly. He looked up, meowed a complaint and ran back inside the house. This cat was used to the Arizona desert! He'd never experienced snow.
A few minutes later, the cat approached another door to the outside and meowed. The couple thought perhaps he'd changed his mind and that perhaps he'd decided freedom to explore was more important than the freezing weather. So they opened the door. But the cat did the same thing again. He meowed a complaint when the snow flakes hit his fur and he backed up into the house away from the cold.
After a short time, the cat went to yet another door and the same thing happened. The cat meowed at each door but jumped right back in when the snow and cold confronted him.
The couple realized what was happening. The cat was searching for the door to Summer! He thought that surely one of those doors would open to his former warm climate.
Finally, the cat gave up, curled up next to the fireplace and slept. For the next 3 months the cat ignored the doors. He enjoyed playing with the cat toys they got him and he was affectionate and purred contentedly. But he avoided the doors as people came and went.
In April, warmer weather arrived one day. The couple pulled back the thick curtain that covered their patio door and got their patio furniture out of the storage shed and set it up.
As they did this, the cat came to the patio door and ran outside meowing happily, tail in the air.
From then on, all summer and into the Fall, the cat refused to use any other door in their house that opened to the outside. The cat knew that all the other doors led to the cold Winter. The cat was happy because he had realized his quest. He had found the door to Summer at last.
THE DOOR TO SUMMER
A retired couple from Minnesota liked to drive their motor home South for the winter and spend the coldest months in Arizona.
One winter they stayed at a camping club RV park in the Arizona desert. They became friends with an appealing stray cat there. They fed him and he became part of their household. In late February it was time for them to go home. They decided to take the cat home with them. They got a litter box, stocked up on cat food, packed up and took off with the cat purring on the bed in back.
The couple took turns sleeping and driving and they drove straight through to Minnesota. When they got home, the cat was asleep in a basket so they carried him into their home, turned on the heat to warm their house and unpacked their motor home as the cat slept.
The next morning, as they are breakfast, the cat was up and about exploring his new home. The couple's house was built like a Mexican house, with a veranda around it and a number of doors to the outside.
The cat went to one of the doors and meowed; he wanted to go out. The couple knew it was a quest for the freedom the cat was used to because the cat had already used the litter box.
The couple discussed it. They lived on a two acre property with a tall mesh fence around it. They were at the end of a road. It seemed safe enough to let the cat roam the property. They opened the door and watched the cat.
The cat walked out the door, then stopped. He lifted up a paw and looked at it. Snow was falling lightly. He looked up, meowed a complaint and ran back inside the house. This cat was used to the Arizona desert! He'd never experienced snow.
A few minutes later, the cat approached another door to the outside and meowed. The couple thought perhaps he'd changed his mind and that perhaps he'd decided freedom to explore was more important than the freezing weather. So they opened the door. But the cat did the same thing again. He meowed a complaint when the snow flakes hit his fur and he backed up into the house away from the cold.
After a short time, the cat went to yet another door and the same thing happened. The cat meowed at each door but jumped right back in when the snow and cold confronted him.
The couple realized what was happening. The cat was searching for the door to Summer! He thought that surely one of those doors would open to his former warm climate.
Finally, the cat gave up, curled up next to the fireplace and slept. For the next 3 months the cat ignored the doors. He enjoyed playing with the cat toys they got him and he was affectionate and purred contentedly. But he avoided the doors as people came and went.
In April, warmer weather arrived one day. The couple pulled back the thick curtain that covered their patio door and got their patio furniture out of the storage shed and set it up.
As they did this, the cat came to the patio door and ran outside meowing happily, tail in the air.
From then on, all summer and into the Fall, the cat refused to use any other door in their house that opened to the outside. The cat knew that all the other doors led to the cold Winter. The cat was happy because he had realized his quest. He had found the door to Summer at last.
70-79, F
