For Lack of a Better World

The other day Luna woke me up with her whimpering.

I sat up in bed to see where she was, assuming I’d see her by the door waiting to be let out. But she was sitting in the middle of the room.

I got up and walked over to her to see if she would lead me where she needed my help. But she didn’t walk to the door leading outside. She walk toward the stairs.

“Ah. The door to the upstairs floor must be closed and she needs me to open it,” I thought. But the door was open. And she lead me up.

“Wow. She must want some cheese from the fridge. She’s really going out of her way.” But if she was willing to communicate this effectively then she deserved the cheese as far as I was concerned.

When she rounded the corner to the living room instead of leading me to the refrigerator I was finally out of guesses.

Luna jumped up on to the couch with my nephew Ramón and laid beside him on a spot she was already occupying before she came down to wake me up from the looks of it.

“See, girl? He’s here now,” Ramón assured her as I tried to connect the dots of what was happening and what Luna wanted from me.

She didn’t want to be let outside. She didn’t need me to open the door leading upstairs. She wasn’t trying to get snacks.

She had come downstairs to get me up so that I’d join the rest of the household and she would have the whole group together.

This practice of herding the group together is something Luna has done before in different scenarios and through various means. It’s hard to capture with images though.

Usually it happens during outdoor excursions when the individuals get too spread out and manifests with her running between whoever’s furthest ahead and whoever’s furthest behind.

If you see a picture of her running, looking frantic, or barking on an excursion, it’s possible she was in the midst of a relay between members of the group.

But this occasion was the sweetest in that all she wanted was to get everyone in the same room so she could have us all under her watchful eye while she bathed is the light of the sun.

Family girl. That’s Luna for ya.