Ponyo The Cat
I could go on for years about what I want.
I want independence, and I want a life of my own, and I want to claim it as such.
I want to graduate from high school, and I want to go to college.
I want my mom’s pain to ease, I want my sister’s dark clouds to clear, and I want my dog to be five years younger so I can have her five years longer.
I want a house, and I want the house to have a fridge. I want my food to stay cold without effort.
I want my own bed. I want my sister to have her own bed, too, no, I want her to have her own room. I want her to have her own room to decorate with Eiffel towers and old-fashioned cars and I want her to have her very own cat named Ponyo.
But, what I desire?
I desire to make all of that happen.
I desire to be the reason my mom’s legs don’t swell anymore. The reason her joints don’t stiffen as much, and the reason she won’t have to cry when she thinks I’m sleeping.
I desire to be the reason this middle school will be her last.
I desire to be the reason we don’t have to share a bed in a dingy hotel room anymore.
I desire to make the promise that one day, we’ll have a house. One that has a bathtub, a fridge, and a bed for each of us.
So, if I had to say exacly what I desire, it could all boil down to one thing.
I desire to promise my sister a cat.