Every December, Josephine and Mark had hiked in the evergreen Mpanga forest in Mpigi District. This resort was 50 kilometres west of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda.

They had always camped here to meditate and relax. This equatorial eco-forest was a clean, serene environment, and was God-given. The beauty and clean air attracted local and international tourists.

They always picked lots of wild mushrooms, fruits, and herbs from the forest. It was one of their favourite hobbies. The forest’s quiet and cool environment reminded her of home in the terraced green, cold-misty hills of Kisoro.

Then, they had found a sickly, hungry cat abandoned by the previous owner. Its orange-striped hair was falling out. The hungrier feline had limped to her and meowed faintly. She feared it at first sight. She thought it was a wild one. The cat licked her right toes and rolled on her back and meowed. He raced back to the blue-and-green hangman tent for food.

They fed her with tinned mackerel fish and maize grits, and they went back to tend to read. It crawled over them, and curled near the tent entrance, and...