The Cat Next Door

Just another evening in Châteauvieux

That evening, as often happens at Vahina-Paradis, there was no plan at all. We’d just come back from the forest at Châteauvieux, boots still caked in mud, and without much thought, a song started up in the living room. It was about a certain Loulou, a creature who knows no rules and no restraint, who hunts whatever crosses his path simply because that’s his nature. A tongue-in-cheek lament, half teasing, half fond, about everything we humans have ended up tidying away, fencing in, forbidding.

While the singing carried on inside, outside Vahina needed no such lament to feel free. Nose to the ground, she’d found a gap in an old tree trunk and was digging away, convinced some quiet tenant was hiding in there. No hesitation, no second-guessing — just instinct doing exactly what it’s meant to do.

That’s part of the charm of this corner of the Hautes-Alpes: the forest starting right at the door, a dog who never overthinks anything, and evenings where a slightly cheeky song reminds you it’s alright to laugh at your own hang-ups. The children hear a story about chasing rabbits. The grown-ups smile a little wider — everyone understands exactly as much as they’re ready to.

And that’s really the spirit of the house: you come for the fresh air and the walks with the dog, you stay for these unplanned evenings where the whole family, young and old, finds its place around a story, a guitar, a laugh.

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