Rodin the escape artist on the roof.

(one week ago)

It is bedtime.  
I am sitting on the edge of Kabouter's bed and we talk. His younger brother is staying over at his grandmother. 
It's been some of the first hot days and heat already accumulated on the top floors of the house so we profit from the cooler evening to have all windows wide open and let a breeze flow through the house. 
All of a sudden I hear a soft thum and Kabouter jumps up and runs out of his room, much to my annoyance because it's bedtime and why can't he sit still for just 3 minutes for once for goodness sake. 

"MOM. RODIN IS ON THE ROOF!! NOOOO MOM RODIN IS ON THE ROOF" he shrieks from his brother's room.   I rush out and see him pointing out of the window while I yell downstairs 
"JAAAAAAN RODIN IS ON THE ROOF.   JAAAAAAAAN COME  RODIN IS ON THE ROOF"
"Oh no oh no oh no" the youngest one is pacing. 
I order him to get his dad as that's the only thing I can come up with at that first moment.
"OH AND BRING THE CAT COOKIES" , I yell behind his back downwards. 

I look outside and indeed I see our cat casually strolling in the gutter, 4 floors above the ground.  He ignores my calling entirely as cats tend to do when it suits them.  It usually suits them. 

Both men are running up the stairs again and we all 3 call for the cat through the window. That's too much, he's not going to get motivated by this overload of attention.
"Go get one of his toys", Jan orders me.
Now it's my turn to race down the stairs. 

In the next 20 minutes, we alternate looking, I calm Kabouter that Rodin's not so stupid as to jump down 4 floors while Jan's mantra is that he's safe and sound there but that we only need to ensure he can get back inside.  The cat strolls to the neighbours on the left,  is intrigued by the birds in the air, he visits the neighbours on the right,  strolls by below us a few times and completely ignores us.  The cookies do not do their usual magic trick. Ha too much freedom and adventure here.  

I wonder if he'll go and take a nap. I wonder if we'll be on watch here all night. I wonder if we'll end up calling the fire department.  I repeat to Kabouter that he's not going to jump to suicide and I order Kabouter to stay in his room.  

The key question is: can he climb up the roof back into the window, yes or no? Sliding down the tiles is a different thing from climbing up. I don't want to picture him jumping.  
Jan has a good idea and I hold a long towel hanging out of the window, so he can hook his claws into that.  We call a bit more, we shake the cookies again etc. 

And then about half an hour later he sits observing flies under our window when Jan, half dangling down himself manages to grab his neck and pulls him in and I BANG  the window closed why Jan screams and kicks the cat out the room in order to give him a very unpleasant memory of the adventure. 

And now I fear the hot nights where we can't have a breeze between the rooms anymore. We need to be on either closed door or closed window rule.  Bleh. But I still don't trust he's going to come back easily from a next adventure out.