Our Real Home
There are two more nights that follow, just as many as I can count. Just like Froggy and Piggy, two. Then we all move back into the shaking box. It rumbles and tosses, most of the time I sleep on her lap. She has put my pillow there so I feel wonderful, I have the best of both worlds. We sit there for a long time. Often the trees stop walking, it gets hot. I like warm, but that is just too warm for my taste. Then it shakes again and the trees are moving. The trees have all sorts of things hanging in them, I think people did that.
I see a doll sitting on a branch, I see big sheets of painted metal, I see solid sticks all bent over. I see tops of roofs with many many men walking on them and putting big blue colors down, I see lots of stuff just tossed about and thrown every which way, I see clothing hanging like flags, I see stumps, thousands of them, I think that they might have been trees in the past.
There is no order any more. My owners moan and groan and again, she weeps, tears dropping onto my back. When I lick them off they are salty on my tongue. I really do not understand why people threw all this stuff around. And all this stuff is walking by, just like the trees. I do not know what is going on and would like to be back where we used to live. I trust my owners that they will get me back there. But what is is.
It is dark now and the shaking finally stops. Next thing I know we are back in our home, our old home, our real home. It is hot, but not for very long. All things are just the way we had them before. I am so happy and so are my owners. I think I never had such a wonderful sleep as I had that night and the following days. Purr—comfort.
— Kitty Girl And Froggy —
A brief statement by Kitty Girl’s owner
This was the story of my little friend that died just two weeks after this last journey we had together. She was this delightful apple head siamese cat with the softest silky silver coat. My pain is still deep and I miss her so, but now I smile about all the beautiful things we did together. The last weeks of her little life were the most adventuresome for her. It was the time of hurricanes for us, one of the worst ever in the year 2004, constantly packing, fear, evacuations, repeat and then some more. All the while she was sick with inoperable cancer, but she hung on and loved us and we loved her.
— And now she is sleeping forever —
I was very unstable through this time, exhausted and sad, and you know how animals just know, she did too. At night on one of the evacuation stays in the hotel, I could not sleep well, she came to me and settled her little nose right into my cheek. We spent the whole night like that and I said my good byes to her. I let my tears run freely. I think I loved her most in those few hours.
When she died in my arms (the vet came to our house), I looked for the last time into her sparkling blue eyes that seemed to show no pain, only acceptance. I am so grateful that she shared her life with us, so innocent and full of joy.
