You had to walk with hushed steps, be gentle, kind, and careful in her presence. And if you matched one eighth of her thoughtful heart she would curl into a ball of warm happiness on your lap.

You couldn’t be a normal human. The simple act of placing a glass back on the counter one decible too loud was reckless and intimidating to her. She would bound away, agile, light on her paws, and linger around unseeable in stealth mode.

She loved to sprawl on the heater and doze, occasionally glimpsing the world going by with her crisp green eyes casually slit, making my sister and I jealous. I wish I could be a cat for a day I’d fantasize on my way to the flourescent lit dungeon of headaches that was school.

Then one day I was a young man and she was dying. I found her at the top of the staircase unable to move, whispering meows for help. So I laid down next to her and kept her warm for a minute.

She looked right at me when the vet gave her the needle.

I wept as her eyes froze.