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I was about 12 when the cat started to hang around the property.
Buffy was an abandoned "Blue" that adopted my family. But the only reason mom let the cat into the house was because the cat curled up in my baby brother's lap and let the 2 year old maul her. Mom said the cat did nothing but purr.
Eventually, Buffy and I got into this routine where every morning, just before dawn, she would claw at the screen on my window until I got up, opened the curtain and told her to "meet me at the door."
She would then leap off and wait for me. Once inside, I would make sure there was food in her dish, then the two of us would sit in the living room and watch the sun rise before going to bed.
If it was a school day, Buffy joined my sisters and I for the walk to the bus stop to sit and watch us kids play until we could see the bus, then she would cross the road to go for her morning mouse hunt.
I'm not going to go into details the tragedy surrounding her death.
Just that it was something I feel could have been avoided and I was the one that found her body.
I cried for 2 days and about to start the third morning the same way. I was laying in bed. The sun hadn't risen and I was about to roll over and resume my cry. But then I heard it. That familiar sound of a harp in dire need of a tune up as something plucked at my screen window. Without thinking, I opened up the curtain and saw the grey silhouette against the dimly lit sky. "Morning Buffy" I said "Meet me at the door." As if it understood, she leaped off the ledge and was waiting for me. I let Buffy in, felt her brush against my leg, and checked her food bowl before the two of us made our way to the living room. I could hear her purring, feel the warmth and softness of her fur. She was ok. As the light of the sun broke the horizon Buffy's fur took on a golden hue and her form began to fade into the sunlight. I wasn't sad about her leaving, this time. I went back to bed and slept.
Later on, I could hear my family in the kitchen and got up to join everyone for breakfast.
I told them about the experience, but it got chalked up to a "Nice Dream". But Mom did point out that the cat bowls had food in them.
- Darlene Plewes, shared with permission, Facebook, 2024
- Image by Wild Pixar from Pixabay