Today is August 20th, 2013. On this very day, two years ago, my beloved cat Tom died an untimely and horrible death like I told in my story "Tom, my brave cat"
He has come to visit many times, mostly in my dreams and I can hug him again and bury my face in the soft and silky cloud of his body. Waking up is sad and bittersweet, because I come to the realization that he is not here to touch my cheek again while looking at me with that tenderness that I have only seen in his green eyes.
A couple of times I have felt him crossing the bed and curling into the "nest" that forms behind my knees when I lay in bed on my side.
I will always miss him, but I know the thing to do is to move forwards even with the patch that I had to stick to my heart... I have found peace and am grateful for all the good things that fill my life.
But in two occasions his presence was stronger and I want to share these experiences with you today. I will break them in two little stories that hope you enjoy.
1) An Episode of Sleep Paralysis.
One night I opened my eyes but couldn't move, I was aware of my surroundings and of my husband snoring beside me, but not loud enough as to wake me up. I knew this was an episode of sleep paralysis but this knowledge didn't make me enjoy what I was feeling. It was useless to try to breath deeply and all my efforts to move one of my fingers were pointless. I knew that even the littlest sound coming from my mouth would break the hold of this horrible sensation, but once again I found myself wasting energy without any results.
But just then, one of my cats crawled onto my bed. It took its time kneading the blankets by my feet and walking beside my body. In the darkness I couldn't see which one of my three cats it was and only saw a slim silhouette waking towards my head, but when it sat on my chest its weight was all I needed to end the paralysis. I move my arms to hug my furry hero but my hands went through his body and he vanished. At that moment I knew that it was Tom who came to help me.
2) Lucky Passed the Message.
My brother-in-law, who lives about 350 km from my place, had a little dog called Lucky. They were inseparable and came to my house several times. Of course my cats wouldn't appreciate those visits and two of them (Poem and White Socks) would go to hide until Lucky was gone, but Tom would stick around keeping an eye on Lucky's every movement. More than once they engage on fights of growls and hissing. I wouldn't say that they got along but would tolerate each other from a distance.
Last June Lucky was diagnosed with doggy cancer and was given only few more months to live. We went to visit my husband's mother and brother on Canada Day (July 1st). I wanted to say good-bye to Lucky, but when we got there it was too late. My brother-in-law had put him to sleep two days earlier because he was in constant pain and discomfort.
I got sad not being able to see Lucky again, but decided to walk on the yard and talk to Lucky thinking that he could be still around. I asked him that if he saw Tom to tell him how much I miss him.
We spent the night in my mother-in-law's place. I was ready to go to sleep and put away the book I was reading and turn offed the light. At that moment I felt the familiar 17 pounds of Tom's weight falling on the left corner of the bed by my feet, just the way he used to do it while alive. I smiled and said, "Thanks, Lucky, for passing my message!"
Loading comments....
