Shadow and the Last Sunbeam

Shadow was there for everything. College, my first apartment, a breakup, a move across the country, a job I hated and a job I loved. For sixteen years, there was a black cat on the end of my bed.

He did not demand much. A warm lap, a clean bowl, a window. In return he gave me a reason to come home.

When he got sick, the vet was gentle and honest. We had a few good weeks. We spent them in the sun. On the last afternoon I carried him to the window and he lay in a sunbeam with his paws tucked under him, and I thought: this is exactly what he would pick.

I have not cleared out the corner where his bed was. I know that I will, when I am ready. The apartment is very quiet.

If you have lost a cat, I am sorry. You were not foolish to love them that much. It was the right amount.