I used my nose to nudge the rough wooden cabinet. The paint was chipped and peeling in many places. The hinge on the door was orange with rust. I nudged the door again, hoping that it would open this time.
My tongue felt dry and unused and my stomach groaned with longing. I let out a hiss, long and deep. It filled the empty house with a call of desire and sadness. It had been three weeks since I had seen him. He had left without a word, rushing out of the door with his glasses sliding off his nose.
I made a long scratch down the door of the cabinet. My claws dug into the wood, searching for the other side. I pulled back my paw and my nail flew off. I could see crimson splattering over the floor. Flecks of it hit my eyes and stuck to my whiskers.
I watched as the door creaked open. It opened just enough so that I could see darkness within. I poked my nose through, pushing open the door as I did so. A wave of stale air reached my nostrils. I looked into the cabinet, hoping, reaching…
Inside the cabinet was a spider’s web and nothing else. It had been spun with care to catch the spider’s meal. It seemed that the spider would go hungry tonight. That would make two of us. I watched the spider walk across the bottom of the cabinet. It slowed down, weary from its travels and looked up at me. I could see the fear forming in its eyes. It was too afraid to run away, yet too afraid to drop my gaze.
I walked away. I imagined the spider’s relief, its optimism that it was going to live until tomorrow. I had no optimism, only despair.
I did not believe he was coming home, I did not believe I would ever see him again.
I sat on the musky orange couch. A puff of dust rose when I planted myself firmly on a cushion. I remembered a happier time sitting on this couch.
I had sat on his lap, and he had petted my back. I remembered the rest of them, his family. They had wandered in and out of the room, sometimes stopping to chat and other times merely passing by.
I remembered how one by one they had left him. Some had said good-bye, others had merely stormed from the house. I remembered him after they were all gone. He had sat on the couch with me and stroked my fur. I remember seeing one lone tear descend down his face. It had been untainted and pure, yet it had tasted salty and bitter.
As my thoughts drifted back to my loneliness, my eyes rested on a faded picture. It showed him alone with no one to comfort him. He stood on a long stretch of dirt road with no houses or civilization in site. His expression was downcast and his whole body seemed to droop.
I remembered a long time ago when that picture had been full of life. It had held nine smiling people. They had held hands and hugged. They had laughed. He had been surrounded by loved ones, but one by one they had disappeared. Now he had left me too.
As I remembered the old times, trying not to think about the pain in my stomach or the ache in my heart, I heard the wood moan outside. There were noises and scuffling coming from the front porch. I got up, hoping with all my might that it was him.
The door opened to the sound of ragged and harsh breathing. In stepped a woman that I had known a long time ago. Her robes were sliced in places and she had numerous cuts and bruises. Blood dripped from a long incision descending from her forehead to her chin.
Her skin seemed to sag off her bones and her wrinkles had deepened to valleys. Her eyes were pink and they glimmered in the light. I saw myself reflected in her eyes. The old kneazle, his pet, his love was sitting before her, suffering just like her.
Suddenly she collapsed onto her knees, gasping and moaning. Her body convulsed and she lay there twitching and sobbing. The floor shook, moving the couch. I leapt up, alarmed.
She stopped moving. She lay still looking at the ceiling with her arms folded over her chest. Her eyes unfocused and she remained motionless.
“He’s… he’s…dead! He’s dead!” she screamed. The terrible truth sank through my skin. I could not exactly make out the words, but it was clear that he was with us no longer. He was dead. The only creature I had ever trusted, the only human that I had ever liked, no loved, had left me.
Without thinking, I ran to her side. I lay on her stomach and gazed at her face. Close up, her eyes showed love and sadness, devotion and pain.
I remembered when I first had met him at the railroad station…
I remembered how he had let me sleep in his bed…
And I remembered the last time he had looked into my eyes and told me how much he loved me.
I felt a hand on my back. At first I tensed, and then I calmed. She and I, we were going to make it through this together.
I gazed over at the faded photograph. I watched as he walked slowly down the dirt path. He never turned and he never said good-bye. I purred softly at him, willing him to come back, to return to this life, but he turned a corner and with that he was gone.