Missing Charlie

It just wasn't the same. Stuart was all over the place. I caught him running away when I went out of the bedroom to get some water last night. There he goes again. And Magnolia doesn't even mind the unwelcome guest.

We miss Charlie. Terribly. Although he was not keen in chasing Stuart away, at least when he was still in the house, Stu was careful. Hmmmmm, cautious.

But Charlie is gone and he's never coming back. He was found in front of our neighbors gate, lifeless but serene. At least he didn't die a violent death. Magnolia was adamant in paying her last respects, only her leash proved stronger.

Charlie was my youngest brother's pet. A gentle cat. He wasn't the type who'd chase rats. Occasionally yes. Most of the time, he was just there lying on our sofa and purring; waiting for Magnolia, for leftover dog food. He loved Alpo, the reason why he had healthy coat.

Days before he died, my mother's blood sugar level dropped. She's diabetic. I was expecting the worst. She was dizzy. She can't eat. I was on stand by, ready to take her to the hospital on her signal. I know that when blood sugar level drops, it can lead to comatose. After three days, she got well. Back to her endearing kakulitan. As if nothing happened.

The last time we saw Charlie was Thursday. My mom was well at that time already. She gave him food, for the last time.

The next day, he's nowhere to be found. Our old neighbor suffered a stroke the same day.

My mother cried a lot after seeing Charlie lying lifeless when she took Magnolia out for a walk that afternoon. Our neighbor believed that our pet must have redeemed my mother from serious illness. My mom believed so too. We then remembered that the same thing happened to our other pet, Gina. When my grandma got so sick, Gina was nowhere to be found. We believed she died too when my granny recovered from her sickness. Gina was too domesticated to run away.

Wonder what happened to our old neighbor? He was never revived. Another neighbor informed my mom that he saw the old man walking, no, floating, hours before his death. His feet never touching the ground. And that same neighbor also saw a cat in front of the old guy's house--moments before he was rushed to the hospital.

Charlie must have tried to save Tatang too, but failed. It even caused him his life.

My brother doesn't know yet what happened to his cat. He'll get sad for sure. The only consolation is that Charlie must be in cat heaven by now.