Nine years ago today, a slim little kitten walked into the door of my house and my life.
Her name was Misty. And from that day, she became my best furry friend and companion.
Through the most tumultuous times of my teen years, on my worst and happiest days, when I needed something to hug and hide my tears in, when I needed something to squeeze in my joy, when I just needed a companion to sit beside me as I stood looking out the window… She was there.
I remember feeling a warm furry ball at the foot of my bed as I rolled over at night. I have a picture memory of her lying with her head on the other end of my pillow just like a human, sleepily opening one eye to peek at me as I did my best to stifle my giggles. And on still other nights, I remember the clanging of belts against my door as she did her best to wake me and my sister up to let her out to drink water. And then a few minutes later, the most pitiful meowing and scratching on the door would be heard as she begged us to let her back in.
I remember her jumping on my desk to sit right on the book that I was studying from, just to get my attention. And her running from wherever she was in the house when I called. And her trailing me like a little puppy from room to room as I did my work. And her sitting outside the toilet door patiently when I was inside.
I remember her insisting on going out of the house for little walks on my own. I remember her stiffening with tension in my arms when I brought her for walks around the district and we encountered dogs. I remember her little tit-for-tat squabbles with Nacho, my Cocker Spaniel; the times we spent encouraging them to get along with each other; the eventual sitting side-by-side to eat from their bowls at mealtime.
As the days passed and turned into a year and then into 6, 7, 8 years.... try as I might, I couldn't imagine life without her. Her little unobtrusive presence graced every major event in my life thus far.
Then one day, almost reaching her ninth Christmas with us, my beloved darling fell sick. And her usual glassy eyes no longer sparkled. In a few short torturous days, her physical condition dropped to the lowest ever, till she was so weak and thin she could no longer stand or eat or drink on her own. Kidney failure, the vet said gravely, shaking her head.
I remember restless evenings when we were afraid to sleep, terrified that she might not be able to make it through the night.. I remember my sister giving her medicine through injections, our sitting beside her for hours to accompany her, stroking her head gently as teardrops glittered in our eyes.
On the evening of October 4, though already semi-conscious, our baby doll waited till she heard both Kimberley and my voices beside her, the two of us whom she was closest to, before breathing her last and slipping away forever. It is impossible to describe the grief which enveloped. The tears which I had been holding back over the last few days now rained down unashamedly as I knelt by her little bedside for a long time, unwilling to say goodbye just yet. The million memories of the past 8 years flashed through my mind, memories that will never be forgotten, memories that I am reliving today.
Two Thousand years ago, God gave the world a Christmas present through His Son.
Nine years ago today, He gave me another special Christmas Present - my Misty.
And both of them are gifts that I will treasure forever and always.
**She spent a precious Christmas with family and friends**
