From the day I brought her home, I treated her wrong. This abandoned tabby, named Miss Kitty by previous owners, was renamed Missy; I refused to call her ‘Miss Kitty,’ even privately.
I worked two jobs, often leaving Missy alone to keep herself company. When home, I sometimes forgot to give her fresh water. I managed to feed her regularly.
Today, my shovel pats down the dirt on her shallow grave. Missy deserves a better burial. I’m losing my home, and need to move soon to stay with a sympathetic friend. I wonder how the new homeowners will treat her gravesite?
Bittersweet and oh so touching. Loved it.
Thank you so much, Bobby.
I don’t feel sympathy for this guy. Should I? Can complex feelings be resolved or need they stay in superposition like Schroedinger’s cat?
The sympathy is mostly for Missy, a victim of unfortunate circumstances. Not as much for the narrator. There is more a “I totally disagree with what you did, but in some way I understand how it might happen” sort of thing intended with the guy. It’s now much too late for Missy, and too late for the guy. He was thoughtless and negligent, an innocent creature paid for it, and now it cannot be undone.
A complete tale. Moral ambiguity and unsure whether to be sympathetic towards the lead. I liked it!
Thank you so much, George!
Well done, you! My heart broke for poor Missy. (How could he not see what a great cat she was while she was alive?)
Thank you very much.