Fluffy Friends

Many people have pets.
And most of them treat their pets like family.

We have cats too.
But if you asked me whether we treated them like family… I think it’s a little different.

Not quite family.
More like companions we feel completely at ease with.

Maybe that sounds a bit distant.
But to me, they were something like favorite friends.

Cats are free.
They come to you when they feel like it, and leave just as easily.
They are not loyal in the way dogs are, but they are charming, unpredictable, cute, and sometimes a little troublesome.

(Jojo and Coco who used to be the best friend of Jojo's in the past days)

They scratch the sofa.
They jump onto your desk when you’re working.
Life with them is easygoing, sometimes chaotic, but always full of quiet joy.

At the end of last year, Maru passed away.
It happened while we were not at home.

We have two cats—Jojo, who lives outside, and Maru, who lived inside.
Both of them are gentle, kind, and very dear to us.
Jojo is still doing well.

I couldn’t tell anyone that Maru had passed away.
I just couldn’t put it into words.

I let him go alone.
That soft, fluffy, slightly intimidating but gentle cat.

For some reason, I keep thinking—
maybe he was looking for me in her final moments.

Whenever that thought comes to mind, it hurts too much.
So I tried not to think about it.

Around the same time, my shoulder pain became worse.
One day, my son said,
“Maybe Maru is sitting on your shoulder.”

Of course that’s not true.
My shoulders still hurt.

But somehow…
I felt a little comfort in that idea.

I wish I could have been there.
At the very end.

I still haven’t been able to say goodbye.

Jojo is getting older too now.
I just hope he stays with us a little longer.