Farewell to Freckles

This morning I was awaked at five thirty by an animal screaming outside my house, down in the little area between my house and the next door neighbors'. It was a repeated cry of an animal in agony, and it sounded like a little dog.

I got up and looked out my newly venetian-blinded window to the street, but everything was shrouded in fog.   It was creepy out there.  I decided to get up even though it was so early; I'd be ready to turn on some lights, drink some coffee, let the cat in. He's been sleeping outside at night lately because of his bad interior manners lately.  But he's always forgiving, ready to come in at any hour and yell at me for some food.

This morning he did not come in. I called at all doors, with no response. The fog lifted by eight, and I decided to go to late church at ten thirty...was dressed and ready but knocked at the neighbors' in case someone else had heard the screaming. Ricky, the fifteen year old son, offered to come after his breakfast to look for the cat.  When he came, he found the cat right away, in a spot I'd already looked at from above.  

Freckles was dead in a place underneath the Palo Verde tree...very dead, and stiff. One of his ears was missing.  He had two large holes in the fur of his side abdomen, and two more smaller just further on.  Ricky buried the cat for me just now. Actually he placed him in the garbage. We didnt know what to do with him as the ground is too hard from lack of rain for Ricky to dig a hole.  Oh, there was no blood anywhere.  Looks like the chupacabra to me.

I am feeling leery because I'd thought to God yesterday that I would let Freckles' existence determine whether I'll be moving on myself. If Freckles died, I'd move out, but not until then. The answer came with devastating swiftness.  I'll miss my cat because, though a pest, he was my only company, my only family and almost my only friend.  I'll have to get rid of his hairbrush, his leftover food, and the catnip crab he didn't appreciate.  This changes the whole picture, folks.
It does. I didn't know what I was expecting when I thought that thought. Goodbye, Freckles, the only other one around here who still knew Gregory when Gregory was alive. Benjamin and Foxy Angus will miss you when they come.  The Neffs from Iowa got to know him last summer though they have lived so far away.  Freckles,  I am going to miss you and think about you for sure.  YAZZYBEL