Pocket Meets Paddy and Makes Her First Cat Friend

 

Pocket has never been brave, but she always had an adventurous spirit.   After settling in at the house, she decided to explore the Bridge.

    She traveled west, towards Kitty Villiage, passing through Together Land, where dogs and cats cohabitate.  Pocket smiled uneasily at the kitties.  She had never developed a relationship with cats on the mortal side.  She spent her time barking and chasing them.  But, now that she was immortal, she felt the need to make amends. 

    Pocket found a cat looking over the river and asked if she could sit down.  The kitty smiled sadly and said Pocket was welcome to do so.  They sat in silence as Pocket tried to think of something to say.  Then, when the sun hit the kitty just right, she noticed it looked familiar. 

    “Excuse me, do you write a blog?” Pocket asked politely.  

    “Yes, I do,” the cat meowed.

    “Are you Paddy O’Malley?”  He confirmed that was his identity.  “I am Pocket Dog; I write a blog too.”  When Paddy recognized Pocket, they hugged, happy to see a familiar face.  Paddy asked how Pocket came to the Bridge, and she told him about her kidney issues.  “It was lung cancer for me,” Paddy sighed.  “I hid it from my mom as long as I could, but it is hard to hide an inability to breathe.”

    Pocket agreed and said for her it was an inability to stop pooping bits of blood and, later, to pee that betrayed the secret of her ill health. “That is when Mommy sent me to sleep-away camp to get better.”  

    At first, Paddy didn’t know what to make of the innocent dog’s inability to understand where she was. He then let it pass because thinking of his current circumstances as a temporary camp eased his pain over passing to the next world.

    Pocket asked how Paddy’s mom was doing.  “Not good,” he sighed.  “She was devastated when I passed.”  Pocket said the same was true of her parents.  “I knew they loved me,” Paddy said, “but not how much.  I guess there are secrets only answered at the end.”

    Paddy and Pocket found, despite being parts of species often at war, they had more in common than not.  They shared troublesome younger siblings that they often clashed with, they had bad teeth, and they both loved a warm lap.  Pocket was fascinated with tales of Paddy’s days living on the street and how he found his family and lived a happy life, one he was deeply saddened to leave.

    The rest of the afternoon, the two new angels traded stories about their lives and shared the unique pain that only someone who has tragically lost love can experience.  Pocket promised to teach Paddy how to become a bird so she can see her parents.  Paddy explained this was hard when you are a cat because of the overpowering urge to eat your own wing.

    Pocket apologized to Paddy for chasing so many cats before she came to camp.  She promised never to do it again.

    The two pledged to be best camp friends.  Then, as the sun was setting, they lay together, enjoying eachother’s warmth, until darkness came. 

    On the fifth day, Pocket made friends with a cat.

    I can’t imagine what is next.