Little Orange Tabby Cat

For the past two and a half months, every time I drove to ballet or to work or just in to town, I met a friend along the way.

My friend was this little orange tabby cat that was lying peacefully by the side of the road.

I first noticed him when we got home from spending New Years with my friend. I have no idea how long he'd been napping there before then, but I'm pretty sure he didn't spend Christmas there. He looked so comfortable lying there, it almost made me want to join him. Almost.

Then it snowed. My friend disappeared under more than 18 inches of snow. But each time I drove by, I still hoped he was still there, sleeping away, keeping me from getting lonely on that quiet bend in the road.

Several weeks later, he finally reappeared from beneath the snow, looking just as pretty and orange as he had before being buried.

Then one day, he just wasn't there any more. No longer gracing the grassy green bend with his pretty orange fur. He just disappeared.

It was crazy. I swear that little cat toed the line of frozen immortality for those two and a half months. He never showed any signs of decomposition or decay, never gave any indication of becoming animal fodder. He was untouchable.

I miss him.