He’d always liked the cat at number ten.
He didn’t know its name or its owner. It would be perched on the brick column at the end of the wall when he passed on his way to the bus stop. It was always there; waiting. As soon as it caught sight of him, it would sit upright, waiting for a stroke. Every morning he would stop and spend a few precious seconds fondling its head and ears, feeling the purr vibrating through his hand. Just a couple more strokes and a fond whisper and he’d move on, feeling good about the coming day. He often thought of it as some strange kind of symbiosis that nobody knew about, just him and the cat.
It was the week that he came down with the flu that it happened. He was sick on the weekend and rang in to say he should be fit to return to work after a couple of days. On Tuesday he was feeling a lot better and confident he could go in the following day. He got up late and was preparing cereal in the kitchen when he heard the scratching coming from the back door. It was the cat, sitting on the mat. It looked as though it was waiting for something. He could hear the loud purring and crouched down, stroking and generally making a fuss of it, saying how nice it was to get a visit. He stood, wondering whether it was wise to let it in, when it turned and wandered away.
The following day, as he was approaching the pillar, he was disappointed to find it empty. He stopped to look over the wall and came face to face with an elderly woman digging behind the wall. He was embarrassed about his intrusion and said awkwardly, “Sorry, I was looking for my little friend. He’s not sitting, waiting for me to give him a stroke.” He smiled, but saw tears well up in her face. She was trying to smile back, when she said, “Laurance, you mean. I was just planting a few flowers next to his grave.” She took out a tissue and wiped her eyes. “I’m so sorry!” he said. She shook her head indignantly. “It’s that road,” she said, “Run over, he was, on Saturday. Didn’t stop; neighbour found him.”
Alas, this is all fiction, and this writer doesn’t expect any one to believe a word of it!