It happened five years ago. My neighbor, Grandma Vera, lost her husband, a war veteran, and was left all alone. They hadn’t had any children. The elderly woman often reminisced about her dear Mike.
They had married just before the war. Then her husband went off to fight, while faithful Ruth waited for him. Mike came back alive, but missing his left hand. He loved his wife deeply and cherished her. He promised to always protect her from harm, but he couldn’t keep that promise. He passed away, leaving her by herself!
Exactly on the anniversary of her husband’s death, a large black cat moved in with her. He appeared at night, seemingly out of nowhere, and plaintively meowed at the door. A blizzard raged, and the wind howled fiercely outside, but somehow Grandma Vera heard the meowing. Going out, she saw the unfamiliar cat. Feeling sorry for the poor creature, the old lady let him in and even set out a dish of milk for him.
However, the guest, refusing the meal with a proud, independent air, wandered through the rooms. After carefully inspecting the house, he chose a spot on the owner’s pillow, purred, and immediately fell asleep.
For some reason, Grandma Vera didn’t chase the cat away and lay down next to him. In the morning, she took a closer look at the cat. Well-groomed and plump, he didn’t resemble a stray in the slightest! Completely black, with green eyes that took up half his face and a very self-assured demeanor. And another peculiar detail: he was missing toes on his left front paw, as if they had been torn off.
“Just like my Mike!” the old lady cried. Meanwhile, the cat softly jumped onto her lap and purred. “I should give you a name… Maybe you’ll be Tommy?” she asked gently, stroking the creature and scratching behind his ear. The cat shuddered and gave Vera such a look that it left her confused and astonished.
HIS EYES WERE HUMAN! NOT “LIKE HUMAN,” BUT TRULY “HUMAN”!
“I see. You don’t like ‘Tommy.'” she blurted in a fluster. “How about Timmy? It’s a nice name!” The cat meowed displeasedly, leapt from her lap, growled, and began clawing the sofa’s upholstery intently.
“Alright, alright. I won’t give you a name for now. You’ll just be Cat. But leave the sofa alone,” she politely requested. Grumbling something incomprehensible in response, Cat obliged and majestically disappeared into the next room. And so they lived together: Grandma Vera and Cat.
I visited the elderly lady quite often, and she shared amazing stories about her Cat! For starters, Cat seemed to heal her. After her husband’s death, Grandma Vera had a heart attack and her heart frequently troubled her. Yet when she lay down, Cat was always there. He’d rest his soft, warm body on her chest, purr, and fall asleep. The pain would vanish as if it had never been there!
Once, something truly strange happened! Grandma Vera lay down, Cat curled up next to her and purred sweetly, then dozed off. There was a knock at the door. Rising, she went to open it, with Cat following behind. It was Victor, the local drunk and troublemaker. He wedged his foot in the doorway and demanded money for booze, swearing obscenely. The elderly woman tried to refuse, but the brute insisted, growing bolder by the minute. He went as far as to insult her and desecrate the memory of her late husband.
Suddenly, Cat growled and lunged at the offender. Victor tossed him aside, but Cat leapt again, nearly attacking his throat. Cursing, Victor retreated and left. Cat, giving his owner a meaningful look with those HUMAN eyes, lifted his tail like a flag and retreated proudly to the room.
One day, Grandma Vera planned to visit the council about firewood and asked me to accompany her. We took the bus to the town center. I agreed and, taking a day off work, came by early in the morning.
The elderly woman was sitting on her bed in her house dress, looking confused and somewhat disheartened. “Grandma Vera, why aren’t you ready? Get dressed; maybe we’ll catch a lift,” I directed. “I can’t go, I’m sorry,” she quietly said. “Why not?” “I don’t know how to say this… Just don’t laugh… Cat doesn’t want me to go.”
“What?! I took time off work, and you’re listening to your cat! Get ready!” I indignantly protested. “Listen, dear. I prepared everything last night and went to bed. I dreamt my Cat talked to me, like you do now… He looked at me and said: ‘Stay home, Ruth. You shouldn’t go tomorrow.’ I was speechless! It wasn’t just that Cat spoke! He called me Ruth! Understand?! Only my late Mike called me that! AND CAT’S VOICE WAS EXACTLY LIKE MIKE’S!
Meanwhile, Cat sang that favorite song of Mike’s: ‘Through the wild fields of Cornwall… Remember, Ruth, I sang it when I went to the front?’ I found my voice to ask: ‘Mike, is that you?!’ ‘WHO ELSE COULD IT BE?! I SEE HOW HARD IT IS FOR YOU ALONE, SO I CAME BACK…’ So, Ruth, calm down and stay home tomorrow. They won’t tell you anything good there anyway. They’ll deliver the firewood in a week. Tell Lucy to refuse the operation. She won’t survive it…” Then I awoke…”
To say I was in shock is an understatement! I was silent for a long time, gasping for air like a fish. Then it dawned on me: “Grandma Vera, are you feeling alright? Maybe we should call the doctor? Your blood pressure might have spiked.” “I’ve never felt better, dear! I spoke with my dear Mike! ” she replied, smiling through her tears.
I checked her blood pressure. Amazingly, it was normal! From that moment on, Grandma Vera started calling her cat Mike. Oddly enough, he responded immediately to the name!
Soon enough, Grandma Vera’s predictions (or Cat’s?) began to come true. The bus we were supposed to take to town nearly overturned on that very day. It was icy, the bus skidded, and the driver lost control. Thankfully, no one died, but many were injured. A coincidence? Perhaps. And exactly a week later, they delivered the firewood…
The neighbor asked me to call Ludmila, Mike’s niece, to cancel her scheduled operation. But she didn’t listen and passed away on the operating table… ANOTHER COINCIDENCE?! I don’t think so.
So they continued living together: Grandma Vera and her cat Mike. He kept healing and protecting her, staying by her side till the very end. Grandma Vera lived to be 94. She passed away last year. Until her final moment, she was up and about, always worrying about her Mike. She made me promise to care for him if something happened to her. She passed away quietly, in her sleep, without any pain…
I remember how her cat mourned Grandma Vera. He was old, and his once magnificent black coat had turned gray. For three days, while her coffin was in the house, Mike didn’t leave her side. I SAW TEARS ROLLING DOWN HIS EYES!
People scolded, drove him away, even kicked him… But, somehow, he always found his way back to the coffin, sitting and crying!
Mike accompanied the deceased to the grave and stayed there when she was buried. I tried to catch the poor creature to take him home, but he ran away… Mike remained at the cemetery, at Grandma Vera and her husband’s grave. He refused to come to me, and every day I visited him and brought food.
I worried greatly about how the cat would survive the winter there and tried to bring him home by force. Once, I succeeded, but he ran away the same day, and I found Mike at the cemetery.
The winter was harsh, but he somehow survived it. He died in early spring. Arriving as usual to feed Mike, I found him at the grave. Curled up by the cross on Grandma Vera’s resting place, it was as if he was safeguarding her peace…
I don’t know if Mike was just a regular cat or if the soul of the late Grandpa Mike indeed resided in him…
Nowadays, there’s much talk about reincarnation, claiming that in the next life, a person can become anything, even a cat. I don’t know if that’s possible. Yet, for some reason, I want to believe that the soul of Grandpa Mike lived in the form of Cat. He returned to be with his beloved Ruth, to protect and save her…
And stayed with her to the very end, as promised.
