His Last Day
It was just an ordinary evening.
He had been feeling out of sorts for last few days. The left side of his chest wouldn’t stop aching.
That day, the pain became unbearable. Unable to take it any longer, he fell on his bed, facedown. The sun was about to set.
Is this how I am going to die?
At that moment, wave of loneliness washed over him. He wished for someone to be by his side like never before. It wouldn’t make his pain any less, but at least he could get a glass of water or a warm hand holding onto his. He closed his eyes in pain.
When he opened them again, he felt a warm presence next to him. It was none other than his cat, the only companion in his solitary life.
“There you are,” he said in a weak voice, and gently ran his fingers through the cat’s white, fluffy fur. The cat probably sensed that something was wrong with its owner. It licked his cheek and neck, as if it was comforting him in its own way. It worked, because he felt a little less lonely.
In the faint light of dusk, he looked at the photographs hung on the wall. Those photographs were taken by him. Every single one had a story behind it. Some of them had memories associated with them. Looking at those photographs always comforted him.
Most of the pictures on his wall were of sky. He loved taking pictures of sky. He took countless photos of sky. Morning sky. Evening sky. Cloudy sky. Sunset. Sunrise. Different shades. Different angles. Different times, places and colours. He said that sky was that one thing that he never grew tired watching, as it looked different everyday.
There were also a bunch of pictures of the road and the streetlights. More than the green of the nature, the grey concrete attracted him more. He loved the city.
He wanted to hold exhibitions. An exhibition with the photos of sky. Another with the photos of concrete-grey city. But in the end, that was just a dream. A futile wish he knew wouldn’t come true.
He thought of his estranged family. His parents were probably at one of their older son’s place. He thought of his elder brothers who were always busy with their works, who abandoned him because he wasn’t as successful as any of them.
He wanted to be acknowledged. He wished his family would recognize him as who he was. In the end, it remained as just a wish.
He felt that he needed to go to hospital. He was already unable to get up from the bed and there was no way he could look after himself given the state he was in. He reached for the phone and dialled 911.
After finishing the call, he patted his cat again, ever so gently. While doing that, he talked to it, knowing all too well that cats don't understand human language, “I am sorry. I will probably have to leave you all alone and I don't know for how long. I hope someone will take care of you. If they don't, then I hope you will be able to take care of yourself.”
He kept patting the cat until his fingers no longer moved. As his eyes fell shut and his breathing shortened, the cat licked him again and meowed.
By the time the ambulance arrived, he and his cat both fell asleep – while his cat was taking just a nap, he fell into eternal sleep. His breathing had stopped.
Epilogue
When the cat woke up next morning, its owner was nowhere to be found.
Later that night, three strangers, two men and one woman came to his apartment and they packed his belongings. They tried taking the cat, but it didn't leave with them. In fact, it grew violent when they were packing his things.
The cat waited for him to return home.
He never returned.
Soon after, the cat ran away to the street. It was a stray to begin with before he took it in.