Raj didn’t know he had reached the intersection between life and death, but he did notice a middle-aged women carrying a small bundle in her arms at the crosswalk.
Her face was downcast, with tears flowing down her eyes as she gazed at the small bundle in her arms. A small section of the blanket poked flamboyantly out, perhaps a foot or an arm.
“Come on, we only have five minutes to visit the store before recess ends,” his friend said.
Raj gazed down at the woman’s feet, bare as his arms on the cool spring morning. His arms tingled. “Quiet, Chi,” Raj said. Instead of visiting the corner store, he chose to follow behind the woman instead, a puzzled expression on his face.
Chi looked at him and shrugged, following.
The women struggled to lift her foot onto the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, before finally bouncing up with a hop.
Raj was just about to offer his arm when a classmate swooped up on her bike.
“What happened?” she whispered to Raj. Beside them, an elderly women looked sternly at the children. Mathilda slipped in behind the woman.
A tear slipped down his face. “I think someone has died,” he explained. Mandy hopped off her bike and respectfully followed alongside Chi and Raj.
“Where are we going?” whispered Mathilda to Chi.
She shook her head, her hair bobbing around her face. “Not sure ma’am.”
“Perhaps we’re going to the bus stop,” Raj explained to Chi, as it loomed up ahead of them.
Still, the woman clutched her precious cargo, slowly dragging her feet along the concrete.
“Ma’am do you need some assistance?” asked Ali, the elderly man at the bus stop, but she ignored him, keeping her eyes cast down at the ground.
As the children and woman followed behind, a tiny section of the blanket fell down to reveal a long furry tail.
“I used to have a cat,” said Ali.
Everyone in the group mumbled that they too had dogs or cats now at the Rainbow Bridge. The tension eased a bit with the comfort a child was not lost, until the grief took a dark twist and soon everyone in the march became petrified with the thoughts of companions lost.
Mandy could barely keep going, and she stopped, holding her bike steadier than she felt. Ali waved at her. She gave a brave smile and kept on going.
“Where are we going?” whispered Chi to Raj.
“I think, there,” he said, pointing at a veterinary clinic.
The woman had never raised her head during the journey, yet she seemed propelled forward by grief, with the burden in her arms.
“Any chance the cat is still alive?” whispered Matilda.
Raj shook his head.
“I’ve got this,” said Mandy, hopping onto her bike and bicycling forward, past the woman with the cat.
Mandy soon reached the door, ditching her bike outside. She raced into the clinic.
By the time the march had reached the door, a group was assembled outside. Mandy had righted her bike against the building. The vet and her assistant were waiting, along with many curious clients holding their dogs and cats.
The group opened up space for the woman at the entrance to the clinic. As she reached the door, the blanket’s folds cascaded off the body of an orange tabby cat. The cat twitched, then popped out a furry head.
“Aww,” the crowd said collectively, relief sweeping through their emotions.
“Let’s get the cat on the examining table,” said the doctor. She swept up the cat in her arms and took him inside.
The marchers remained outside, impatiently tapping their feet. No one said a word.
Fifteen minutes later, the vet came back out. “The cat has a clean bill of health. Nothing to worry about. He was a bit hungry and dehydrated but now has food and an IV. Where is the owner?” She glanced around for the woman who had carried him.
“She was just here,” said Raj.
“I saw her waiting by the window,” said Chi.
Mathilda and Ali gazed up and down the street, but could not see her. Mandy just shrugged.
“Well, we’ll keep the cat until we can find his owner,” said Dr. Ovens.
The marchers exchanged phone numbers with each other. Mathilda and Ali called the three teenagers’ parents to explain why they had never returned to school after recess.
Everyone was on edge, hoping that the cat’s owner would be found. Telephone calls blasted back and forth across the city, wondering what the latest bit of news would be.
The next day there was big news in the newspaper. A woman had been found dead in her apartment. The coroner declared she’d died naturally of a heart attack, and had been dead for over a week.
The news passed through the small group, all of whom had continued to stay in touch after the cat had been dropped off at the clinic. They made a pact to meet up at Jessica’s memorial service at Queen’s Park.
“I’ve been thinking,” said Mandy, at the conclusion of the services, “that I should adopt the orange tabby. I really miss my cat since she died.”
“That is a fantastic idea, my dear,” said Mathilda. “Perhaps we can all have tea together after he’s settled into your home.”
“That’s a great idea,” said Raj. “Perhaps I can convince my parents to let me adopt from the shelter too.”
“Oh, a dog or a cat?” asked Ali.
“Both,” he replied.
Everyone laughed.
“Thank you for coming by to honour my sister’s life,” called out Jessica’s brother, as everyone departed the garden.
“We’re sorry for your loss,” said Chi calling back to him.
“I don’t understand how Mika was saved in the nick of time though, being locked up for a week without food or water?” Mandy asked. “And, was that Jessica’s ghost we saw on our march to the clinic?”
Everyone in the group just shrugged their shoulders. They made a silent pact to never discuss the impossible march.
- Melanie Dixon, Port Coquitlam
You can find Melaine Dixon on her website and on Facebook.
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