Silas

 

My partner and I had been living at Garston's Lodge for two years when the kittens were born of their feral mother whom we came to know as Alice. Their place of birth was a burrow deep beneath the wall of the garage, adjacent to the compost heap, whereon they can be seen in this photograph taken a short while after we discovered them. Silas is the tabby tucked behind his tabby sibling, for whom disaster struck and who one day was absent. This kitten we have named , posthumously, Mimas. Alice disappeared around the same time and I began the long, slow task of accustoming the remaining youngsters, Silas and Minos, to ourselves and our home. Months were spent in quiet care of them, until, one brilliantly frosty morning they came bounding down the path to meet me as I brought their breakfast. From that day they became bolder, gradually venturing into the lodge, until they became dearly loved members of our household, along with Alice, who 'adopted' us for a short while before leaving us when we were obliged to leave the lodge.

Fourteen years have passed . My partner and I no longer live at the lodge, but in a very different house in Frome, Somerset. Until September 2nd, we all; my partner, myself, Minos and Silas lived together in loving accord. On September 2nd, Silas, our gentle tabby, died. I found him in the garden where he had been sleeping. I gathered his dear body in my arms and wept into his fur. My partner and I buried him where I had found him. Days later I plant tiny, beautiful violas over him. My heart is heavy within me, for we have lost a beloved friend.