Finding the Light
Hermione’s death was rough. It happened shortly after I left to start the second semester of my final year. She had FIV, so when she needed her teeth out, she could not recover. No white blood cells. It didn’t help that the vets in Athens, Ohio had no ability or knowledge on how to help her. The first time we had to take her in, they started talking about putting her down as soon as they found out about the FIV. That first time she made a full recovery.
The last image I have of Herm was a photo from a Facetime session just days before she passed. In this picture she poked her head up in front of the camera (she did this a lot), the blue light of the screen bouncing off her body and face. Sometimes I think Ohio killed my cat; other times it was grad school. Maybe it was both. Mel buried her alone. She found a nice spot off a trail, next to a stream. When I did make it back, I helped secure the bricks that marked her grave. I managed to visit it a few times, but I don’t think I’ll be back for a while, if ever. I wonder how long the bricks will stay.
When I took the image of Hermione saying “hello,” I didn’t realize it was “goodbye.”