Sis...

You were so kind to me, and now you're too far for me to reach.

I miss our long discussions, the times we spent looking out at the world beyond the bay window. Now I sit here alone every day, wondering where you might be. You treated me like family, even though I was neither of your blood nor your race. You cuddled me when I felt lonely, though I suspect you were lonely too.

I can't count the days that have passed. I have no language to communicate my fears other than a swat of the tail, or a purr or a mew. But humans don't always understand what I mean to say. They don't understand that I've lost my best friend, my sister. They don't realize you may be hurt or suffering, somewhere out there. I thought by now, you may have found your way back to me, but day by day, my hopes are getting thinner.

Sometimes, as my warm spot in front of the window cools with the setting sun, I envision myself in another land, perhaps on another planet. There, I am utterly alone. Not a soul to ask, "Where is my Sis?" or "Have you seen my sister?" Sometimes I wish I could draw a portrait of you, so that I'd have evidence of your existence. I'd show it to everyone I'd meet, and purr enthusiastically to imply My Sister is the best there ever was! Do you know her? I'm looking for her! Humans call her Raven!

Then, I forget that on that faraway planet, I'm the only existing soul. My portraits and mews are useless. Nobody hears me. Nobody sees me. They don't know me, and they don't know you. For a moment, I sit still and watch the dark sky. Among the stars, I notice our planet. That's where we lived together. We comforted one another when life got scary. When dark clouds formed outside the bay window, you clutched onto me, and I stayed near. I never wanted you to feel alone, like I feel now on this distant planet. Where you are now, are you lonely? Is someone else taking care of you? Do they shield your eyes when lightning strikes and the windowpane shakes?

Oh, how I want to be there with you, but I'm stranded here in this dark, faraway land where all I see are the stars and that planet of ours. Too far to reach, it fills me with hopelessness, and I wish suddenly, that I were an astronaut. Floating through the oxygen-deprived air, might I spot you if I looked down into that bright blue globe below me?

Raven...

Do they call you that for your black-as-night wisps of hair? Whoever branded you with that name - did they know that a raven is a death vulture? Perhaps from the very day you were born, you were destined to disappear. Your stories were all of misery and dismay. I wouldn't know what misery meant if not for your stream of tears. Sometimes, your shoulders quaked and you bowed your head into your hands. To me this was the saddest sight I could ever see. My dear Sis - betrayed of a happy life - was never truly happy. Or...

Were you happy when you were with me? Did I make you feel safer, cozier? I'm sure humans do that thing with their mouth when they are happy. Smiling. I'm sure my memories of you are sharp. Did you not smile some days, when we sat huddled together on that bay window stoop? As you scratched behind my ear or under my collar, I think you smiled on several occasions. I smiled too in my own way. Perhaps you could see, even if I couldn't tell you how happy I was.

In your absence, the otherworld is something my mind conjures up when I feel caged here at this window.

A smudge of black brings my focus back to the pane of glass, and I remember I'm home. Night is falling, but I have feline vision. I dart my eyes to where the black smear has landed. In the grass, I see a bird. He moves rapidly, as if looking for something. Maybe he has lost his sister too? In a moment, he has taken flight, and I notice the oddity of the situation. A raven, come to visit me while I think about my missing sibling. Raven...why won't you come home? Was that bird your messenger friend? Did he forget to leave me with your regards before he flew away?

As thoughts jumble, my gaze moves up to the blackening sky. Soon it will be as black as Sis's hair. In this twilight, I suddenly notice a small point of light. The more I stare at it, the brighter it gets. I'm not sure if it's my imagination, or even my wishful thinking, but it seems to streak the sky as if speaking to me. Its twinkling sketch holds my attention until it fades out again, and I wonder if that might be my sister. Has she been engulfed in blackness once and for all? Was she trying to communicate her final goodbyes?

I am not of your blood, nor of your race. I'm from a feline species, but I doted on you as one of my own. I suspect you felt the same.

Sis...

You were so kind to me, but now you're too far for me to reach.