a cat's prayer

[g / angst / animal!au]

Dear Kami-sama,

My name is Chanyeol, I am a cat. I didn’t have a name before, but he named me Chanyeol, so now I am Chanyeol.

His name is Kyungsoo, he is a human. He didn’t always live in the hospital, but he does now. Chanyeol is someone he loves but cannot see anymore. That’s what he told me.

I don’t like humans, but I like Kyungsoo. He is different from the other humans. He doesn’t hit me or chase me away because I don’t have a bell around my neck. He feeds me delicious food and he plays with me. But most of all, I like it when he talks to me. I like it when the nurses and doctors are not around, and Kyungsoo lets me lie in the bed with him. I like the sunny afternoons when we nap together.

When Kyungsoo talks to me, he pets me softly. He talks of the days I don’t know about, but I don’t mind because I like the happy looks in his eyes. He has a gentle and pretty smile on his face whenever he speaks and I like that. He talks of his friends and his family. Most of all, he talks of the guy I am named after, another human name Chanyeol. He misses Chanyeol. I can tell because whenever he speaks of that name, Kyungsoo would stare out of the window for a long time and there would be something wet shining in his eyes.

Those are tears, the other cats tell me. Humans have tears in their eyes when they are sad, they tell me. It’s called crying and humans cry because they are sad.

I don’t like it when Kyungsoo is sad. It makes me sad too. I just want him to be happy. He is a good human and he deserves happiness. But why is he not happy?

Dear Kami-sama, I want to make Kyungsoo happy. I always wondered why I am named Chanyeol but I think I know now. If the human Chanyeol cannot be with him in his last hours, please let me become the Chanyeol he misses so dearly.

Kyungsoo is dying, I can tell. But before he goes, please let me bring him happiness just once. He has done so much for me and he has given me so much love. I want to repay him and give him love too. I want to thank him.

Please kami-sama, please listen to the prayer of this cat. I have never asked for much and I won’t ask for anything anymore. Just this once, please turn me into the human named Chanyeol and let me stay with Kyungsoo, even just for a few minutes.

Please I beg of you. Let Chanyeol stay with Kyungsoo one more time.

Please Kami-sama, please…

Please…

---

Slowly, Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter open. Looking to his right, he sees the person he has missed the most. A tall man wearing a snapback is sitting by the bed side holding tightly onto his cold, skinny hand. A thin layer of mist veils over his eyes and Kyungsoo takes in the same gentleness in the other’s large eyes and the same comforting toothy grin stretched from ear to ear. Wrapping his fingers weakly around the large hands holding onto his hand, the sickly man savours the familiar warmth.

“Chanyeol…” Kyungsoo whispers, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask, and he tightens his grip. The tall man leans forward and nods sincerely. Without any words, he leans forward and plants a delicate kiss on the dying man’s pale forehead.

Kyungsoo smiles happily. Slowly, he shuts his eyes and gradually, his breathing fades. Then, the room is quiet.

---

Under the moonlight, a small cat sits on the window sill of a silently hospital room. Behind him, a human is smiling peacefully and forever asleep.

Gazing up at the crescent moon, the cat tries to blink away the clear liquid shimmering in his bright green eyes. The liquid is called tears, he knows. He is about to cry, he knows, because he is sad. Even though he is not a human but just a cat, he still feels sadness and he cries.

Especially when he has just lost someone he loves, even a cat cries.

---

Dear Kami-sama, thank you.

Author's note: Sigur Rós - Heima / I had a dream while napping. I woke up crying. I feel for the cat...