Nakanai’s mother was a stray, living strictly outdoors but even so she had a home. She was always with a full belly and lived in the yard of a middle-aged couple who lived in the hot Barstow desert. Within this yard was a well-watered tree as well as various porch furniture that offered shade, cover, and comfort from the hot summer sun. Nanakai’s mother loved the yard and she trusted the man and woman. The man especially, as he was the one who always set out food for her.

Nanakai was the runt of the litter, constantly fighting her siblings for even just a drop of milk. As the man and woman noticed Nanakai getting weaker and skinnier, they took her in for themselves. This was the first time Nanakai saw the inside of the home. Her mother always stayed away from the doors when they’d open and never once went inside, warning her kittens what dangers could lie within. Nanakai’s mother trusted the man but still, the confinement of the walls scared her and she didn’t want her kittens stuck within them.

While Nanakai’s mother did put up a bit of protest when the man came to get her, she ultimately let the man take her. Nanakai was getting weaker, after all and her mother wasn’t able to provide for her. Nanakai loved the inside of the home. It was nice and cool unlike the hot dry air outside. She also loved the feeling of the people running their hands through her fur. The woman hand fed Nanakai and nursed her back to strength. Nanakai came to trust the man and woman but not even just trust them, but love them.

As Nanakai got older and after a traumatizing visit to some place called the Vet with many of her siblings, and then a relatively short recovery period, she gained free reign to come and go from the house as she pleased.

Nanakai’s mother and some siblings still lived within the yard though many of her siblings had gone off on their own, perhaps to their own families and nice cool homes. Nanakai was friendly with her mother and would lounge on the patio furniture and roll in the lavender garden on cool days. She loved to play with her siblings that remained around teh neighboring houses and yards but Nanakai preferred the confines of the house and the woman’s lap and gentle touch was far better than the harsh desert beyond.

Nanakai spent many peaceful years with the man and woman. The couple had so much love for one another and for Nanakai and she felt lucky to be included in their lives. They were sweet and kind and gave Nanakai everything she ever needed to live a happy and full life.

One day, Nanakai noticed the woman being a little more lethargic than usual. She learned that the woman had gotten cancer. While the woman and man were deeply saddened by the news, they stayed positive and hopeful for the future the woman fought with everything she had and through it all, they still loved Nanakai and Nanakai loved them. Nanakai was sure to spend extra time with the woman during these times. The woman spent more time in her chair as she recovered and Nanakai in her lap. The woman smelt like lavender and Nanakai felt at peace.

The woman beat the cancer and everything went back to normal in the house. More peaceful years passed in the loving embrace of her family. As the years etched on, Nanakai’s joints began feeling stiff and she really didn’t feel like playing with her siblings all that much. She didn’t care to go outside as often anymore. These days she spent a majority on the couch, looking out the window to the garden full of lavender.

A few years later the air in the house fell tense again. Nanakai learned that the woman’s cancer had come back but her family stayed positive and the woman fought it again. Though, this time it was different. The cancer had come back stronger than before and no matter the treatments, it just seemed to get worse. At this time, Nanakai was old and tired and spent all of her days with the woman.

The woman grew weaker and spent most of her time in the living room on her chair with Nanakai and her heart ached as she felt the woman’s life slipping away day by day. The man stayed strong but Nanakai could tell how much this weighed on him, too. Nanakai felt her own life ebbing but fought to push on to stay with the woman until her last moment. Nanakai wanted to provide comfort in any way she could.

A nurse came to their home to help care for the woman as she got sicker. Nanakai never moved from her spot on the woman’s lap. Days, weeks… The woman continued to get weaker and Nanakai could sense that the time was near. Nanakai thought about how much she loved the woman and how sweet the woman has been to her all these years. Nanakai purred in her lap that night as the woman rested her hand on her back.

Sometime that night, the woman passed on and Nanakai sat with her, comforting her until her last breath.The man cried and held Nanakai that day. Nanakai didn’t want to leave the man, she couldn’t bare to think of the loneliness he must feel after losing the woman. But

Nakanai was tired and her time was coming near.

The man took Nakanai to the garden in the afternoon when the weather was fair. He too knew that Nakanai was nearing her own time. He laid her next to the lavender that she loved to lay in. The scent was comforting, and it reminded Nanakai of the woman. Nanakai fell asleep in the garden between the lavender. The scent of lavender and the man's gentle touch as his fingers stroked her fur are the last thing that Nanakai remembers of that somber day.

The next thing Nanakai remembers is that her joints no longer hurt. She was awakened with a newfound energy. The scent of lavender clung to her as she looked around, still in the garden. The first thing she thought of was the man. She climbed out of the flowerbed to the cat door and squeezed inside. The man was on the couch, sadness seemingly overtaking him. Nanakai climbed onto his lap, she curled up with him, laying a comforting paw on his shoulder. She would watch over him, she would be there for him through this heartache and beyond that. She loved the man still.

The man didn’t seem to be able to see her, but he could feel her. He felt her comforting presence and it seemed to calm him somewhat. Though, the road of grief is long, somehow, he didn’t feel so alone going through it anymore.