A pussy worth never forgetting

The year was 2000 and the eldest cat in our house had died. The bad news unfolded in front of our eyes so it wasn't really a surprise. A street dog had bitten her neck so badly she somehow dragged herself home and crawled under the cupboard. She was always graceful in life and turned out to be no different in death either. What was there not to like about her? Despite being a thorough beauty, she was no showoff. It was like she understood humans. A member of the family, she never once stole milk from the kitchen. If Instagram was a thing back in the last millennium, my amma gutting fish on one side and she crouching patiently on another would have made a fab picture. Although my ma fed her, she liked my dad the most. She would wait for him to wake up in the morning so that she could occupy his warm pillow. She shared a lovely relationship with me though. I remember this one instance when she licked my back after amma had wealed the hell out of it for disobedience. The wise furry lady sought attention but would rarely exhibit it. Except while dad and i were playing chess. Allergic to simulated intelligence, she just didn't like two humans sitting across a board pretending to be motionless cats! To stop us, she would keep rubbing her body against us. And when that didn't work, she'd walk on the chessboard but without moving a single piece. She was something. Like the moon, she didn't have a name but my brother liked to call her Rani for her royal demeanor even though she never responded to it. Coming back to the day she passed away, i remember going to tuition class that evening. Goes without saying, the 14-year-old version of me was sadder than a cat's piss. Pages look bluer when your eyes are wet. I was trying to hide my tears sitting on the floor with my friend Tanno next to me. He sensed it and whispered "Kya hua?" which i pretended to overhear. When the question was repeated, i remember crying "Mera billi marr gaya yaar" with a voice that desperately wanted someone to rub my back—if not lick it.