Sunlight from the large window beams warmth on her brown and gray face as Cleopatra lounges in the veil of soft afternoon light for the last time, knowing that she must relinquish her throne to this earthly world.

Cleopatra was tranquil as she stared out the window until it was time. She was carried to her blanket on the arms of her master, as it was in the beginning when he chose her and she chose him. Cleo did not move. She was silent as I laid her down, the air still and quiet.

My tears drop on her still face as I softly call out her name and stroke her face for the last time. Cleo's coat of fur is soft. It feels like fine silk, so smooth and beautiful.

She kept her golden eye open to me and met her fate without a fuss. The other eye was closed from the black cancer that now muted her life.

Her chariot awaits her, to take her to the place called Oasis. She lies there, regal and calm, knowing her destiny at the end of a life that was full. The life of Her Majesty Cleopatra II ebbs from her small, furry, black and brown-ness, and then her life is no more, as her last breath utters a silent meow to me.

Cleopatra II is dead. No more purring and no more growling. Her head lies on the soft blanket, surrounded by all that love her.

Hush now, my lovely cat. Your pain is over, and now you can rest. Rest and then play in the tall green grasses that never die and flowers that forever bloom. Go now to the place where the food is plenty and the waters are clear and sweet. Take my tears and bring the memory of my love with you to Oasis so you do not forget me, as I will never forget you.

Good-bye my love, my fizz-gig Cleo.

Goran Gustav-Wrathall
01/24/07