You taught me to believe that love can keep living, even when the body no longer does. I remember you every time I watch a sad video about someone learning how to lose. You taught me happiness by simply breathing while resting in my arms. You slept beside me, clingy in the night before you left— so unlike you, as if you knew time was thinning. I was lonely. I cried the whole day, unable to believe you walked toward the rainbow. I stared at the leftovers— your food, your sand, your quiet proofs of being. I searched for your scent, your trace. Reality struck hard. It hurts. But this love will not fade. I will share it with other furred souls who will one day become your friends. My universe misses you so much, love. The world is kind to me— maybe because you pray for me from where you are. But the world would have been gentler still if you had been given more time. #ode