This is a bittersweet, not very happy story, but there is no violence or
abuse in it, so read if you will, or don't.

Once upon a time, there was a family, Dad, Mum and two daughters. They
had a cat called Kalle (a common male name in Finland, equivalent to
Charlie). When Kalle passed away of old age, Dad vowed that the family
would never take another cat. He just couldn't take the three women
wailing over a cat again. Never again.

Some time later, one of the daughters smuggled a new cat into the house.
He was named Ville (another common male name). Dad acted all mad at the
daughter for bringing a new cat into the house, but gradually, the rest
of the family saw how Dad and Ville started bonding. Ville would follow
Dad everywhere. The family lived in the country, and Ville was allowed
outside, but every now and then he would come in and chack that Dad was
around. Then he could go back outside and do what cats do.

Dad and Ville would have special bonding sessions at home. Whenever Dad
sat on the sofa, Ville would jump up on the coffee table, and then Dad
and Ville would sit with their foreheads pressed against each other and
meditate upon life together.

When Ville was 13 years old, Dad got sick. Then he went away for good.
Mum was left alone with Ville (the daughters had flown the nest). Never
again did Ville get up on the coffee table. He would go over to the
table, look around at the sofa, but Dad was never there, so Ville never
got up on the table again. At age 15, Ville was given the gift of
release from pain and suffering, as he had contracted an illness he
would never recover from. Now Mum is vowing she will never take another
cat, because she can't bear to part with another one...

This story was told to me by one of the daughters, who is now a nurse.
She assists me at my phototherapy sessions, and as I sit there being
zapped by UV light, we have lots of time to talk. The subject of cats
first came up as I explained why I'm covered in scratches (Nikki uses me
as a cat tree), and she started telling me how hard it was for her when
they lost Ville.