I still remember. It was cold, but there was no snow. The sky was gray.
I found out my cat had cancer.
Marcus, my parents, and I brought Panther to the vet to put her to sleep. She had stopped eating her food, and so we decided this was the best time.
We arrived at the vet and got out of the car, bringing Panther with us. We walked into the animal clinic, knowing that it would be the last time that we would see her.
We brought her into one of the examination rooms, and let her out of her cage. She looked around and sat down.
The vet came in and took her to give her medicine that would calm her down. He brought her back in, and we said our final goodbyes. My parents silently stroked her on the back, while I kissed her forehead. "Goodbye, Panther," I said sadly.
Marcus was 6 and didn't realize what was going on until he heard me say that.
"What do you mean?" he asked me.
"Panther has to be put to sleep. She has cancer," I explained.
It took a second for him to understand, but then he looked at Panther and started to cry. Tears streamed down his face as he shouted, "I hate you, Panther! Why do you have to die, you stupid cat! I wish we had never got you!" He ran out of the room, sobbing.
I said one last goodbye to Panther and we left the room. My parents stayed to see that her unused medication was recycled, and I went to find Marcus.
I found him at the park, sitting on a bench. I sat next to him and he asked me, "Why did she have to die?"
I thought for a moment, and replied, "Everyone has to die. That way, the Earth won't get too crowded."
"But why her? Why couldn't some other cat die?"
"She was chosen. It was her turn to go to heaven, and so she went."
"Well, I still hate her. She's a stupid cat for dying, and I wish we had never got her."
"Well, you did have some fun times with her, like how she liked watching you play Mario Kart," I reminded him.
He smiled for a second, but then wdnd back to frowning.
"And how she would always lay next to you every night?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Getting over her dying will take time, but it will happen. And then we can get a new cat," I said.
"Okay," he said.
"Ready to go back?" I asked.
"I guess," he answered.
We both stood up and walked back to the animal clinic, where our parents were waiting.