The living room is quiet. Too quiet. I have found the strength to get out of bed but I haven't done much today. It's so cold outside, and my nose is still running with sickness. And I'm alone.

Alone in his house we once used to call ours. Where you'd walk around singing soft tunes while sweeping the floor. Or those times I'd come home all battered and bruised. You would lead me upstairs and you'd clean me up. You'd lay down next to me to try and make me fall asleep, to make the adrenaline of the horrific battles leave my body. You'd hold me. You'd be there.

But now I'm alone. I'm on the couch now, trying to catch some more sleep but I haven't made any progress. My chest feels heavy with every breath I take and the silence is absolutely killing me. Until suddenly, a noise in the kitchen. I freeze, and I stop breathing even. Only for a minute, because I hear a different yet similar noise of pots and pans moving around.

I slowly rise from my laying position and I sit up. My feet feel numb yet I stand up anyway. I take the blankets I was covered with along with me and I drape my body with it. The wooden floor beneath me creaks a little with every step I take and I now realise how cold my feet actually are. But I make it to the kitchen, and in the far back of it, among the pots and pans in the sink, I see a cat. A white cat. His...cat.

It looks at me confused, we never really were friends. He found it among the ruins of a battle field a while ago and begged me to take it in. I of course agreed, but I didn't really pay any attention to it. But now...

"...Mrauw..."

It's a soft growl resembling the noise a cat would make to grab attention. It's eyes are staring right through my soul but all I feel is anger boiling up inside me. It meows again now, slightly louder. And I finally find my voice.

"He's gone..."

Silence. His head tilting a little as he tries to read me and I feel my eyes water. I feel my hands shake and the blanket drops from my shoulders onto the floor. And the cat meows once again.

"Get out..."

I don't want you here. You're here for him and he's not here. I don't want you near me in this godforsaken quiet house constantly reminding me that he's gone. Get out of my kitchen. Get out of my house. The fury is real now. Especially as he steps closer to the edge of the kitchen counter he's sitting on. His eyes still focussed on me. And I can't do it. My sadness is killing me and this stupid cat is making me feel even more bloody miserable than I already am. Get out of my house!

"Get out! Tino's gone! HE'S GONE! AND HE'S NOT COMING BACK GET OUT! GET OU-OUT!"

I'm dashing towards him, grabbing the first items I can get my hands on and I sling it in the cat's general direction in an attempt to hit him. But he doesn't seem to be impressed. He dodges quite gracefully everything I throw at him and once I stop throwing, his eyes look back at me with that same confused expression.

And I can't. I can no longer stand. I can no longer hold it in. I break down on the floor as I collapse to my knees and I feel my chest horribly vibrate with the loud and choking sobs as my body can no longer keep them at bay. He's gone. My Tino's gone. I lost the war and he's gone now. He'll pay for my weakness and there's nothing I can do about it. There's nothing I can do to change my mistakes.

If only I didn't leave the Kalmar Union. If only I didn't start a war against Russia. If only I had been stronger. He'd still be here.

My lungs are tiring out now, I can no longer sob yet the tears still fall from my face onto the wooden floor below me. My glasses have slipped off my nose and they lay below me too. My nose is running badly now, I'm a righteous mess at the moment. But then something happens I didn't expect.

The cat has jumped off the counter and has jumped onto my lap now. He makes himself comfortable for a moment and then quietly lays down and starts to purr. I lay my hands on his back and while his fur is soft between my fingers, I calm down a little. I sniff my nose for a second and I then gently pick the cat up. And he doesn't complain. I close my eyes and I try to stop my crying and I pull the cat closer to me. His purring softly vibrates against my chest and I can breathe calm once again.

"Alright... Y..you can stay..."

Insprired by The Hugergames - Mockingjay Part 2