A/N: My cat Cappy died earlier, so I'm writing this both in his memory, and so I can get my feelings out.
Kamil stood at the base of a particularly pretty plum blossom tree, his head hanging down, watching as Georgia gently pushed the last of the dirt back in its original spot. Up from the ground rose a small headstone, not much more than the upper half of a cinder block. His blonde locks obscured his blurring eyes, but he could still see the cinder block. The image of a big, tri-colored cat running around, chasing a hapless mouse flashed in his mind.
Stray tears ran down his face, and Kamil had no desire to wipe them away. This was the cat's grave. A cat he loved and treasured dearly. Even now, he was sure he could still hear the cat's squeaky meows. Whenever he would come back into the cafe, after a long and trying business day, the cat was always the first to greet him, looking up at him with his big, hazel eyes, which could almost turn green in the light of the sunset. His large, triangular ears standing up, his cheery meow loud enough for him to hear. Kamil would smile, kneel down, and stroke the cat's head gently, reveling in the softness of his fur, plush and furry.
"Dandy…" Kamil couldn't bring himself to not utter his beloved cat's name. Dandy, short for Dandelion, as Kamil had found him rolling around in a bed of dandelions when he was a child. He had no owner, and nobody in Bluebell knew about the cat, so Kamil took it in himself. He didn't want to just leave the cat there, and Georgia's father was good with animals, so they taught him all he needed to know about caring for a cat.
Sometimes, when Kamil was on his bed, Dandy the cat would hop right up there with him, sitting in his favorite spot, near the foot of the bed or snuggling in the pillows. Other times, Dandy would nuzzle right up to Kamil, pushing his furry head against his arm, whether he was sad or happy. Kamil always appreciated the company. They spent their days together like this for so many years. It helped that in the language of flowers, dandelions represented faithfulness and happiness. Dandelions were considered weeds, but Dandy wasn't a weed. He was a flower in full bloom, bringing sunshine and happiness to Kamil's life every day he lived. But one day, an incident made Kamil take Dandy to a vet.
The news was horrible. A mass in his spleen. Malignant. Inoperable. Kamil remembered his heart falling down into the pit of his stomach, harder than a wrecking ball smashing a building. Dandy was sick, his little body wracked with seizures, and Kamil could do nothing to help him, other than rub soothing patterns on the cat's aching body, offer comforting words, and a gentle touch. Seeing the confused, wide eyed look in Dandy's eyes when he would snap out of the seizures, Dandy not realizing what was happening, only reaffirmed the inevitable.
One day, Dandy just went into the basement. When Kamil came down to check on him, he was lying down on the floor, eyes and mouth open, his little body dormant. His ribs didn't rise and fall, which always let him know he was sleeping peacefully. Just like that, Dandelion the cat had left the world, crossing a rainbow bridge.
The memory of seeing Dandy in that basement, looking so dead, lifeless, and stone-like made the tears fall. He buried his face in his hands, sobbing wretchedly. A gentle arm from Georgia pulled him close, and he laid his head on her shoulder, allowing himself to be enveloped in her hug. She rubbed soothing patterns on his back, her burgundy curls wet from his tears. But that's alright. She wanted to be here as a shoulder for him to cry on. She shed her own silent tears, sharing Kamil's pain.
"Cam...you know Dandy lived a good, full life," Georgia told him in a low, reassuring whisper, full of sympathy. Her heart broke hearing her dear friend's abject sobs, watching him cry despondently onto her shoulder. She knew it wouldn't heal the scars on his broken heart, but it was better than nothing. "That little fluff ball loved you more than anything in all the world. I reckon he's crossin' the rainbow bridge right now, watchin' you from above."
Kamil hoped she was right. No, she was definitely right.
"Goodbye, Dandelion...my dear friend…" Kamil whimpered softly.