I Miss You, Kitty Boy

As Iwashi stared down at Hikae's grave with sadness, she could've sworn the whole atmosphere around her changed from a summer afternoon to a winters evening. Things haven't been the same without her kitty boy around and she missed having him in her life. Maybe even more than she was willing to admit out loud.

"Now that you're gone, who'll help me try out new recipes?" Iwashi chuckled softly as a way to lighten the mood around her. She knelt down at his gravestone and wiped away some of the leaves that had blown off their branches. "You would've loved the soup I made just a couple of days ago. I made it out of the berries around the mountain."

The breeze around her started to pick up, almost like a response to her statement and through the wind she could almost make out Hikae's chuckle. She looked around, almost hoping to see him looking at her and hoping this was all just a sick joke they decided to pull on her. But there was nobody around and the village was far off in the distance from where they decided to bury Hikae's remains.

"Even though you were immortal, the pain of losing you still hurts." Iwashi stated as she leaned her head against the gravestone. It was cold to the touch but she didn't mind, her head was hot and it needed to be cooled down.

She spent many of her afternoons talking with Hikae at his gravestone. She found it calming and it helped her to slowly move forward with her life as she gave him regular updates about the rest of their family.

"Hey, Kitty Boy, are you happy now?" Iwashi asked softly as she felt tears threatening to roll down her cheeks. "Are you finally reunited with your special someone?"

That's when she felt it, a soft pat on her shoulder and a soft voice whispering in the wind. "Please don't cry Hime."

She lifted her head and turned around to see who said that, but like before, there was nobody around. Could it be?

"Kitty Boy?" Iwashi whispered as she stood up. For a while she waited to see if the voice would return, but all she heard was the wind going through the tree branches.

Even though she couldn't see him, Hikae was in fact standing right in front of her. Deader than dead in a ghostly body that made him feel so light. Seeing her so sad over his grave gave him mixed emotions but he hated seeing the woman he grew to care about so much cry for him.

"You're there aren't you?" Iwashi asked aloud, he may not have been visible to her but somehow she could always tell when he was around. Even when he was dead, she felt like he truly never left her side. "I miss you, Kitty Boy."

Hikae gazed into her eyes and smiled at her gently. "I miss you too." And with that, he left. Iwashi felt a sense of relief rush through her body as she gave a gentle sigh. Another day, another conversation with her kitty boy.