voice

friday night when i got home from work, i was greeted by one of todd's friends who was carrying tessie. jasper and tess were the kittens i brought home from arkansas the summer of 2003 to be my new companions (read: distraction) after a major break-up. brother and sister, they were inseparable. jasper, a long-hair orange and white fur ball, was so attached to his sister that he'd fall asleep sucking on the back of her neck any time he got a chance.

my sweet calico, tess was quickly renamed tessie, much the same way all young pets and children pick up a 'y' on the end of their names. tessie was the most compliant and easy-going cat i've ever had. if she was in my lap and i wanted to move to another room, she'd happily go with me. i could pick her up in a sleeping position and sit her in someone else's lap. i could carry her around the house. she never complained, always sweetly purring. her meow was sweet and melodic. she was a living, breathing security blanket: always ready and willing to lay across my lap and comfort me.

and then, for some unexplicable reason, tessie moved out. she took up living with a neighbor down the street and came home on holidays to visit. the first holiday she appeared was thanksgiving 2006. she'd been gone for only a month or so at that point and i was worried. but she showed up well fed and happy to visit for a day and i knew she was being cared for. then she left again.. came back on christmas. then new year's. memorial day. fourth of july. and so on, for the past three years. before friday, the last time i saw her was memorial day a month or so ago.

but now tessie, my prodigal pet, has lost her voice. todd's friend, who conveniently lives in tess' alternate home, says that it happened a few months ago. she opens her mouth to meow but no sound comes out. her sweet purr and melodic tone - gone.

speechless, she's at home now. i closed the windows and doors to confine her there and despite her efforts to the contrary, she's trapped for the time being.

friday i talked to a good friend of mine who's also trapped for the time being. and also seems to have lost her voice. i'm hoping she finds it soon, because she deserves to be heard. sweet purrs and melodic tones suit her far better than meek, and sometimes angry, empty protests.

d: a voice for tessie and my friend
b: when she's ready to be heard, i know how to open the window for her.
g: though trapped and speechless, still safe and loveable.