Future Now

A little girl left a goodbye letter for my cat. I didn't realize how much he'd come to mean to her until I read it. I live in a ground-floor apartment with my cat, Milo, a large orange tabby who spends most afternoons watching the sidewalk from our living room window. In September, a girl started stopping outside on her way home from school. She looked about nine or ten. The first time, she waved at Milo through the glass. He stared at her. The next afternoon, she came back and waved again. After a few days, Milo started walking to the window whenever he saw her coming. I met her mother one afternoon while taking out the trash. They'd recently moved into the building across the courtyard. Her daughter's name was Sophie. Her mother laughed when she noticed Milo watching us. "She's been telling me about that cat every day." Apparently, Sophie had been having a hard time settling into her new school. She didn't know many kids yet, and the walk home was usually the worst part of her day. But she'd started looking forward to seeing Milo in the window. Sometimes she showed him drawings she'd made at school. Once, she held up a paper crown she'd won in class. Milo would sit there, blinking at her through the glass. Last Friday, I came home to find a folded piece of paper tucked under my door. On the front, in careful handwriting, it said: "FOR MILO." Inside was a drawing of an orange cat sitting in a window. Underneath, Sophie had written: "Thank you for being my friend when I didn't have any."