Work Text:
I saw the world as if it had no color. As if I were invisible in a painful crowd that didn't recognize my existence, that didn't hear my heartbeat or notice my smiles. It was as if I were invisible at my fixed point in time; at a time when, since childhood, my parents did not see me. I couldn't change who I was; I was there alone.
Then you came along and colored my world. Alone, curled up in a corner of my room crying during a rainy night, when you lay in my window. You valued me, of all people, you came directly to me, as if I were precious to you, but it was you who were valuable to me. It was orange, a sweet meow, and I immediately wanted to be with you. That's how our friendship began, a love for the first kibble and the first collar containing your name: Emerald. Cats are like jewels: precious and pure, hence the name of one of the most precious stones possible, to remember your value in my life.
I remember when all my classmates at school invited each other to birthdays, but I was always left out. This always saddened me, but in the end I went home knowing that his purring would make me happy. I didn't need any friends when I had you by my side, Emerald.
The first year was spent by your side, the second, the third... it was five years with you in my life. But, it was an equally rainy day when you left. The sky cried for the goodbye of my Emerald, my beloved cat, the dark clouds like the room with its emptiness. You remained in your bed until the next day, when we improvised your eternal rest in the middle of the garden of our house, a plaque with the name Emerald and a vase of flowers to decorate it.
However, two months after your departure, a sprout of catnip appeared in the soil. Along with it, a strange ability emerged in me. I started to see a humanoid next to me, gray and green, with tentacles that stretched out for meters and wrapped around my fingers. On sad days, he wiped my tears, kept me warm and made me smile, just like you; we were friends.
It wasn't until I was seventeen that I made real friends and discovered what this humanoid was. Stand was his name, and he was given the name Hierophant Green by a friend. Deep down, I knew how I awakened my Stand, but no one needed to know that. For me, Hierophant was your reincarnation, Emerald. I could never get over your loss, my four-legged friend. I never made it.
Not even today, when my husband Jotaro brought a baby Siamese cat into our house. It was a rainy day when he returned from work with the pet in his hands and gave it a home. I'm here, sitting on the sofa, lying next to my Jojo, with the puppy on my chest, the little engine running and purring and the heat spreading.
"Nori, dear, what will our new pet's name be?" Jotaro asked me, caressing me.
"I think Emerald is a great name." My eyes watered and I said.
I know I can give love to a new Emerald just as I love my Hierophant, Jotaro, and our daughter Jolyne. It's never too late for a new piece of jewelry in my life.