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He gazed out through the large window at the spacious, overgrown garden, his long, fluffy tail swaying to the rhythm of the wall clock's erratic ticking. He blinked a couple of times, thinking that perhaps something would change the next time he looked.
How much time had passed? He had stopped counting after two weeks. Every day, he followed the same routine: waking up and sitting by the window in silence, waiting. Yet the result was always the same. No one ever appeared at the front door.
Was there any point in continuing to do this? Not really. But he liked to imagine that maybe, if he wished for it hard enough, his wish would eventually come true.
He let out a long yawn and raised a paw to his face, cleaning his fur and ears. As the days went by, the house had accumulated a considerable amount of dust and dirt. His owner had always been the one who kept everything clean and tidy. Now, whenever he walked across a piece of furniture or curled up on one of the sofas, dust and grime clung to his fur with ease, forcing him to spend more time cleaning himself than he used to, now that there was no one else to do it for him.
He was grateful that, at least, his gold collar and red scarf were still firmly in place. The last thing he wanted was to lose them in such a foolish way.
Suddenly, he stopped his paw midair and shifted his gaze toward his neck, right where the scarf rested—his owner's last gift. He stroked it with the pad of his paw, and memories began stirring in his mind.
He looked toward the long, dusty sofa, and the first memory resurfaced.
Cold winter nights, when the two of them would share their warmth beside the fireplace. He would curl up against his owner's chest while his master lovingly stroked his fur, especially behind his ears. It always amazed him how those gentle caresses could make him purr without even realizing it. His owner, meanwhile, would occasionally sip from his cup of coffee while looking through the photographs from his latest photoshoot on his tablet.
Mydei had never been particularly fond of photographs; the lights and camera flashes hurt his eyes. Still, he loved being with his owner so much that accompanying him to his photoshoots had never been a problem.
That was why he couldn't refuse when his manager suggested a photoshoot featuring the two of them together, praising how good they looked on camera. He still remembered the huge smile on his master's face when he saw the developed photographs.
If only he had been brave enough to tell him how much he'd enjoyed it. If only he'd had the courage to say that those photographs were his favorites too, that he wanted every single one printed and hung on the walls throughout the house.
Maybe things would have been different.
He rose and jumped onto the marble mantel above the fireplace, turning his gaze toward the spacious kitchen.
Another memory surfaced.
Whenever his owner didn't have to attend those long, exhausting modeling sessions, he would stay home and cook for them both. Mydei wasn't one to complain about the food his master prepared with such care. After all, he seemed to enjoy it immensely.
His favorite part, without a doubt, was simply staying by his side and watching him cook, occasionally receiving a small piece of meat: watching the precise way he stirred the ingredients in the skillet, the way his brow furrowed in concentration, or feeling the gentle strokes beneath his chin that traveled all the way up to his head.
He let out a plaintive meow, flattening his ears at the memory.
With a leap, he jumped down to the floor and climbed over the furniture until he reached the table, where he sat and gazed out at the backyard, its pool sitting empty.
Another memory came to mind.
The previous summer, he vividly remembered the party his owner had thrown to celebrate the wedding of two of his best friends. He couldn't remember their names exactly, but at that point, it was the least of his concerns.
They had gone shopping the day before for everything they would need, and on the day of the party they had gotten up earlier than usual to prepare everything. It had been a wonderfully fun gathering: they cooked, swam, danced, and cried.
Mydei, however, preferred to stay on the sidelines, occasionally approaching his owner from behind in search of those much-longed-for cuddles—cuddles his master had never denied him.
When the atmosphere finally settled down, the couple thanked everyone for the gesture and shared a few romantic words. Everyone applauded and celebrated, wishing them all the best.
Yet the thought that perhaps, one day, his owner might find himself in that same situation, sharing those same words with someone else, crossed Mydei's mind and terrified him.
Just imagining it made a bitter feeling settle in his chest, filling him with dread.
He didn't want to share him. He was his, and no one else's.
He didn't want his owner's hands touching anything other than his back or head; he didn't want his arms holding anyone but his own furry, fluffy body.
And yet, the possibility that this fear might become reality seemed all too real.
His owner hadn't returned. He hadn't come back to pet him, to wrap him in his strong arms, or to give him those warm smiles that brightened his days and warmed his body more than the sun itself.
Ever since he had been rescued from that storm that nearly drowned him when he was barely a baby, Mydei had had no one else but his owner.
Phainon.
He didn't know how long he had spent staring at the lonely garden when the sound of keys unlocking the front door snapped him out of his thoughts.
His ears perked up, and he hurried toward the door, his tail swaying excitedly.
Was it finally him? Had he finally come back?
He couldn't help but meow loudly, calling out to him.
But just as quickly as hope appeared, it vanished.
"Oh, Meowdei! You're still here!" the pink-haired woman greeted him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
The feline's ears flattened against his fur once again, extinguishing whatever hope still remained in his heart.
She pulled the door halfway shut and entered the house with a bag of food in hand, easily navigating around the furniture until she reached his empty bowl. The sound of her heels echoed through the abandoned house, each step leaving a mark in the dusty floor. Mydei followed behind her sluggishly, causing even more dust to cling to his fur. Once she reached the bowl, she refilled it in silence before filling his water dish as well.
Mydei wouldn't admit it, but he was truly hungry. Even so, he had neither the strength nor the motivation to leave the house and search for food on his own.
He couldn't abandon the house. He refused to.
What if Phainon returned and didn't find him there?
He didn't want his owner to think that Mydei had abandoned him.
No. He had to remain there, no matter what.
"Here you go, little one," she said after a few seconds.
Mydei gave a small, tentative meow in thanks and sat down to eat. She watched him in silence for several long minutes before he felt her hand hesitantly approach his fur, beginning to stroke him with some reluctance.
Cyrene… was a strange person.
He hadn't known her very well before, aside from the occasional phone calls between her and Phainon and the occasional gathering at the house. He knew they were close, but he had never been quite sure how close. Whenever they were together, he preferred to watch them from a distance, approaching only when it was absolutely necessary.
Cyrene, for her part, had never made much of an effort to get to know him either, and Mydei was perfectly fine with that. He didn't need obligatory greetings or little treats offered as some sort of silent truce. Even after his owner stopped coming around and she took his place, she never tried to change that. Just a couple of words when she arrived, and a couple more when she left.
Yet her silence and lack of cooperation did nothing to help him understand whatever had happened to Phainon. He desperately wanted to ask her. What had happened? Had Phainon grown tired of him and decided to abandon him? Why hadn't he come back? Why was she the one here instead?
He, for his part, wasn't willing to accept the truth either.
But he missed human touch.
Even if it didn't come from his owner's hands, it was the closest thing he could ask for at that moment, so he didn't complain about the strokes on his head and back. At least, not until she grew tired of petting him.Given the sort of life she apparently lived, taking care of a pet in his condition must have been unpleasant: alone, filthy, and abandoned.
"You know, Mydei? You don't have to keep waiting for him. Phainon, he…"
Her words startled him, stopping him mid-chew. Partly because he hadn't expected her to speak to him, and partly because she had mentioned his name.
He isn't coming back, is he?
There was no need for Cyrene to say it. He could put the pieces together himself.
His absence for several weeks. The neglect and abandonment of the house. The lack of visits from his friends…
Mydei knew him too well.
Under no circumstances, if he had had the power to prevent it, would Phainon have abandoned him. Nor would he have abandoned everything he had spent years building. And with that certainty came the unbearable pain of imagining the reason why. She let out a ragged sigh without stopping her gentle strokes.
"He… loved you, Mydei. You were the most important thing to him, and it hurts me to see you still here, all alone. You don't deserve to live under these conditions. It's not what my brother would have wanted." She paused for a moment, scratching behind one of his ears. Mydei allowed her to do so in silence, feeling the air leave his lungs for a moment.
"Wouldn't you like to come with me, little one? I have a couple of companions at home that I'm sure you'd get along with. You'll always have company. I'll feed you and brush you every day, just like Phainon used to. You won't be wanting for anything. What do you say?" Mydei closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself to process her words through the pain.
But you're not him.
You never will be.
What's the use of that fantasy if Phainon isn't here to share it?
He continued chewing his kibble without giving the woman any response. It wasn't the first time she'd made such a proposal, but just like before, he simply refused once again. Because no matter how idealistic it sounded, it would only make him feel even more miserable than he already did.
Even so, for some reason, Cyrene seemed to mistake his silence for agreement. She let out an animated huff and moved her hand behind his head, directly toward the knot of the scarf around his neck, clearly intending to remove it.
Mydei froze.
He restrained the growl rising in his throat, along with the overwhelming urge to claw at her hand. The fur along his back bristled, and when she noticed, she recoiled in fear.
"I-I'm sorry, Mydei! E-Easy, easy…" she apologized, getting up and taking a few steps back. She sighed, wiped her hands on her dress, picked up the bag of food, and headed toward the exit. "I understand, little one. Don't worry. I'll keep visiting you and feeding you."
Mydei slowly closed his eyes and nodded at her words. His food was the least of his concerns at that moment. He silently watched the doubt and discomfort on Cyrene's face. He knew she wanted to say something else, that she had to, but she couldn't find the words.
And deep down, he couldn't blame her, because…
How do you explain to a cat that his owner isn't coming back?
To an ordinary cat, of course.
She remained in the doorway for a few more seconds, looking back at him repeatedly. She was probably debating whether to tell him or not. What was making her hesitate? Did she suspect his true nature? Or was it because she knew he understood the situation—and, especially after her words, didn't want to hurt him by saying it aloud?
Mydei wasn't sure, but perhaps next time she'd find the courage to tell him.
She gave him one final look, once again wearing that sad, empty smile. She waved goodbye and finally closed the door, leaving him once again to the painful, suffocating loneliness. Mydei kept his gaze fixed on the closed door, though he wasn't really focusing on anything.
He had completely forgotten about the hunger gnawing at him. Even so, his stomach could no longer tolerate anything, and his spirits had completely collapsed. He shook his fur, dislodging the dust that had accumulated there, and headed upstairs instead, with one place in mind.
As he climbed the stairs two at a time, he vaguely remembered how Phainon had taught him to climb them when he was still a baby. He would carry him by the sides and show him how he was supposed to do it. Other times, he would hold his front paws and move them to imitate the motion. Mydei had never forgotten the pride and satisfaction he felt when he finally managed to climb up and down on his own.
When he reached the master bedroom, he pushed the door open with his front paws and slipped inside, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness.
He knew the room by heart.
He leaped between the desk and the bookshelves until he reached a display case that had been specially placed there—a display case he'd long since given up trying to open. He nudged it repeatedly with his nose until he finally managed to move it, sending it crashing down. The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the house. He stared at the mess for a few seconds before jumping down to the floor.
And there, in the middle of the broken display case, lay a pair of plushies that Phainon had kept and preserved with such care ever since they had been given to him. They faithfully depicted his owner, except for a few details such as the clothes and wings. They were part of a special collaboration with a video game he'd participated in a couple of years earlier.
Dodging the pieces of broken glass, Mydei sniffed them curiously and wrinkled his nose at their intense, brand-new scent. It wasn't what he had expected, but it was better than nothing. He gently picked up each one between his teeth and, careful not to damage them, carried them onto the bed.
Once both were there, he sniffed the sheets, searching for that special spot that still retained a trace of his scent. When he found it, he pulled the plushies toward himself with his paw and curled up there with them, keeping one between his limbs. He pressed his paw against the plushie's face and closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself, if only briefly, to imagine that it was Phainon instead of a toy.
All he wanted at that moment was to feel his owner's warmth, the touch he had always received, the love he saw in every gaze, his company… everything.
It was difficult to maintain that facade whenever Cyrene came to visit. After all, it wasn't as though the siblings were completely different. They shared the same smile, the same gentleness, the same warmth.
But Cyrene wasn't Phainon.
And she never would be.
She would never look at him as though he were the most special being in the world. She would never look at him as though he were the only thing that mattered in her life, as though everything she did was for him and because of him.
To Cyrene, Mydei was nothing more than her brother's pet.
A pet that was nothing more than a burden she now had to take care of, one that constantly reminded her of her brother.
To Phainon, Mydei was everything.
Mydei understood that after Phainon rescued him.
That once-sad, dull blue gaze became the brightest and most lively he'd ever seen. His smile, always shaped like a straight line, had become the most radiant of all. And Mydei would give anything to see him again. The photographs hanging all over the house weren't enough.
The few remaining traces of his scent on the bed and in the clothes in the closet faded with each passing day, and it broke his heart when even the pillows stopped smelling like his shampoo and cologne. By then, the plushies offered him no warmth or comfort whatsoever.
Nothing did anymore.
But they were all he had left, the only thing he could bear, and so…
"Come back, I beg you…" he whispered hoarsely against the white fabric that made up the plushie's hair, pressing it tightly against his chest. "I feel so lonely…"
Yes.
Perhaps, if he wished for it hard enough, tomorrow he could wake to the radiant morning that only Phainon's smile could bring him.
He could have a new dawn by his side.
