The Honest Courtesan

Once we had established Aeryn in her flat, I started only keeping the door closed while we were asleep; during the day she would mostly hang around the area between her flat and Grace’s desk about a meter away.  She especially liked sitting right outside of the cage, near her food, water, and litterbox, so I put a folded towel there and she would sit like an old lady on her porch.  It was clear she was slipping fast, especially after she turned 21 in March; her hind legs became edematous, and though her appetite actually improved she seemed to have lost most of her bladder control because I had to change all the pads and towels twice a week.  She became much quieter, and never wanted to wander far from Grace.  Then late Friday night I noticed Grace holding her close; Aeryn was purring and much less fidgety than usual, and Grace told me she felt her time had come.  I petted her and could feel it myself; the life was slipping away quickly, and we knew it would be that night.  A little later she seemed unable to get comfortable, so Grace put her on a thick towel beside her food and water, and that was where I found her about two hours after dawn Saturday, lying peacefully where she had passed mere minutes earlier.  Chekhov helped me to bury her in a little area we’d selected for the purpose, with stones above her to prevent animals’ digging.  And though both Grace and I wept for the loss of our little friend, we were also both happy that she had such a peaceful departure, well-cared for and close to the humans she loved; would that all of us could leave this earth so gently.