I sensed that my fur was shining like a halo, and somehow I had drifted far away across the universe. So far, far away, but I still heard TammyLee’s cry of panic.
‘She’s stopped breathing! Tallulah … Tallulah … don’t die on me, please … please.’
Chapter Sixteen
I HEARD THE ANGEL CALL MY NAME
The last memory of my time on earth was the feel of TammyLee’s face, heavy on my fur, her breath warm, her tears trickling around my neck. Her words wrapping me in whispers. ‘Magic puss cat … please don’t die … I love you … I love you SO much.’
I tried to respond, but the life had gone from my body and it wouldn’t move at all, not even the tip of my fluffy tail. My vibrant little heart had stopped, and my lovely body with its silky fur had died so peacefully, there on TammyLee’s lap. Her love was enfolding me in layer upon layer of colours, and inside it I felt safe enough to let go and float.
The humans gathered around me like a protective umbrella, and I heard fragments of what they were saying:‘We always knew it was going to happen … Tallulah was a rescue cat … look what she went through.’ Then I heard TammyLee’s howl of grief: ‘But why NOW? WHY?’
Surprisingly, it was tough old Iris who was hugging the crying girl as if she would never let go. And, even more amazing, Dylan was brushing the tears from his cheeks with the back of his hand.
Cocooned in TammyLee’s love, I drifted through a brightening silence. I said goodbye to the silver-and-white cat who lay limply, her soft paws gently curled, her eyes closed, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth. She was dead, but I wasn’t! I was a spirit cat again now, a shining cat with a beautiful name, Tallulah.
When pets die, they cross the rainbow bridge into a special land, where they wait for their loved ones to join them. Humans think this is a legend, but actually, it’s true.
I didn’t remember the crossing, but the angels told me that TammyLee’s love had made it easy for me.
On the far side of the rainbow bridge is a sumptuous land of downy turf and velvet grasses alive with sparkles. There are trees with blue leaves, and flowers with heady perfume. Happiness and sadness are intertwined, and both are beautiful, both are welcoming. Together, they form landscapes with domes and cushions of colour. You can choose to be sad and rest inside a cave of lavender blue, where it is quiet and still. In there, you can safely grieve for your lost friends, and peer out at the great arch of the rainbow bridge, waiting and hoping for one of them to come over. Or, you can choose to be happy and roll around, purring with a bunch of other cats, or chase the sparkles as they zigzag through the trees in a land that is timeless, seasonless and very beautiful.
I still looked like me, like Tallulah, but my fur shimmered with light, and I weighed nothing. I could turn somersaults in the air! So there were wild times when I chose to be happy, and quiet times when I chose to be sad. I learned that even when you are healthy, comfortable and free, there is still, deep in your soul, a hunger and a longing for close contact with your earth friends.
I could have moved on, into the enticing realms of light where angels lived, and reclaimed my status as Queen of Cats, but I wanted to keep my name. I wanted to be Tallulah and wait by the rainbow bridge for the people I loved.
The best look-out place was on top of the tallest tree. Nestled among its turquoise leaves, I spent a lot of time up there, gazing right across the rainbow bridge. How long would it be until TammyLee came over? I ached to hear her voice.
‘She won’t come,’ my angel explained gently. ‘TammyLee is human and she must stay on earth for decades, until she is an old, old lady. Sometimes you can visit her for a few precious minutes.’
‘How do I do that?’ I asked.
‘At certain times, the veil between earth and the spirit world is thin,’ she said, ‘then you can go through.’
‘How will I know when that time is?’
‘Your fur will tingle, and you will feel a longing. Watch the veils of light in the distant skies. Sometimes they shift and become transparent.’
The first time it happened, I sensed TammyLee was remembering me. The scent of her perfume made me purr, and purr until I saw the veil billowing and parting like curtains, and I did see my TammyLee. In an instant, I was close to her in my light body. She was doing a lady’s hair, brushing it and twiddling it thoughtfully, and she was talking about me!
‘I had a beautiful cat … Tallulah. She was really special. She died years ago, her heart just stopped. It was weak from all she had been through. I still miss her.’
She went quiet and I purred loudly. I knew TammyLee heard me, and she turned sharply to look for me.
‘She can’t see you,’ said my angel. ‘You are too bright for human eyes. But she can sense you, and that comforts her.’