A book, a movie, a farewell

"The moonlight was so bright that everything cast a crisp moon-shadow: black on white, stark as a woodcut." --Robert Macfarlane

Macfarlane writes so beautifully that his shape-shifting words bring tears to my eyes. 

This will be my last portrait of Sir Archibald Taiga: gorgeous floating majestic Taiga. Lion-maned, large-pawed, elegant and dignified, named for the vast icy forest his ancestors came from. He sired many healthy Siberian kittens, and I was the companion of his retirement. He never entirely recovered from the heart attack he had two months ago, and his system is starting to fail. I thought he was dying last month, but he held on. Now I think he is suffering.  The vet will come to my apartment on Wednesday, if he's still alive on Wednesday, to ease his passage. I will miss his slumberous presence.