a dream of impossible love (Complete, Waiting For Editing And A New Name! )

Chapter Six. A fresh start.

(someone to cheer us up in this depressing chapter)

The next few days passed by in a fog, and I slept through most of them. By Sunday I felt a bit better, wallowing in the loss of Fig was only making me smell bad. I went into a cleaning frenzy, chucking out the litter tray, old scratching posts and uneaten cat food but I still kept the small box of cat things in the back of my storage cupboard.

On Monday I was back at work but I wasn't my usual cheerful self and no one bothered me. They probably knew Fig was gone, even though I hadn't said a thing. But in my silence, the idea of a holiday kept bumping other thoughts away.

It wasn't until the following day that I walked up to Micky and nodded at her, my annual leave was quickly booked to start in two weeks. I felt relieved and started to slowly get back to normal. Fig had been in my life for thirteen years and it was difficult to move on, hopefully, the time off would help me recover.

I told my colleagues about Fig, they were all concerned when I told them he had somehow eaten some poison. Micky asked whether I knew what it was and I just shook my head, I hadn't done an autopsy, it was too expensive. Also, I felt like it was too late to find the reason.

I organised my trip that evening, booking tickets then ordering things I would need and started to make an effort to learn some Korean phrases. My time at work just blurred together, it didn't seem important anymore.

Every time I thought about cancelling my trip, Micky convinced me otherwise. She was very supportive but I wondered if being away from all my friends and family would help. Kelly made a point of eating lunch with me every day at work so at least I ate, plus that Saturday we would go clothes shopping together.

I began to realise I wasn't just mourning a cat but the last link to my old life, I needed to move on. He had also been a substitute for my long-grown children, a crutch I needed for a time.

By the time my last day at work arrived, I had changed. I was a much quieter person but also calmer and a bit more mature. The feeling of loss was duller but still present, a feeling that I realised would stay with me for longer than I thought. I hugged Kelly and Micky goodbye and promised to bring a load of beauty products back with me as gifts.

That evening my girls stayed with me, they would both sleep at home that night. We chatted until midnight, remembering our terrible troublesome Fig. We moved on to giggling over idols and a Kdrama, they were the ones who introduced them to me after all. The next day we just ate takeaways and chilled, binge-watching episodes with Joon-Jae as the lead, until they both had to leave.

When I was on my own again I busied myself with cleaning and packing the last few things. I fell asleep easily that night, exhausted from all the physical and emotional work. When I woke up that Sunday, I realised there were two more days before my flight, I had nothing else to do now.

The sheer boredom forced me to sit down and think. What exactly had poisoned Fig? He hadn't had access to any kind of poisonous substance, had he? So my search began and I made sure to be thorough.

When I was done, I had a pile of possible suspects. Tomorrow I would call the vet and ask about each one, for now, I could only look them up online. I wrote everything down and looked in the storage at the last minute. Maybe there was a problem with Figs stuff? I spread everything out and picked them up one by one.

The vet had told me that whatever the poison was, he must have eaten it within 24 hours of showing symptoms, so I was looking for something new. It didn't make sense, I had no poisonous house plants his toys were all at least a month old. Nothing in the house had been chewed on, the only things Fig had eaten were his food and treats.

I put everything away, my list had more crossed out than not, just three things remained. Some cleaning wipes, a new packet of catnip and the treats. The wipes were the only poisonous thing Fig had access to, I had left them on the table the night before but although Fig had clawed them up a bit, none seemed to be missing. He could have licked his claws though.

The catnip and treats were newly opened so they were on the list but otherwise, they should be completely fine. I hoped my mistake of leaving the wipes out hadn't been Fig's downfall, he loved ripping up tissues.

The next morning I gathered the three objects and set off to the vet, my call to them earlier had evolved into a discussion. They had advised getting all three objects tested just in case but the likely culprit did seem to be the wipes.

Now I was guilt-stricken also, poor Fig, it was all my fault. Travelling to the vet made gave me time to think, it seemed highly unlikely that a box of cleaning tissues caused poor Fig's end but through the self-blame, it was hard to focus. When I gave them the bag the nurse hugged me and patted my back.

"It's okay dear, it wasn't your fault. Everyone makes mistakes, even my dog max died from choking on a rubber ball. Deadly objects but stocked in most pet shops. Fig had a good life and it was pretty long for a cat."

The vet smiled sadly and patted my back. "The results will be back in a couple of weeks, try not to think too much. If you remember anything else just give us a call."

I left the vet, feeling a bit comforted by their words. The rest of the day was spent just wandering around the park as I tried to distract myself and relax. By the time I got home, it was late. I triple-checked my bag and set out my stuff for the morning. My flight was at ten but I had to leave at five so I just went straight to bed.

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What caused Fig's death? any guesses? The next chapter follows where we follow Jenny to Korea.