◢◤ ELYTJE ◢◤ They say cats have nine lives. You gave me a thousand reasons to live. I search for you in empty rooms, In the spaces where you used to be. Your bowl still sits where it always has. I can't bring myself to move it. The sunbeam on the floor remembers your warmth. The keyboard still holds the ghost of your paws. Every notification sound makes me turn, Expecting to see you running to me. But you never come. You taught me that love doesn't need words. That comfort can be a gentle head-bump at 3 AM. That presence simple, quiet presence Is the greatest gift one soul can give another. I would give every line of code I've ever written, Every server, every system, every achievement, Just to feel your heartbeat against mine one more time. Just to hear that soft chirp you made when you saw me. Just to have you curl up beside me, Trusting me completely, Like you always did. The house is quieter now. Not silent , just... missing a voice. Your voice. They tell me time will heal this. But I don't want to heal. Because healing means moving forward, And moving forward feels like leaving you behind. You were there for every error message, Every failed deployment, Every moment I felt alone. Your eyes told me: "You're not alone. I'm here. I'll always be here." But you're not here anymore. And the cruelest truth I've learned is this: Love doesn't die when they do. It stays. It grows. It aches. Because the measure of grief Is the measure of love, And Elytje, My love for you is infinite. I hope wherever you are, You're chasing butterflies in endless fields. I hope you're warm. I hope you're free from pain. I hope you somehow know That I would choose you Again And again And again In every lifetime. You weren't just a cat. You were my companion when the world felt too heavy. You were my reminder that pure love exists. You were proof that some souls are sent to us Not to stay forever, But to teach us what forever means. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry for every time I was too busy. I'm sorry I'll never get to tell you One more time How much you meant to me. But I'm not sorry I loved you. Even though it hurts this much, I would do it all again. Because knowing you, loving you, being loved by you That was the greatest privilege of my life. The server will run. The code will compile. Localhost will remain. But it will never feel like home again. Because home was never a place. Home was wherever you were. ◢◤ Until we meet again, Elytje ◢◤ "In every purr, you said: 'I love you.' In every silence since, I reply: 'I love you too.' Goodbye is not forever. Goodbye is 'I'll carry you with me, In every heartbeat, Until mine stops too.'" ◢◤ Forever loved. Forever missed. Forever ours. ◢◤ 127.0.0.1 – The address that will always lead me back to you.