Elmo

My brother, Elmo, disappeared in July. At first, Mom didn't think much of it, because he is a brave cat and he would stay away for days and days. Me, I need my dog food, so I make sure I stay close by. But Elmo would go away for longer and longer until one day, he just didn't come home anymore. We looked around and asked the neighbors if they had seen him, and some said yes, and some said no, (that was confusing!) but we haven't seen him at all. Sometimes I run out in the morning and sniff around for him, and we saw some big cat feet prints in the snow, but no Elmo. Mom says every once in a while a red cat runs out in the street in front of her car at night, but when she gets out, it disappears into the woods. I think if that was my brother, he wouldn't run. He loved mom. So, we miss Elmo. Mom has dreams about him a lot, and she wakes up and tells me about them, but they are confusing and I don't always understand. I just lie there and listen to her and wag my tail a little or give her a kiss if she's sad. I lost my other brother, Hobbes this year, too. But that was different, he had a good, long life and Mom and Dad were with him when he died. It was sad, but we know where he is. (He's on a shelf next to my sister, Molly. Now, that's just weird.) It's worse with Elmo. Does he have a new family? Is he happy? Did he make the right choice leaving us to go somewhere else? Doesn't he love us anymore? Maybe he'll come back and tell us one day. But I guess, probably not. We miss you, Elmo. Hope you're fat and happy and living the life.