Bacchus MindEconomy Chronicle

I still find bits of your fur, scattered like lost memories across our lives. In forgotten corners in our home, on my chair at work, on old linen. Bittersweet reminders that always seem to pop-up when I least expect it. Tomorrow marks one year since you left us, yet your presence still lingers. It’s strange how grief works- it doesn’t shrink or vanish but instead settles into the crevices of daily life, becoming a quiet companion. I still catch myself looking for you in the soft folds of sunlight where you used to rest, listening for the faint shuffle of your paws on the floor, half-expecting you to come running to greet me when I open the front door. I swear I still see you at times- the briefest flash in the corner of my eye.

You were more than just a cat, a pet. You were my friend, a source of comfort when the world felt too heavy, a spark of joy on the most ordinary days, and the embodiment of love in its simplest, most unconditional form. There was something about the way you were always there- steady and constant, throughout my turbulent twenties with no judgment, only warmth— and a whole load of energetic chaos that made everything feel a little easier, a little brighter.

The day we had to say goodbye is etched into my memory, as sudden and abrupt as it felt. I remember the weight of that moment, the way the air seemed to still when we realised what had to happen. In those final moments, as we held you and whispered goodbye, I hoped you could feel every ounce of the love we had for you, love that remains as deep and unwavering now as it was then.

Grief has softened in some ways, but it hasn’t faded. Instead, it has transformed into a tender ache, a bittersweet reminder of all that you were. The pangs of loss are accompanied by flashes of gratitude: for the years we had together, for the countless memories and endless laughter you gave me, for the love that will always be yours. You are still with me, not in the way I wish you were, but in the quiet spaces where love never fades. You taught me about living in the moment, finding joy in the little things, and loving without condition. You have a little fur sister now, another deserving rescue who so badly needed a loving home. She is so sweet and gentle, an infinitely peaceful presence that I am so sure you sent our way. You would have liked her- her zoomies are almost as legendary as yours.

Though the world moves on, a part of me remains anchored to you, for the path we trod. You were such a blessing in my life for the eight years we shared- albeit for far too short of a time. Yet you were in my life at the time I needed you the most, and I have since had to learn to carry on without you. Without your 3am cuddles when the world was at its heaviest. Even in your absence, while I’m sitting on holiday in a different country, watching a summer storm pour down you continue to remind me of the beauty of selfless, unconditional love—pure, enduring, and transformative. Even know, your enduring memory has helped to break a three-month long burn-out induced writing block. You are gone, but you are not forgotten. You never will be.

“Thank you for the memories.

You’ll never know what it meant to me.”