The old man and Juno

There was a small house on a corner of the street in Takayama, Japan. A cat was cruising the streets of the quiet city, walking into a yellow house, the cat walked through the small door made for him and stepped into the room where his lovely owner was, he purred as he rubbed near his owner's feet. Wrinkled hands picked him up, and stroked the multi-colored cat’s fur,

“Juno, welcome home.” An old deep voice spoke gently, an old man stroked Juno’s fur, he was small, with gray hair and a brown sweater with a cat stitched on it, with small cat hairs stuck to the old sweater. Juno purrs into his old man’s hand. 

The old man got up slowly walking to the door he heard his doorbell ring, it was his daughter coming in through asking for money again, Juno started to hiss at her and the cruel daughter kicked that cat away making Juno whine. The old man rushes to Juno his heart beating fast, his daughter never liked cats but she never lends a hand to Juno, The old man yells at her to leave and she yells back he screams at her for the first time and she storms out slamming the door. 

The old man takes Juno, checking his injuries. Once he sees that his precious cat he's alright he releases a breath he didn't realize he was holding, he stumbles back gripping his chest as he tries to calm his heart. Juno rushes to his owner worried, his owner does this often and usually his purrs help soothe the rapid heart. The old man caresses Juno calming down and he smiles at the cat, grateful. 

Juno suspected his owner was sick but always thought his purrs were a cure to making him feel better again,  until one day Juno was coming home from a long day of wandering the Takayama streets, he went through his door as always expecting to see his lovely owner waiting for him but he was nowhere to be found Juno made his way around the house trying to find him but he couldn’t. Juno went to the yard and thought maybe he was feeding the plants as always Juno went softly ready to sunrise his owner that was until he saw him lying on the ground. He went to his owner thinking maybe he had fallen asleep so napped next to him waiting for him to wake up, but the old man didn’t. So Juno sat on his chest purring, so his medicine could work but his owner did not move an inch. Juno sat waiting and waiting, even skipping his usual routine, just waiting for the old man to wake up.

A week later the old man's daughter barged into the yard and screamed seeing her father and his cat lying on the ground together, they both didn’t move an inch, and she cried realizing her final moment with her father was how badly she treated him. She tried to wake Juno but Juno didn’t budge, and it was just them too as always, in life together every single day and in death buried together with Juno’s purrs being the last thing he felt, and Juno realized his purrs weren't his owner's medicine but his love for his owner and he died loving the old man even more. So even in death, it was the old man and Juno.