“Breathe!” the long-suffering wife commands her estranged,
dying husband.
He obeys one last time, then departs.
“Breathe...darling” the desperate wife begs her drug-addled
husband.
Shielding behind the oxygen mask he inhales, again.
“Breathe…dear” the bestie kindly instructs her crying
friend.
The hyperventilation subsides.
“Breathe…sweetheart” the distraught cat-parent silently
implores the dying cat.
Relief washes over her in tune with the rise and fall of the
cat’s abdomen.
One would think it’s the simplest thing on earth,
until it is not.
