The Cat And The Facebook

Anto came in and the cat woke up from sleep. A quick bath and Anto settled on the couch with the phone.

Silver has been with Anto for some years now. The day she fell down to his house balcony, he had let her in and kept a bowl for food. Therefore, she knows his after-work routine like the nails of her paw.

Now he would go to Angelina's profile, briefly read the posts, browse the photos, and get lost in thoughts. Then check a few other messages, play music and drift off to sleep.

Just as the mobile screen flickered, Silver climbed up on the couch and kept watching the phone over his shoulder.

Ànto browsed the post on Angelina's profile. No posts from her but people have posted a lot on her wall. She must be busy. When she was not busy? Ànto could picture the exhausted face she would keep while working long nights in the studio in this house. After Angelina moved out only Silver realized the loneliness. Ànto's first love was Angelina and next the gadgets.

Another post flashed the screen "RIP Angelina. Missing you so much"

Ànto jerked himself and Silver lost balance and landed on the floor.

Ànto dialed a few numbers and one of them connected. Silver did not understand the Punjabi words. Nevertheless, overheard the answer in English "Bike accident. It was in Himachal last Christmas. She was not with any group"

Ànto fell back to the coach and Silver could see his whole body straining and face getting devoid of blood. Silver made a silent retreat to the balcony. Cats know when a man needs his privacy. .

Gazing at the moving traffic below, Silver thought, "These humans are weird. See how he is weeping for something happened a year ago... After all, there is no external feed from crematoriums to Facebook to update the status...”