He's Back!

Onyx is back! We found him! I am so unbelievably relieved and happy!!!

I asked B yesterday if we could actually walk the paths in the woods next to our house before going in, and so we did. As we continued to trudge up and down paths, I was becoming more and more frustrated. I couldn't stop thinking that there was so way we were going to find him...he'd probably run off when he heard us coming, or he'd probably gone somewhere else, or was hiding too well.

After about 20 minutes we had covered the paths and ended up in our neighbor's driveway, which is across from our barn. I was going to run down to the barn to look around in it yet again before heading back up to the house when B looks down the road and says, "Is that him?" Of course, I don't have my glasses on and can't see anything except a blackish cat. And, our neighbors have a cat that looks entirely black until you get up on it and realize that no, it is actually black and orange and white. I decide to walk down to where this cat is, just in case, but in my head I'm trying not to get my hopes up because it is most likely the neighbor's cat. As I am getting closer, the cat jumps in to a little shed type thing that is along the road. So, when I get up to it, I can't see him. "Onyx?" I say. And I hear a meow. Not that it means that it is him, just that it is a cat. The hole he has jumped in, is not big enough for me to get into, so I have to move the roof on the shed. At this point, I see snake skins and call B over because I was scared that I'd get bit, or the cat would run out on me.

In the time that B is walking over, the cat hisses, so I really think it can't be Onyx. Why would he hiss at me? But, lo and behold, when B moves everything around, there he is, a bit dirty, but none the worse for his adventures. I think I was in a bit of shock for quite some time. So, now he is safely back in the house, where hopefully he will stay. We had a bit of lovey-dovey time, and I think he missed me, but I can't for the life of me figure out what he was doing so far away and how (or why) he got out in the first place. I guess it doesn't matter though because I have him back.

Onyx is especially meaningful to me because I got him so soon after my dad passed away. He was one of the only things in my life that kept me going rather then succumbing fully to the grief I felt...he made me smile and laugh when not many things did, and I knew I had to get up every day and take care of him. He was my companion for pretty much every hour of every day for many weeks and months, and still showed me love, even when I was at my worst. Needless to say, to lose him would be devastating (even though I know it is inevitable), especially as I continue to deal with the sale of the farm and going through everything that is there. At least now, I know where he is, and I won't be spending so much time wondering what happened and if he is ok. I am happy to have him home.