Cliché dictates that ‘life is tough’, but Malcolm doesn’t agree, it’s all a matter of perspective. Malcolm has spent most of his life as a wandering soul, never content and always restless. His tattered ears and blinded eye betray the nature of most of Malcolm’s adventures, although he’ll never be able to tell us how any of these marks of distinction were earned, and if truth be told he probably can’t remember too well himself.
When your life is a swirl of transience, new families and ever changing homes some of the details that trouble others fade away – Malcolm gives no thought to how old he is, or how tired he feels.
Were he a person Malcolm would be embarrassed if you made a fuss of his longevity and probed him for the exciting ins and outs of his many hosts, he’s content to lay, to dream and to graciously accept the occasional bit of coaxing.
Looking into Malcolm’s eyes won’t tell us how many people have adopted him over the years, nor how many times the adoption was the other way round. We’ll never know how many excited toddlers have pulled at his fur or trailed string across the floor for his entertainment; it’s perhaps a relief that we’ll also never know how many feet have kicked Malcolm and how often he suffered unearned unkindness. We’re saved details of who shot Malcolm with an air-rifle and gave him his characteristic limp; we only know Malcolm carried on regardless with a sigh and another move to another home.
What we do know is that this was Malcolm’s final home, his place of warmth and security, the home where he could take his final rest. We’ll leave him in peace now, comforting himself with his cracked and gurgling purr. Rest in peace Malcolm, you dear old man.
Last Updated on February 18, 2023
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