I have a familiar. She’s technically a cat. Well, a bratty cat, but still a cat. She loves to be around me and curl up with me. She loves to lightly wrap her tail around my leg to make sure I know that she loves me.

Over the past couple of months, I have allowed Leia to join me on the balcony. She loves the birds and the squirrels, but I watched her every moment. Any time that she seem over stimulated, I would call her name and she would look at me, lay down, and relax.

Yesterday, everything changed. Yesterday, I was distracted by stress and frustration. I did not see her shake her booty and she coiled up to attack. I did not see the bird that flew inches from me. But Leia, she saw that bird. Her instincts took over and she pounced. But, there was no ground for her to land on. She jumped six feet into the air and fell three stories to the garage area.

In the moments following, everything changed. I did not have arthritis. My joint and muscle pains were gone. There was only Leia, hurt, scared, and lost in an unsafe world. I truly believe I could have picked up a car if she was trapped.

I don’t really know what happened next in detail. I screamed my husbands name. I sprinted into the apartment. I found footwear on my way. I ran out of the apartment and down two flights of stairs in two, maybe three seconds. I walked over to her, my heart breaking as she scrambled to get over the wall. She didn’t recognize me.

I stormed over and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. I yanked her off of the fence and walked toward the stairs. I made it up one flight of stairs before my husband appeared. He took her from me, curled her against his chest, and led us both back to the apartment. In that moment, seeing her safe and in my husbands arms, I cracked. I held myself together as I walked in front of him, unlocking and opening the doors.

Once I sat down on the couch… I broke. My tears filled oceans. My heart broke and healed and broke again. For two days she avoided me. But in the end, we met back together and I fell asleep on the couch with her sleeping on my legs. And the world was better once again.