Strangely, I sensed excitement in her voice. “Did you go to the vet?” I asked. “I did just like you said. I put Sophie in my suitcase. I was standing by the bus stop , so I figured, why spend money for a taxi when I could certainly take the bus? So I put the suitcase down next to me and started to look into my purse to see if I had the change. While I was looking in my pocketbook, some boys came up behind me. One threw me to the ground and grabbed my suitcase with Sophie inside!”

“Oh no, Aunt Faye! Did you get hurt?” “Just a few scratches. Nothing serious. I yelled for the police, but nobody came. So what could I do? I figured this was the way my relationship with Sophie was supposed to end. So I went home.” “I don’t believe this!” I said, trying to hold back my laughter. “Can you imagine the expression on those kids’ faces when they opened the suitcase and found a dead cat?”

She started to laugh. Aunt Faye was actually laughing! “Wait, wait - that’s only part of the story. Sophie came home! She really wasn’t dead! I only thought she was dead because she was lying so still when I found her in the bathroom. Being jostled in that suitcase must have finally roused her. When I got back to the house, she was waiting at my door!

“Arnold, thank you for all your help. I prayed for Sophie to enter heaven, and she came back to me.” The next time I went to visit Aunt Faye, she had a little sign on her front door that read, “This is heaven.” — Beliefnet.com (Concluded)