I stepped into the car. I had no idea where I was headed. No matter how many times I asked, no one would tell me. My dad was in the front with his hands on the wheel and my mom was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat. I looked out the window. Little did I know that my 9 year old life was about to changed forever. We pulled up to the strip mall and my dad said, “Julia, we have decided that we are getting you a cat.” I just sat and smiled. I had been hoping for a cat for 2 years and I could not believe what I just heard.

In the store, I glared at this dark brown kitten with a black racing stripe going down its back. I went over and it immediately started reaching its paw out and rubbing its side against the cage. It wanted to be close to me. I read the little card on the front and the name “Savannah” was printed on it. I admired her. I knew that I did not even need to take a look at the other cats. I felt an immediate connection with Savannah unlike anything else there. Out of all the people that have came into the store, I could not believe that she chose me. After playing with her for a couple of minutes in a back room, I instantly fell in love. I looked my parents in the eye and told them that Savannah was the one I wanted. We were informed that we could pick her up in a few days. I said my goodbyes and smiled as I walked out the door. I could not hold the joy and excitement in me the whole way home.

I officially received Savannah on December 23rd, 2010, just before Christmas. From that day on, we have only gotten closer. I had become a much happier person in my lifetime. Savannah adopted a new name called “Bocat” and we had gotten so close to one another that I considered her my sibling. As an only child, I had no idea what it was like to have a brother or a sister. Some say that I am lucky and that siblings take all of the attention and cause frustration. As a girl with no one but her parents, it is also hard because everything is focused on you. I have to figure out many things on my own and learn to work independently. I have to find my own ways to relieve my stress. Bocat has been my savior over these past few years because even though to you it may sound silly, I speak to her...and I swear she talks back. She may not say words, but we have this connection where I can just understand Bocat by looking at her. She has always been there when I needed someone.

During the summer of 2016, Bocat started to stop eating and was throwing up. I was absolutely terrified. I tried to look positively and hope that it was just a stomach bug. My parents decided that it was the best idea to drive her back to Franklin Lakes Animal Hospital, which is about 2 hours away. I kissed her goodbye and I went along with my day down at L.B.I, and spent the whole day at the beach as usual. I surfed and swam in the ocean water just like any other day. I knew that doing what I loved would take my mind off the thought of Bocat, which it did. When I got home, a text appeared on my screen from my mom that read, “We are waiting for her, she is being checked out.”

Later in the night I stayed home and laid on the outside deck upstairs and listened to the waves. I had received a couple more texts saying that they were still waiting. I noticed that there was a long pause in the texting and I started to get worried. I thought about my life with Savannah and how important she is to me. How she has helped me through the loneliness of being an only child. How she loves me just as much as I love her. Sleeping with her under the covers every single night since I first got her. I stand up and begin to walk back inside. My phone screen lights up and vibrates, showing my mom’s contact. I pause for a moment. I take a deep breath and answer the call.  I begin to pace around my bedroom as I hear my mom’s voice on the phone. I asked my mom how Bocat was doing. I stop right in front of my wall in the center of my room. I hear my mother’s words become shaky. I am sweating. Finally she tells me. “Hon, Savannah has cancer.” On August 8th, 2016, my only sister was diagnosed with lymphoma. I was absolutely devastated. I look up to meet my eyes in the full-length mirror in my room. My mom’s words as she’s talking to me become just murmurs in the back of my head as my mind is being flooded of past memories. I’m in such shock that my right shoulder starts rapidly shaking. I feel like someone has sucked the air out of my lungs and I feel like I have this large hole in my throat that’s preventing me from speaking. I can just barely get the word “yeah” out. That was the only word I said for nearly all of the conversation.

From that day on, I prayed that Bocat would get better. She was on the chemotherapy medicine. At first, it was working. After the first month, the tumor in her intestines had shrunk half of its size. I was feeling better and I was so grateful that Savannah was responding positively to the medicine. However, the next month the tumor grew back a little, then again with the next month, and again. Bocat started losing weight every single checkup. Everyday I walked into school hiding the pain I felt from the results. Everyday I tried to believe in her, but I noticed that day-by-day, I started losing hope. We even switched her onto the second and last type of medicine. I prayed from the bottom of my heart that this one would work. I just wanted her to life a long, peaceful life that she deserved. Then, after the last round of chemo, they took an ultrasound. Her tumor had not gotten any better. That day, we made the decision to take her off of chemotherapy medicine. Savannah now had a life expectancy of nearly 2 weeks. I cried so hard. I sat on my bed in the exact same position for 2 hours straight with about 100 tissues on the side of my bed. Then of course, there came Bocat running up the stairs and jumping up on my bed to see if I was okay. I couldn’t even look at her. At that point, I couldn’t help but think that my poor kitten wasn’t going to be on Earth any longer in the next 2 weeks.

Everyday I came into school pretending that everything was fine. It was so upsetting to me to have to come home and look my cat straight in the eye and only feel sadness. Things just weren’t the same and it killed me inside.

I find it to interesting that a little pet cat could become so significant in your life. As a young 9 year old girl little did I know that Savannah would become my sister in such little time. She gave me a helping hand through the struggles of not having someone around my age to talk to everyday when I needed it. Without her, I would not be as strong as I am today. Eventually, I learned to not look at Savannah and see sadness. I learned to appreciate all of the happiness that she has given me, along with the friendship. I will cherish the moments with her that I’ve had throughout my lifetime. I know that even after she has passed, I will become even stronger since I’ll be on my own. Ultimately, the joy that she has given me during her lifetime is worth the pain in the end.