Samantha’s mind was cloudy. She tried to remember things but everything eluded her. The urge to shake her head and awaken was strong, but she lacked the willpower to do so. Something was missing. The sense of absence was keen. Standing in her kitchen, she saw a familiar old woman sitting at the dinette table. As remembrance opened in Samantha’s mind, a ever-so-slight and easy smile lifted her cheeks. The invitation was clear and assumed. The older woman seemed more at-ease and aware. Samantha joined her at the table.

"Grandma, why are you here?" Samantha’s head cocked to one side and gently swayed. "I don’t understand. Why are you here?"

Grandma Sherwood placed a hand over her granddaughter’s clasped hands on the table. "It’s okay, Dear. I’ll help you to understand. Let’s take a walk."

Samantha’s wandering eyes transfixed on the old woman. They glided out the back door. Her legs felt like limp noodles, moving without sensation. There was no sense of actually walking, no discernible footfall. The experience was more like floating than walking.

The small porch opened to her backyard. The oversized garden seemed lonely, as though someone should have been enjoying it but that someone was gone. The yard was backed by trees of the mountain forest. Her house was situated on a road winding around the top of a mountain in North Carolina. Although the landscape was pretty and well-kept, only the garden held the key to the dawning of an important memory. Eyes widening and scanning back to her grandmother, a name slipped through her lips.

"Scarlett."

An image of a black cat visited Samantha’s consciousness. And another one. Another black animal. A big dog. They usually slept in the garden during the day. Eyes searching the cultivated patch of land and, finally, coming back to rest on the grandmother, who seemed to know these things.

"Scarlett and Si. Where are they?"

"Don’t you remember, Dear? They’re gone. They were animals and animals spread diseases." A brief paws was afforded to Samantha to let the information digest. "You let Scarlett outside when you knew that was wrong. She could have disturbed the neighbors, fouled the land or brought home a disease from one of the wild animals. People have the right to walk without stepping in animals dropping, don’t they, Dear. Everybody knows how unsanitary animals are and how easily they bring home diseases. It’s been well-studied and everybody knows it. She was ‘at large’ and Animal Control got her."

Samantha’s head shook in disbelief. No. This isn’t right. "Wha—"

"And Si was Luke’s problem. You remember Luke, don’t you? He insisted on referring to that hulking creature as his ‘companion’. Si got sick after his annual vaccinations and died. Remember?"

Samantha’s head shook more violently. This isn’t right. She wanted nothing more than to hold that sweet, soft bundle of furry affection. In times of distress, Samantha had often cuddled Scarlett to ward off feelings of fright or despair. Many times, Scarlett had sensed tension in her "mom" and put a paw on Samantha’s shoulder. Of course, the feline instinctively knew when and how to retract her claws so that Samantha could only feel the soft pads.

Forcing herself to regain composure, she stated with certainty, "I want to go out front. She confidently strode around the house to the front yard. No sign of any animals. She wanted to continue walking down the road. Her grandmother seemed to say, Anything you want, Dear. I’m here for you. Samantha’s gait quickened but Grandma Sherwood didn’t seem to have any trouble keeping pace with her.

"Where are they?" Samantha insisted on knowing.

"Where are who, Dear?"

"The animals…everybody. Mrs. Jenkins always walks Whiskers at this time of morning."

Half-laughingly, Grandma Sherwood replied, "Oh, Sweetheart. Those filthy mutts leaving messes everywhere. Even with scoopers nobody could ever clean the marks of droppings, and the remains were breeding grounds for all sorts of disease and bacteria. For Heaven’s sake! Children play outside. And, of course, the bigger dogs, like Si, frightened the little ones so badly. They caused trauma after trauma. Don’t you remember the nasty looks people gave Luke whenever he played Frisbee with si in the park?"

Even as Grandma Sherwood spoke, Samantha noticed that there weren’t any children outside. The thought occurred to her that they might have been frightened of venturing outside in this day and age of diseases and epidemics in the natural world. Samantha started to raise her hands and turned her head until the chin was over the shoulder, looking sideways at Grandma. The visage of this woman couldn’t possibly represent the truly wise and reassuring grandmother she’d always known. Oh, to feel the comforting and healing vibration of Scarlett's purr on her chest.

"But you said Si was gone. Died after his vaccinations. I want to see Dr. Peabody and ask him about that."

"Oh, no. He’s out of business. Most veterinarians have packed it in, now. When the new Animal Control laws were passed, I think most of those whackos were worried that they couldn’t pass the required psychological evaluations. Oddly enough, they were the biggest group to lobby for Animal Control laws. They knew better than anyone how much those things needed the new vaccinations because they naturally breed diseases. But, ultimately, they were the ones put out of business—and most people are just as happy to see them go."

"What? No, that can’t be. Dr. Peabody takes his animals to the nursing home down in Manassa. Those old folks count on it. They look forward to it every month!"

"Animals?! Near the elderly! You can’t be serious. Some places tried to make exemptions for them, but it didn’t wash. Besides, the nursing home staff got tired of the smell that lingered for weeks after. That stink gets in everything and can’t be cleaned out—just like in apartment complexes. And it was unfair to people who were allergic and had asthma. Really, Samantha, it’s common sense."

"But…but…surely, not everyone feels this way."

"Well, there was a Big Pet lobby that had more money than you could shake a stick at—why couldn’t they have been more concerned about making food for people and toys for children—but they didn’t get anywhere when the puppy mills were exposed. That pet lobby was ordered to pay Animal Control for the harm that these so-called pets have done to people. Most states prohibit pet stores now—and many have outlawed pets outright. Society just got tired of dealing with the stink and health problems."

Grandma Sherwood became more stern, almost cross. "Enough of that. Now, I told you, your cat was taken by Animal Control. I’m sure she was put to good use benefiting real people—after all, those little bodies with short life spans are perfect for incubators. You aren’t so heartless that you’d put an animal’s life over a person’s life, are you."

The older woman clicked her tongue and spoke disapprovingly, "Well, maybe you are. You always had cat ahir and dander on your clothes, even though you knew it could make people sick. Why, just the other day, I saw one of those public service announcements about a girl who had a near-fatal asthma attack when she saw a schoolmate holding some mangy animal."

Time to be firm. This nonsense must end. "Now, you need to grow-up and get past this. Stop obsessing over those creatures. We have too many other things that we can do. Let’s have lunch at that little café downtown."

Obsessing? I don’t obsess over them! I usually don’t even pay attention to them; they’re just…there. For crying out loud, I don’t even let Si in the parlor.

Then, a terrifying thought came to Samantha. What…exactly…happened to Scarlett? The sweet little, trusting soul in some sort of experiment? Was it humane? From the sounds of it, nobody was humane any longer. Was she conscious when they did whatever they did to her? Did she cry for her human caretaker and mother? Were animal experiments really so helpful to humanity? It just sounded like cruelty for cruelty’s sake…and done to Scarlett. But, no. No, no, no. People couldn’t be that vicious all while convincing themselves that they were being fair and humane.

Samantha remembered Scarlett, curled in the garden, sleeping peaceably. And, Si, the big old dog. Even Luke had commented on how strangely the two animals had gotten along, even become friends. There was the time that Scarlett had been hurt in the cellar, was rushed to the vet and made an amazing recovery. Kathy Hamilton had somehow cured Scarlett’s limp. And walking. Yes, that was how it started. Scarlett had followed Samantha one day while taking a walk. The kitteny feline had found a world of things to discover, sniff, pounce on and investigate, but she stayed within ten feet of Samantha the whole time until they reached their destination. Where was it that they’d gone? Oh, yes. The cemetery. Samantha had gone to visit the grave of her….

A queer look overcame Samantha as she turned to look once again at her grandmother. Shock more than fear infused her []. She stood, mouth gaping, unable to move.

Grandma Sherwood brushed Samantha’s cheek with the heel of her hand and smiled. "My time to go has arrived. And for you, Dear. But remember. Don’t let this happen."

Samantha closed her eyes and lifted her hand to meet Grandma’s hand on her cheek. As her eyes re-opened, she saw that she was home again. She wasn’t holding Grandma’s hand but had her hand cupped on the back of Scarlett’s head. She stroked the soft black coat from the top of Scarlett’s head to the middle of her back. Evidently, the cat enjoyed the attention as she slowly raised her head and tried to open her eyes. Two green, crystalline slits in the black velvet face were all that she could muster. Samantha smiled and kissed her cheek. The feline response was the dependable, deep purr. Samantha wrapped her arms around her furry friend and lightly squeezed. With one more kiss, Samantha awoke completely and heard the kitchen door open.

The wood-framed screen-door made three bangs, decreasing in loudness, until coming to a rest. Luke and Si had returned from their hardware store, Jacob’s Hardware and Lawn Center. After a long day at work, Luke wanted a cold one—-well, a Barq’s—-and to just take a breather out back. As Samantha went into the kitchen, Si greeted her by jumping and scampering around, then forcing his front paws on her midsection.

"He doesn’t reach as high as he used to." Samantha commented.

Luke sighed, "Nah. He’s getting a little arthritis in his backend." He continued on his way out the back door.

Samantha followed. Si, pawed at the screen door until it opened and Scarlett slipped out with him. Luke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He clenched his fists, one still holding the soda can, and stretched. After her nap with Samantha, Scarlett was ready for playtime. She raced across the yard and Si bounded after her. They ventured into the woods behind the backyard, but only a short distance. Luke and Samantha talked about the events of the day, but only in as few words as necessary. Talking wasn’t really necessary. It was just nice to be home. After a while, everybody was ready to go inside. Samantha stopped at the kitchen counter to make a light supper. Si, on the other hand, bounded into the house and loped into the parlor, where he knew he wasn’t supposed to be. And the first thing he jumped on? The antique parlor sofa that had belonged to Grandma Sherwood! Samantha and Luke had heard the clicking of Si’s paws across the kitchen floor and the thumping of his weight across the house. They knew where he’d gone and they both went to look. Si’s paws had been muddied in the forest. Luke’s eyes closed again; but, this time, he dropped his forehead into his hand, waiting for Samantha’s outburst of objections to the clumsy Labrador.

Samantha half-smiled and a short burst of air shot through her nostrils. "It’s alright. Just a little dirt." She returned to the kitchen.

If Luke hadn’t been so hungry, he would’ve been surprised at Samantha’s reaction.