Su Li's hand rested on Silver's back, and he could feel the little heart beating more and more slowly.
At around three in the afternoon, Silver stopped breathing.
There was no struggle, no sound. It was as though he had fallen asleep and simply never woke up again.
Su Li's hand remained on the cat's back for several seconds. He closed his book and lowered his head to look at the quiet ball of fur in his lap.
"Gone, huh," he said.
When Saina came out of the kitchen, she saw Su Li sitting there with Silver in his arms.
She did not ask anything. She walked over and placed a hand on Silver's head, stroking it once.
The cat's body had already begun to turn cold.
Saina went to the storage room and fetched an iron shovel.
She picked a sunny spot beside the greenhouse and dug down, one shovelful at a time.
Su Li wrapped Silver in the old blanket and laid him in the pit.
By the time Elonore came running over, the hole was already half-filled. She clutched a palm-sized piece of wood in her hand, with the outline of a cat carved into it. The lines were crooked and uneven, as if she had hurried to make it.
"I didn't have time to make it better..." Her eyes were red as she planted the wooden marker in the fresh earth.
Saina brushed the dirt from her hands and looked at the little wooden grave marker.
"You did very well." Her voice was a little hoarse.
The three of them stood there without speaking. Wind swept over the greenhouse's glass roof, producing a faint hum.
Elonore picked a bunch of wildflowers from the roadside and placed them before the marker. Purple and white blooms mingled together,