Everything that lives is destined to end… life is a cycle of departures and new beginnings.

…

You were born on 25th of December, 2018. We brought you home on 17th of March, and our bond was sealed forever.

For the first time, taking responsibility did not make me feel scared, but rather, brave, and changed me deeply.

The next day, when I came home from school, you leapt into my arms as soon as I opened the gate. At that moment, I fell in genuine love, and vowed to put love in all your life.

Back then you were weak and small. With furs on your back that flows like silk. A cute little baby that holds curiosity of everything. You would sometimes fiddle with your own reflection through the mirror, other times you gently gnawed on the rail of my chair to feel your new teeth.

We also discovered your quirky behaviour of chewing tissues, which always made us laugh. And when you finally grew bigger and became more mature, we no longer keep you in the cage when all of us are out. You would also become increasingly interested while riding a car, putting your paws on the centre pedestal and take a look into the passing surroundings.

In 2020, when the pandemic began, Shanghai’s in lockdown and our walks outside became rare. The situation escalated and we finally made the heart-wrenching decision to send you to grandpa’s home in the next year, where you can roam freely and have no flights to climb.

I spent the entire summer holiday with you. Back from the urban area of Shanghai, everything runs at a slower pace. We have no worries of being banned to go out, and you can run freely in house, instead of being constrained on space.

At the end of that holiday, I have to go back in class. The moment I start collecting things, scrubbing through checklists, you were there at the gate as if someone had told you the separation. I looked back and saw your eyes, with the reflection of tears.

I tried my best not to cry, but could not.

Two years passed since that last separation. The day was dark and cold, but none of that could dim my excitement. Riding a lengthy 4 hours journey can’t obscure the joy of reuniting, not even close.

When I finally arrived, you screamed with joy and leapt onto my shoulders. The silky touch of your fur still remains, like it has always been. Shaking and waving your furry tail, it felt as if you were washing away all the loneliness and stress we had endured.

Some may agree that words can describe a wonderful world, yet it fails fast for this moment. I was in a world of happiness, speechless and joyful, of which fortune cannot bring. Every night you would sleep like a child in our bedroom. And during day you would lie on our feet to bring warmth in a freezing weather. You rescued my broken, shattered and dying heart in my darkest times, stitching it back together with your love.

In summer of 2025, I spent another 2 months in the countryside, we cherished every minute together. Walking outdoors for hours everyday really means a lot to you, and for me who has health issues. Every night we set a goal or challenge into motion, continuously breaking the record of kilometres being ran. The scene of a semi-empty park in the late night, hardly visible tunnel-vision with a flashlight, mosquitoes buzzing softly around us.

We didn’t know it then, but that summer would be our last truly happy holiday together. We laughed, played, and rested side by side, enjoying in those ordinary, beautiful days.

Some say that everyone’s life ends in some ways. As life’s cycle continued, fate took a cruel turn. It is discovered that you were suffering from lung cancer in November ~ December period. Desperate for a miracle, we brought you to surgery.

At first it seems that surgery has worked. But it did not take long for us to realize that your weight has been decreasing day by day, soon your strength began to fade, a sign the cancer had spread… Entering the year of 2026, this effect of metastasis continued to grow. Finally it came to an end. You took your final breath on 18th January, 2026, slipping away from us.

They say that a person die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time. But I promise, you will never truly fade. Your memory will live on in our hearts forever.

Thank you… for being with us for those years.