The Last Rose and His Moon.

"Qamari"

Drawn in toned paper and edited for highlights

A common story where a man meets a woman, he fell first and so did she. They had a happy ending, or so they thought.

The man woke up from unconsciousness, feeling confused and disoriented "Something is wrong" he said. It seemed like his body felt unfamiliar, he walked up to the mirror, "What happened?"
The man seems to be astonished for he woke up in a different body, not just body, but rather to a completely different being - a black cat.
All he remembered was the car accident that happened yesterday and that he was rushed to the hospital. The last thing he saw was the woman's crying face and calling for his name. After that, it was black.

The man knew he had to find the woman he loved. He went to the hospital where he had last seen her, and there she was weeping for his unconscious body. Holding his hand and kissing his cheeks, while whispering, "Come back to me." The sight greatly saddened him. He walked towards her, to catch her attention.

She saw him, and the crying stopped. As someone who is fond of feline creatures, the woman could not resist but caress the cat, "Why are you here, love?" The cat has no collar, "Are you lost, you cannot be in here".
She lifted the cat and put him on her lap. The man in the form of a cat, showed affection, purring, holding onto her hand, in a way of telling her that he missed her so much. For a while, the woman was preoccupied with the affectionate cat. She felt comfortable and a sense of familiarity. "It is like you have been sent by someone I know. Can I keep you?" asked she. The cat meowed as if agreeing to the question.

The woman and the cat went home. "You are surprisingly clean for a stray". Nevertheless, the woman bathed the cat, he was calm and seemed to like it. Thereafter, she gave him a comfortable mat to sleep on "Goodnight, Kitty." Then, it occurred to her. "That's right I haven't given you a name yet. What should I name you? I was fond of calling you Love..." the woman suggested names, but it sounded wrong.

"It is decided then, your name is Love" The man felt happy that she saw the woman smile, thanking death and fate for turning him into a cat despite the situation. The cat waited for the woman to fall asleep, he decided to go to her bed, and stared at her, "Still beautiful as always, I hope you have a good night's sleep, Qamari." He decided to sleep beside her and snuggled close. Morning came, the cat went to the kitchen and there he found her preparing his meal. The sun shone unto her face, "The rays were made for her, illuminating the beauty that she already has". He cannot help but feel sad at the thought that if he was still a human, he would run up to her and hug her by surprise.

That day, the woman left for the hospital to visit the man's body. On her way back home, a new flower shop caught her attention. "Maybe it is not bad to stop by". There she saw the florist who seemed to be arranging a bouquet. He turned around to see who went in, as the bell rang at the door. "Hi, what flower would you like to take for today?" The shop had a girly vibe with brown, white, and gold accents on the furniture and walls, it would seem that the owner had a pretty and bubbly personality judging by the choice of colors. However, what he saw was a man whose looks did not match the said vibe. He seemed like a dad who was forced to attend a tea party of his seven-year-old daughter. Nevertheless, she strikes up a conversation.

"Hi, I was just gonna look around, hope you don't mind".
"Not at all, please feel free to even talk to them" he answered with a smile.
"Talk to them?"
"Yes, they quite like it when people talk to them. They strive in people's energy and voices too."
"Oh, that was good to know. Do you happen to have a plant that I can grow at home?"
"Yes, of course. We have a variety set of flowers, some need to be given a lot of attention, some are sensitive, you need to water them, and some are low maintenance."
Their conversation seems to be going well and the woman finally went home.

At home, the cat was waiting for her. She told him how her day went and that maybe she could bring him to the flower shop. Nighttime came. She saw the woman sitting on the veranda singing with her guitar. "The moon seems to shine to witness her sing." He walks up to her and sits quietly beside her. The woman smiled and continued singing.

"You know it's been two years since the last day he listened to my singing."
"Two years? But the accident just happened a day before" thought the man, he knew she was referring to him.
"It has been two years, from this exact day when he got into an accident. I missed him so much."

The cat could not believe that his body was sleeping for two years. For two years his wife still took care and stayed with him. He felt a deep sting inside his heart, realizing how much she wept for him, how many tears she shed beside him, while not hearing her sobs, how much she talked about her day, but not getting replies. He thought about how much love she gave to him, but he could not give them back. The woman went to bed, but the cat had a lot of things on his mind.

The woman and the cat went to the flower shop the next day.
The atmosphere between the woman and the florist was filled with laughter and smiles.
While this sight of them disheartened the cat, he felt relieved to see the woman with that glow again. "Ah, maybe it is time to go to the other side. I want to be with her for the rest of my life, but that life has already ended." The cat cried at this thought. Days went by, and they came and went to the flower shop.

One day, the cat ventured a little bit outside, while the woman was not around. He went to that flower shop and stole a rose that was displayed outside, "Well, I think he will forgive me for this."
It was in the middle of the night when the cat bid his farewell to the woman. He was ready.
"There is nothing for me here, Qamari. You need to let me go and you need to let me pass". Then the cat kissed her goodbye on the forehead.

The woman woke up with the rose beside her. She was confused as to where this rose came from.
She called the cat to give him his meal, but it did not respond. Suddenly, she got a call from the hospital.
Her knees gave out and cried heavily on the floor. The man was gone, and so was the cat.

That night the cat thought that she would never let him go until the man's body was holding on. He cannot go back, what's holding him into this realm is the grief, sadness, yearning, and love of the woman for him, but he cannot stay for very long. He is fully aware that he needs to cross, so he went away.

He walked for hours and eventually got tired. He decided to rest and lay down for a moment. Suddenly, the accident flashed into his mind. He realized that the cat where his soul is housed right now, was also involved in the accident. "Oh, I see. So we both need to cross huh?" Slowly the cat's breathing seemed to weaken. He was contented and happy, "It is with deep regrets that I am leaving her this way, but I was grateful to see her one last time. I hope she kept the last rose that I got her, I hope even 10 years from now she still remembers me". The cat was filled with so many emotions at his very last moments.

"Qamari, My Moon, I do not wish for that last rose to wither, but such is impossible in this life".

Years went by, the woman and the florist fell in love. The florist propagated the rose, turning it into a beautiful garden.

Turns out that the last rose that the cat gave to the woman was never truly the last, as it continued to grow and thrive just like the love that the man had for her - Roses bloomed from the last Rose.

- R