The tabby cat, Groot, approached the wall, fixed her eyes on Cleo’s photograph and rose onto her hind legs to reach it. She stretched out one little paw, with a tenderness that was anything but accidental, and stroked the ear of the dog who had been her best friend. Cleo is no longer here, but the gesture remains the same.
Asya Cutrino, her owner, filmed the moment and uploaded it to TikTok. It isn’t a game; it’s a memory. It’s affection that keeps searching for the one who received it.
Maybe Groot doesn’t understand the absence. But she does know who she wants to stroke.