A Klingon named Trouble — the final chapter
I think that the Klingon that I call Trouble has now left us to join her sister. I don’t know these things for sure, but I could see No. 2 boo-hooing again, and that for me is a strong hint.
They say that Klingons have nine lives. I can believe it now, because she went through three of them just in one week.
First of all, one afternoon the humans raised a huge fuss because they saw Trouble lurching across the patio. They took her inside but she couldn’t stand up. She went under the table and flopped right down on her side. We were getting all set to take her to That Place, but suddenly after 30 minutes she just popped right up as if nothing had happened! “Okay, so much for life number one! I’m on to life number two now!”
Two days later, Trouble ran away. She’s done this before (and gave the humans a worry and a half I might add). But not when she was so skinny, and not when she had just had a sinking fit two days earlier.
The humans went to look for her, but they couldn’t find her. Their faces were very sad. Usually the neighborhood Klingons go down to the bottom of the gulch where there’s a little stream. They figured that’s where Trouble had gone, to look for a drink of water. The humans can’t go there because of some plant called poison oak.
Several hours later, No. 2 went outside to take out the trash. He came back inside and said, “I saw a rainbow!” You have to understand that No. 2 is a big fan of rainbows. Don’t know why, but he collects rainbow sightings like some dogs collect bones.
Well, it wasn’t but another five minutes before there was a little meow at the door. No. 2 went to open it, and darned if that Klingon wasn’t sitting right there on the doorstep! You should have seen the looks on the humans’ faces. Trouble walked in the door and started eating kibble. No. 1 started boo-hooing. No. 2 didn’t have his camera, but later on he made this picture with stickers.
Walking home under the rainbow bridge.
So now she was on to life number three. For three days, No. 2 fussed over her like she was an angel come to Earth. He went and got her a fountain for the patio, because it seemed as if the thing that she wanted most was fresh running water.
It makes a nice sound.
No. 2 thought she might try to drink from it, but she didn’t. She just sat there and listened to it for hours on end.
But on day number four of Trouble’s life as an angel, there was more trouble. She wouldn’t eat any more.
Sweet dreams, Trouble
So they bundled her up and took her away. And that was the end of Trouble’s last week with us. I never saw a week like that before, and I hope I never will again.
Trouble on the windowsill, a few years ago.
The humans’ name for her was Maikai, which No. 2 explains is the Hawaiian word for “beautiful.”
In Memoriam Maikai Mackenzie, 1990-2009
Woofs,
Willie
Edited: September 26th, 2011
