Alex makes it to the other side

Alex was so drowsy he couldn't keep his eyes open, and he was only vaguely aware of shapes drifting in and out of his vision.  For a moment he felt weightless and surrounded by a great light.  Then he was looking down, watching three people hovering over the body of a cat that was lying on a metal table.  He had a vague recollection that there was something familiar about the scene he was watching, but couldn't quite place it.  Then he realized that it was his own body, the one he was no longer in.  He watched with interest for a little while until the older woman and her grown daughter left the room, hunched over and trying to hold back tears.  Alex knew them, of course.  He had lived with them for a very long time, and felt their sadness to the core of his being.   He was aware that they believed they would never be with him again.  Alex was surprised at this, because obviously he was still right here and could follow them home right now if he wanted to, without even having to ride in that awful car.  Alex really hated that car. 
    
Instead of following Margo and Emily, though, Alex began to perceive something else - at first it was just a feeling, but then it began to take shape.  He started to notice that he was being drawn to a beautiful garden-like area where the colors seemed vibrantly radiant and smells were irresistable, and so he began to wander in this paradise, amazed by how much more alive he  felt.  That's when he suddenly remembered that the physical body he had left behind had been so old and tired and painful from the disease he had succumbed to.  Alex realized that he hadn't felt any pain at all since he had gone through the change.  No more stiffness either.  He looked at his fur and realized how glossy and beautiful it was now.  Then he remembered Margo and Emily, and remembered how they used to brush his fur until it glistened like this. 

As Alex remembered Margo and Emily, suddenly there he was back in the garden behind the house with them.  Emily was holding a box with his name  engraved on it, and there were several friends and  neighbors of Emily and Margo standing around solemnly talking about him.  Margo was just relating a story of how much she had enjoyed holding Alex in her lap and brushing him, and how much he had loved that.  The people chatted for a while longer and remembered Alex with affection and said they would never forget him.  All  the while ignoring the fact that he was right there, rubbing against their legs and purring.  It would take some time to get used to the fact that in his old life no one could see him and didn't know he could  visit whenever he wanted to.  It distressed him that he felt so much sadness when they talked about him, but Alex couldn't climb on a lap and purr his reassurance that all was well, since no one felt him.  He got so frustrated that he decided to go back to the golden garden he had been in.  Except now he wasn't really sure how to get there, so he went in the house, climbed up to his favorite spot on the windowsill to think about it, and fell asleep. 

Next time - Alex meets the others