Tanpopo mewed at Daphne as she walked into her apartment. “I’m home, Tanpopo,” she said as he wrapped himself up around her legs. She could feel him softly purring against her leg. “Did you miss me?” she asked. He meowed back at her, looking up with his sparkling eyes. “Oh you’re so cute,” she cooed at him, walking into the kitchen with the filet mignon leftovers.

She put the container down on the counter and opened up the lid. She picked up the piece of meat and sniffed it, trying to determine how seasoned it was.

Behind her, she heard Tanpopo getting excited, speaking at her several times in a high-pitched voice.

Daphne put the meat back into the container, determining it was most likely safe for him. Tanpopo came up next to her and reached one of his white mittened paws up to touch the top of the countertop. “Tanpopo!” she exclaimed, her eyes widening a little and laughing at his behavior.

He meowed at her again, doing his little circle when he was begging for food. She smiled at him and then pulled a fork and a steak knife out of her drawer.

Daphne carefully cut a few small pieces off of the steak, doing her best to create a size that Tanpopo would be able to eat easily. All the while, he was meowing at her with excitement and rubbing her legs.

She pulled the few pieces of meat out of the container and squatted down, placing them in front of Tanpopo. He quickly began scarfing them up, and Daphne couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you even tasting it?” she asked him as he scooped up the last chunk with his tongue.

His eyes met hers, and she could tell that he was asking for more. She giggled, as he came up and rubbed his body on her legs, effectively knocking her onto the floor.

She pet him gently, feeling the soft, fluffy fur between her fingers. He purred and sat down next to her, clearly still hoping to get more. She laughed, but it rang hollow inside of her. Daphne’s chest felt heavy and empty.

“Tanpopo,” she murmured softly, rubbing her fingertips on top of his head. “Was my pursuit of happiness a foolish endeavor?”

Tanpopo seemed to be enjoying the attention, looking at her in adoration while her fingertips swirled his fur around.

“I feel more unhappy than I did before coming back to the past, or this alternative universe…whatever this is,” she told her cat with a sigh. “Am I really doing the right thing?”

Tanpopo pushed his head up into her hand, as if to tell her that she was. She chuckled a little. “Thank you, for the vote of confidence, bud,” she murmured softly.

She thought about the dinner with Gary and how quickly things went south. “I don’t know that he and I ever fought before,” Daphne mumbled. “Was that really the right thing to do? I feel like things have never been worse in our relationship.” She scratched Tanpopo’s ears. “Or maybe Gary is just a lost cause…”

She bit her lip, feeling her stomach churn at the idea that he may try to end things even sooner this time around. Her eyes stung, and against her will, a couple of tears snuck out from her eyes.

I don’t want to start over again. But if he’s going to keep being shitty and not make me happy, what else can I do?

She cleared her eyes and looked over at Tanpopo. His green, yellow eyes were stared into her, and his eyes were big and round, looking at her. He came up close to her torso and rubbed her, wrapping his fluffy tail around the front of her torso.

“Sorry, bud,” she said. “I’m alright.” She started stroking his fur gently again, and he began to softly purr once more. The rhythm of his purr had a calming effect on Daphne, and began to put her at ease, in spite of how bad a day she had.

She smiled at him, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a little hug. “You’re right, Tanpopo,” she said. “You’re all I need to be happy. Screw everyone else!” She raised her fist into the air, and Tanpopo regarded her warily. She giggled a little and offered her hand to him. He happily headbutted into her hand, making sure to rub his entire body on it.

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He turned to look at her, and meowed. He walked up to his food bowl and did his little circle. Daphne laughed a little as a he made a little creaking noise at her. “Why do you sound like an old door?” she asked. He meowed at her again, looking at his food bowl and then back at her. “Oh Tanpopo,” she said. “Don’t you remember me feeding you earlier?” He meowed back at her, as if he was conversing with her.

“You don’t need more food,” she told him definitively. “You’re just being greedy.” He meowed at her in his questioning voice, ending on a high-pitched note. “Yes, greedy,” she confirmed as he came back towards her for additional pets.

She ran her fingers through Tanpopo’s fur, thinking about what had happened over the past few days. I suppose if I’m in the past, that means I might be able to change the future, right? It probably wouldn’t be so straightforward if this is an alternative universe though…

She chewed on her lips. What if I can’t change the future, though? What if I’m doomed to live the last three months of my life miserable and still be murdered at the end of it?

Daphne’s heart ached at the idea that she might not be able to do anything to prevent her death or the loss of her relationship. What is there to live three months for if I won’t even get a shot at being happy? Am I doomed to repeat these last three months over and over again? Am I actually truly in hell?

She sighed, sticking her lower lip out and sending the little strands by her eyes flying. No. I can’t let myself get hopeless. Would I really have been sent back into the past or an alternative universe or whatever this is, if I can’t change the future?

She remembered the mums in the snow, that were not there in her current reality. I refuse to believe that I was sent here without a purpose. But maybe the purpose isn’t what I think it is.

If I am trying something different…and my relationship with Gary is falling apart even sooner than it did before…maybe that just means it was doomed to fail since the start. Was there anything I could have ever done at any point in our relationship to save it? Is it something I did? Is it something about who I am? Or is it something about who Gary is? Are we just incompatible?

She shook her head. Gary aside, the thing that I should be most concerned about changing in the future is the accident. I should be spending my mental energy on trying to figure out who would want me dead… She considered who could have possibly wanted her dead and why.

Daphne stared up at the fire sprinkler at the top of the wall in her kitchen. She narrowed her eyes at it, thinking through all of the people she may have intentionally, or unintentionally, offended.

There’s no one. She nodded at herself. I’ve spent my entire life bending over backwards for people, trying to be as convenient as possible for other people, only to end up murdered. Who would have hated me enough to do such a thing? Was it truly random? Is all I really need to do is not be there at that time and place on the day before Christmas eve?

She reviewed the scene of the accident again in her mind. The squeal of the tires. Being hit from behind. The weight of the truck on her lower body. The woman’s smile.

Daphne shook her head slowly. No. There is absolutely no way it was just a random accident. A normal person without intent to injure would have called an ambulance. They would not have gotten enjoyment from me dying.

She chewed on her lips. This is not good. I have no idea where to begin. I have no suspects, and I have no clue what the person might be motivated by. I will need to be sharp and alert from here on out to look for clues.

She took a deep breath. Outside of that…if I’m truly in the past…what else would I change? She spun her head, looking for Tanpopo, realizing he had left her, and seeing him across the room in his hammock by the couch. What else has happened these past three months?

She chewed on her lower lip again, and reviewed any events she could remember. Just like suspects, nothing came to mind. How boring of a life have I lived? I guess I ought to start living for myself then, she thought. Doing things that I want to do instead of keeping my eyes focused on other people. Have I even really been living all of this time?

And the people around me. How could I have not realized how good of people I was surrounded by? She shook her head at herself. I might have been living to please others, but I was entirely wrapped up in myself. I also want to pay attention to those around me…not just so I can find the killer. But also, because I neglected other people far more than I realized.

She took a deep calming breath. I can do this, she told herself. She stood up slowly and walked over to Tanpopo’s bed.

Thinking about the accident and how she had somehow come back in time had made her chest feel even more hollow than fighting with Gary had.

I have to be able to take this on myself. No one would believe me if I told them the truth.

Tanpopo raised his head up out of the bed and looked up at her tiredly. “At least I have you, Tanpopo,” she said with a small smile before gently patting him. “Thank you so much for existing. I don’t know what I would do without you.”