Vagary (noun): an unexpected change in a situation or in someone's behavior

Every time the night fell, a few moths hung by the window. With unadorned brown wings and slightly stout bodies, these nighttime butterflies never attracted more than a glance of attention.

Except for the cat.

The sleek, black feline spent hours every night, perched on its hindlegs, pawing and swiping at the fluttering figures in the air. Every once in a while its small paws would snag on a moth, which it then proudly claimed as its trophy for the evening.

Not tonight, though. Where the cat usually played stood a golden retriever, its warm and radiant fur a stark contrast to the midnight black of its friend. The dog sat in the same way, hindlegs hunched and paws in the air, swishing left and right at the little brown wings.

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“What’s he doing?” asked a human, curiously peeking at the dog.

An older voice laughed softly. “I’m not sure, but that’s what Oreo does, huh?”

The smaller human nodded and said, “I hope Oreo will be okay. She’s a nice cat. When is she coming home?”

A pause.

For a moment, a silence settled on the household, only the swishing noises of the dog’s paws to be heard.

“She…” The voice hesitated. “I don’t know, but I hope she comes back, too.”

Despite the clear signs from the dog, the older human couldn’t bear to tell her child the truth. Oreo the cat would never return from the vet, and it seems that her golden retriever friend was already saying goodbye to its moth-chasing ghost.