Happy Birthday Harold

Eight years ago my Mom's sweet cat Wolfy came running into the house to let me know that she was ready to have her babies! I got her settled in clean blankets, and came back to check on her periodically. Her first kitten was a tiny orange ball of fluff who SCREAMED through the entire birth of all of his brothers and sisters. I named him Harold, after the redheaded, loud conductor of the Moulin Rouge. =)
Harold was always the silly kitten in the nursery. He was the one who fell head first into the water bowl. The one who was always a little more clumsy then the others...the one with that sweet little lazy eye.
As he grew, he came to be my best little catty friend. He cuddled next to me and purred all night long after my worst break up. He came running when I called and meowed back to let me know he was on the way. He let me pet him for hours without getting bored with me. When the time came for me to move to California, my heart broke. I didn't want to take him away from his mom (his bestest friend in the cat world) and I didn't want to put him in my tiny apartment without a friend. I decided to let him stay with my parents and then, as I got more established, and found a friend for him, bring him out.
Two summers ago, my parent's came to California for a visit and when they returned...Harold was gone. I still remember getting that phone call. I still remember what I was wearing, where I was driving to, and how suddenly everything changed at once. I flew home and drove to countless shelters, called every "missing pet" hotline, and put up millions of flyers. I put up rewards on craigslist and KSL.com. I spent hours driving around calling his name and waiting to hear his loud meow answer back. To this day...I still don't know what happened to my little orange friend, and I probably never will. I still hold out hope that he had a second family. That when I left, he decided to cut his losses and stay with them. I hope he doesn't blame me...I hope he doesn't think that I just left him there...but above all, I hope that wherever he ended up he's happy. So...on this incredibly difficult day I want to say Happy Birthday to my sweet Harold. I hope you come home some day my friend, but if you don't I will always love you and cherish the small amount of time that my life was blessed by yours.