A Visit From the Other Side
On January 21st, 1987, a special furry being came into this world. His name was Rajah, and he was my blue point Himalayan cat. Rajah was my friend and companion for over 15 years, and I loved him dearly. In 2002, he was diagnosed with kidney disease and hypertension, and his health declined very quickly. His body gave up the fight on October 20, 2002, and the loss was devastating to me. I thought I would have to wait decades to see my friend again, but I was wrong.
On December 22, 2002 at around 6:45 am, I was in bed asleep on my right side. Suddenly, I was awakened by the sound and feeling of footsteps at the foot of my bed coming up towards me. I groggily thought that Rajah was padding around, but logic soon kicked in and I remembered he was no longer with me. I panicked and thought someone must be in my home! But what burglar breaks in just to simulate tiny footsteps in your bed? So I disregarded that fear. It had to be Rajah.
The footsteps continued up behind me, and once they reached my hip, I heard purring. As Rajah moved up towards my head, the purring got loud. Quite loud. A huge smile crept across my face, but I did not dare move. He came across my pillow and stopped beside my head.
My right arm was bent upwards with my hand resting next to the pillow. I felt this soft, billowy, cloud-like sensation against my open hand. He was a cross between a gas and a solid, almost ethereal. He lingered against my palm and fingers then passed all the way through my hand. All the while, his purring continued. 
When the purring began to fade, I looked up. Rajah was gone. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I didn't go back to sleep because I was so excited that he had come to see me.
This was the first of many visits to come.