My friend, Nora, and I witnessed something this morning that blew my mind. Before I tell you what it was, let me tell you a little backstory.

Late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, my cat (Harley) was struck by a car and killed. My neighbor found her laying in the street dead, the left side of her face was crushed and her eyeball hanging out onto her sweet little cheek. The rest of her was unscathed.

My neighbor (Don Wildman, the host of the History Channel's "Cities of the Underworld") buried Harley in my backyard for me. He and his wife were incredibly sweet and caring throughout the ordeal. Mrs. Wildman was the one who found Harley. Both of them broke the news to Nora when she was out looking for Harley.

Since Sunday, my house has been very quiet. Except for the sounds of weeping. Nora and I both break down often. We've been through a lot in the past 5 years and this tragic event has us shellshocked. The remaining three cats have also been acting quite depressed, especially Trixie, the little calico who was raised with Harley.

My other calico, Gracie, who already went through the death of her sister, Sunny, last year, is really the subject of this blog, however.

Early this morning, I asked Nora to put Harley's basket on the floor so all the cats could check it out. Harley spent a lot of time in it and it's got her scent all over it. Trixie sniffed the basket a few times and walked away looking very sad.

What happened next was incredible. Gracie walked past the basket. She jumped up on a nearby table and rooted around in this bag of fabric scraps that I've been meaning to add to my sewing notions. Gracie found a piece of black lace, about the size of a hankerchief, picked it up in her mouth, then walked over to Harley's basket, laid the lace inside the basket, then straightened it out inside the basket with one paw.

After a moment, she looked up at Nora and then at me, then walked away...

Nora and I stared at each other for a while. How would a cat know that black lace was so appropriate a choice? We don't know. But one thing is for certain, Gracie wanted us to know that she knows that Harley is gone and she is grieving for her.