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It's never easy to say goodbye...
 (From Crap I Drew on My Lunch Break. Click on image to see full-sized image.)
It seems one of the things people enjoy most about the internet is being able to write about their lives and let their friends around the world know how they're doing. Whether it's Maritza Campos telling of giving birth or of Kaja Foglio telling of how her husband is doing at ComicCon or even just some kid griping about their day on some blog, the net seems to be a gathering ground for people to tell how they feel and what's going on in their lives.
Naturally, web comics are no different. We may have science fiction comics and fantasy comics and college comics and even pornographic comics... but we also have comics about people's lives, whether idealized or sardonic or even autobiographical. I've mentioned The Devil's Panties before as such an example, and another is the cute and amusingly titled Crap I Drew on My Lunch Break (fortunately the URL is much shorter *grin*).
CID (as I'll refer to it for short) often takes an amusing look at Jin Wicked's life. (I must admit to being most amused by the name... I don't know if that's her real name or if it's just an internet handle, but it's quite the name, and she seems to fit it with a tendency to speak her mind and not let people cow her or the like.
However, CID isn't always fun and games, as today's comic shows. I'm sure most of us have had the misfortune of losing a beloved pet. I once lost a cat who I'd gotten as a child... that cat lived 19 years, into my adulthood, and when she died, it devastated me. I still get worked up over pets, and resisted getting a new pet for years; because I didn't want to relive that pain of loss when she died of old age.
Yuki has appeared in the comic before. I remember one scene in particular with Jin shaving Yuki to deal with bugs, and a little thought balloon over the rat's head thinking of how she'd prefer having been eaten by a snake instead. But still... for a year, Yuki was a beloved pet, and showed Jin much affection and maybe even love. (Yes, one of my professors who's a psychologist may disagree about pets loving their owners and it just being anthropomorphization by pet owners... but still, I like to think that if you love an animal, that they can learn to love back. It's not just a human emotion.)
Jin had Yuki die in her arms, soon before she was going to bring her to the vet. Hearing her statement below the comic... it broke me up. Silly, I know. I mean, this is a rat... it's not my pet... but I still feel horrible for Jin... and for the loss of Yuki. I wish this hadn't happened... that Jin could have kept her for more years. Still, for at least one year, Yuki was loved... and she will be remembered.
And immortalized on the web.
We'll meet on the Rainbow Bridge, Yuki. Jin... my heart (and the Kittens as well) go out to you.
The rest of you... go read CID. It's well worth it.
Robert A. Howard
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