But she eventually forgot they were there.
One Friday evening, my father received a motion alert on his phone. He opened the footage, expecting to see a raccoon knocking over the trash cans.
Instead, he saw an enormous animal step out of the darkness.
At first, he thought it was a large dog.
Then the animal turned its head toward the camera.
Two rounded ears. A broad face. Powerful shoulders. A long, thick tail curling behind its body.
My father stopped breathing for a moment.
He replayed the footage.
The animal walked onto the porch as confidently as if it owned the place. It lowered its head and began eating from the bowl Grandma had left beside the door.
Then it stretched its front legs, settled onto the wooden boards, and closed its eyes.
My father leaned closer to the screen.
It wasn’t a dog.
It wasn’t a house cat.
