I had found her while working voluntarily in Paris. It was a cold evening in the winter of 1990. She was trembling violently from the frigid air. She had been hurt, physically and morally by human cruelty. My heart went out to her, so I decided to adopt her. I named her Candy because of her sweetness. When my life started to make a turn for the better, she was still with me. She was with me when I didn't even have a bed and she was with me when I finally did. At all times, she slept purring. Unfortunately, she can't be with me anymore for cats, like all living creatures, do not live eternally. She was diagnosed with kidney failure. She refused any kind of food thus she lost a significant amount of weight. She could not relieve herself due the great pain it caused. I gave her drip for two weeks. We tried to save her but it was too late there was nothing more we could do. I was there when she died at the veterinary clinic. She died in my arms in November 1999. She was 17 years old. Although I was sad, I felt relief that she no longer had to suffer. I whispered sweet words into her ears but I knew she couldn't hear them. I cried. I had never cried on my birthday before. It was the worst birthday I had ever had.