At first, I thought he just needed to go outside.<\/p>\n
Murphy usually nudges me or paws the edge of the mattress when he wants something. But that morning, he wasn\u2019t moving\u2014just standing there, frozen, ears slightly back, eyes locked on my face like he was trying to tell me something.<\/p>\n
I groaned and rolled over, still half-asleep, muttering something about \u201cfive more minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
But then I realized something weird.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t looking at me. Not exactly. His head was tilted just slightly\u2026 downward. Toward the space under my bed.<\/p>\n
I sat up fast, heart already picking up. Murphy didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n
I whispered his name. He glanced at me, briefly, then looked back down.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what made me do it, but I swung my legs off the side, lowered my head, and slowly leaned down until my cheek was almost touching the mattress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"