Lost Cat returned home

We forget how grateful some moments make us feel and how we feel when they are safe or recovered from illness. I am writing here about the happiest of feelings. My greatest moments came when my pets were also experiencing happiness.
For example, I have a story that is both happy and sad; it is about a kitten who ran away when he was very little, he got lost just one month short of his first birthday.
I had opened the door and just put a few pieces of clay faces to dry on the porch and I thought I saw a shadow for a quick second. Next I couldn’t find him in the house that late evening. It was wintertime with not a lot of snow yet fallen, and I remember walking with a flashlight and pointing it on bushes on neighbors gardens and roads to garages on the ground near their houses. I pointed the flashlight everywhere except under cars; it would have been too cold to stop walking to kneel down. I went to my room and I started reading reassuring stories of how cats got loose and then came back the following morning.
The next morning I was devastated because he did not come home. It was morning and the sun was beginning to rise. When my mom woke up she started saying that he probably was run over by a car. I went outside and called for him but there was no sign of him. I was thinking how is my family going to forgive me. I went home and waited for him but still no sign of him coming back. The only sound was from my other cat; she was scratching at the window and later she came scratching at the door. I opened the door because I was curious and he ran into my arms all puffed up and scared.

If you had a similar experience happen, I would love to read your post about it in the comments

If you have a personal story to share, drop it in the comments; I would love to read it

If you can relate to my story, write it in the comments

I am curious if you had a similar emotional experience