Answer:
As he aged, the sadness he experienced continued to grow.
The narrator realizes he cannot find the cat, but doesn't worry too much about it. Later, the police unexpectedly show up to his house. Screaming can be heard coming from inside the walls, and the police break down the wall. So find something similar to that.
"She said she could play the piano"
Indirect speech isn't quoting the character's exact words but instead reporting what they/she/he said- It is also sometimes called reported speech
reported speech
[reported speech]
a speaker's words reported in subordinate clauses governed by a reporting verb, with the required changes of person and tense (e.g. he said that he would go, based on I will go).Also called indirect speech. Contrasted with direct speech.
to highlight the contradiction between the Declaration of Independence and slavery