"I love you. Always have, always will." Rhea managed to stutter finally.
It had been so long since she had spoken that her own voice seemed new to her.
It had been a long day, she was exhausted beyond limits. She had held her dog's head in her lap all through the morning. She'd keep her there even longer but some time in the afternoon, her family had decided to put the dog down.
'Who are you to decide her death?' she had screamed over and over again in her mind. Only if she could muster up the strength to speak out.
She knew that her dog was going through a lot of pain and would eventually be Death's guest. She didn't want her dog to die a painful death either and she realised that by putting her down, they had given her an easy, painless death. She was glad her dog wasn't in pain anymore. But what about her own pain? What about all those haunting memories she couldn't steer clear of? Would she ever be whole again, would she be able to talk about her dog without breaking down, she wondered.
"You need to let go of her. It's time." Rhea's mother had patted the dog one last time before they took the dog away. "We'll get you a new dog soon, dear," her mother had promised, as she held Rhea in her arms while she sobbed.
'Easy for you to say' she had thought.
"Rhea, come on. Let's go home." Her brother's voice brought her back to reality.
She had been sitting for so long near the place where her dog had been buried, her legs had gone numb. She stood up and sighed.
"I'll miss you, Lia. I already do."
Once back in her room, Rhea took out her scrapbooks and sat on her bed. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she flipped through each photography of Lia's.
Lia
Her thoughts raced back to the time when she had found Lia. A puppy, about a couple of weeks old, wandering off on the streets all alone. On a school morning, just a few days after her tenth birthday, Rhea had urged her father to stop the car when she had seen something move near the dumpster.
She had returned to her father with a little white puppy in her hand. As much as the man wanted to deny taking the puppy home, he had to relent to his daughter's pleads. Rhea, who had always been a shy kid, never felt lonely after that day. She named her dog Lia and Lia was her world.
Their bond only grew stronger with the years, Rhea even denied the offers from prestigious colleges just so she could stay with Lia. But little had she known that on a fateful day Lia would be put down because of osteosarcoma.
They had taken away Lia's pain and inflicted Rhea with a new kind of pain, a pain without a remedy.
It had been so long since she had spoken that her own voice seemed new to her.
It had been a long day, she was exhausted beyond limits. She had held her dog's head in her lap all through the morning. She'd keep her there even longer but some time in the afternoon, her family had decided to put the dog down.
'Who are you to decide her death?' she had screamed over and over again in her mind. Only if she could muster up the strength to speak out.
She knew that her dog was going through a lot of pain and would eventually be Death's guest. She didn't want her dog to die a painful death either and she realised that by putting her down, they had given her an easy, painless death. She was glad her dog wasn't in pain anymore. But what about her own pain? What about all those haunting memories she couldn't steer clear of? Would she ever be whole again, would she be able to talk about her dog without breaking down, she wondered.
"You need to let go of her. It's time." Rhea's mother had patted the dog one last time before they took the dog away. "We'll get you a new dog soon, dear," her mother had promised, as she held Rhea in her arms while she sobbed.
'Easy for you to say' she had thought.
"Rhea, come on. Let's go home." Her brother's voice brought her back to reality.
She had been sitting for so long near the place where her dog had been buried, her legs had gone numb. She stood up and sighed.
"I'll miss you, Lia. I already do."
Once back in her room, Rhea took out her scrapbooks and sat on her bed. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she flipped through each photography of Lia's.
Lia
Her thoughts raced back to the time when she had found Lia. A puppy, about a couple of weeks old, wandering off on the streets all alone. On a school morning, just a few days after her tenth birthday, Rhea had urged her father to stop the car when she had seen something move near the dumpster.
She had returned to her father with a little white puppy in her hand. As much as the man wanted to deny taking the puppy home, he had to relent to his daughter's pleads. Rhea, who had always been a shy kid, never felt lonely after that day. She named her dog Lia and Lia was her world.
Their bond only grew stronger with the years, Rhea even denied the offers from prestigious colleges just so she could stay with Lia. But little had she known that on a fateful day Lia would be put down because of osteosarcoma.
They had taken away Lia's pain and inflicted Rhea with a new kind of pain, a pain without a remedy.
2 comments:
Tears in my eyes. I did the same for my darling pomeranian Ronnie who came home when he was 1 month old and was with us for 12 years. He had serious liver and kidney failure and was in severe pain, before we decided to let go.
I'm sorry for your loss but I'm sure you have enough memories to last for a lifetime. Dogs are angels, aren't they? :') <3
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