Nothing but words.
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posted : Thursday, September 16, 2010
title : Marley & Me
 When a friend (lehia) told me that my previous story "The dog behind the window" sounded a lot like John Grogan's "Marley and Me", I decided to catch it while surfing the programme listing on Star Movies. The movie was awfully touching and tear-jerking towards the end. It is true isn't it - a dog never judges. It doesn't care whether you're poor or rich, smart or dumb, where you come from. How often is it that you meet people or anything in particular that is able to make you feel special and extraordinary?Anyway since I'm still pretty much caught up in the emotional bandwagon, I've decided to write a short piece expanding on a snippet from "The dog behind the window". Hope you'll enjoy it :) A Dog's last breath. It was a sunny, calm spring afternoon. Sasha woke up to the loud screeches of bickering crows outside on her window sill. Instinctively, she got down to check on Maison, her beloved yellow labrador. Maison riddled with age, could no longer clamber up the stairs. On her daily walks, Sasha noticed Maison's heavy breathing, how her enthusiastic leaps and bounds were now nothing more than a slow crawl. Usually, Maison would stop her at the foot of the stairs with a good lick at her heels. Today, the house was oddly quiet, and Sasha had an uncharacteristic feeling of unsettledness. "Maison!"Sasha cooed, frantically searching around the house. Minute by minute, with no sign of Maison, Sasha became a bundle of nerves. Where could her dog possibly go? Sasha climbed back upstairs to her bedroom. "Honey! Maison's missing!" Henry, his hair still tousled from a deep sleep, woke up with a start. "What do you mean Maison's missing?" "I.. don't know.. I couldn't find him.." Sasha replied between broken sobs. "Ok. calm down. Let's search the place together. I don't think it could have gone far." After twenty minutes into the search, Sasha spotted a heave of yellow-white fur beneath a tree just outside in the garden. She broke into a sprint, collasped onto her knees and fervently hugged her yellow lab. Maison appeared motionless, it eyes wincing in pain. "Henry! Maison's here! Something's wrong with it!" ***** They sent him to the vet, and was asked to leave him there for the night while the clinic checked up on whatever's wrong. Sasha tossed and turned in bed. Her mind clouded with pessimistic thoughts, tainted with her 14 year memory spent with Maison. "Honey, I'm scared.. I don't want to lose Maison.." Sasha weeped, feeling more hopeless about the whole situation. "It's alright. Let's wait it out ok? Maison's a tough guy, everything will be fine!" Henry tried his best to cheer Sasha up. In the silent of the night, they lay beside each other on the wide canopy of the bed, not saying a word, a sense of ill foreboding hung heavy in the surrounding atmosphere. ***** "Hello, is this Sasha Wilson?" "Yes, speaking." "I'm Dr. Meredith, calling from the vet. Can you make it down here today? I have important news to discuss with you." "Is Maison alright?" "I've discovered a cancerous growth on his liver that has spread to his kidneys. Given his age, even a surgery will be too risky. I'm afraid he will not be able to live for very much longer..." ***** As Sasha drove to the vet’s, tears kept welling up in her eyes, blurring her vision. She absent-mindedly wiped them away, not caring if her face was a mess from the smearing of her mascara. Upon seeing her dog, she threw herself at it, in a tight embrace. “Oh, Maison!” She sobbed, rocking back and forth with the intensity of her emotions. The dog whimpered, as if knowing it’s time was up, and yet not bearing to leave its master behind. ***** “What? Do you expect me to put Maison to sleep?” “I’m just saying that it’s for its good. Can you bear to see Maison dragging his arthritic legs around, living in pain? We both know that his time is coming closer,” Henry retorted. “How could you say that? You have no idea how it depresses me to see Maison this way. It’s no wonder you don’t care, I was the one who brought it up. You only spent like.. what? Two years with him?” “It’s not just about you Sasha. I care about Maison. Do you ever care about what Maison needs? Yes, we’ll miss him.. but at the expense of him living in pain for another few days before he actually dies?” Maison lay on its usual spot on the rug. The harsh tones of the quarrel reverberating in the living room. It saddened him to listen to Sasha and Henry fight over him, much more than his own physical pains. ***** Just yesterday, Henry and Sasha took a day’s leave from their work. They spent it with Maison, a morning stroll in the park, the best pedigree kibbles for meals. They carried Maison up the stairs and into the bedroom, where it spent the night on their bed. Now, Maison lay on the operating table. Sasha knew what was going to happen next. It was too tough to bear, the depression weighed down on her like heavy lead. And yet, the decision was made. There was no turning back. Maison stared back at Sasha with its watery black beady eyes. “Maison, you’ll always be the best thing that happened to me. I love you with all my heart and soul. Thank you for being there for me all these years. I couldn’t have done it without you by my side. You’ve made me feel special and worthy and made life worth living for.” Sasha kissed Maison on its head. It let out a small bark as if to say “I will miss you too”. A small tear travelled down the side of its face as the sedative effects of the medication took control of his body and its eyes slowly closed, taking in the last glance at its owner. |
Sherlyn.
