This short piece is about the girl and her four-legged friend- my sudden inspiration from watching a girl in the bus craddling her blue fluffed-up Carebear...

THE DOG BEHIND THE WINDOW

The girl looked past the window panes of the local animal store. There, just below the store name, inside a cage, a yellow labrador puppy rested. Its head bent low, its two front paws spread out on each side. It stared back at the girl outside the store, beyond its four-cornered world. Doe-eyed amazement replaced its nonchalance and boredom. It watched the girl approach the door tentatively, opening it, and then stepping closer. There is the clinging of a wind chime as a gust of wind escaped into the store from outside. The dog stood up, apprehensive of the girl's looming appearance -the same person that came by every single day for the past months.

The store-owner, a balding middle-aged man with eyes that twinkled each time he smiled, strolled over. With usual friendliness, he chatted with the girl, who only laid eyes on the dog in front of her. From within her side pockets, she emptied all her hard-earned savings -a wad of crinkled-up notes and the remnants of coins onto the nearby cashier counter. Seized by a longing so deep and a determination so strong, she pointed at the dog, non-verbally communicating her heartfelt desire, something that words alone cannot justify nor describe. In a few minutes, the dog was hers. And that was all that matters. It was not a silly one-time infatuation, but within her heart struck a passion so furious, a love so pure.

Days passed, then months, then years. The bond between dog and girl grew stronger. There was no need for the exchange of words to know how each cared for the other. There was no need to cautiously amend one's ways to suit the other. At times the girl was upset, the dog would cheer her up by licking her palms and resting its head on her thighs. In moments like this, when despair for the human world surmounted, the girl would hold the dog near and cry away her sorrows. Her tears seeping on the dog's yellow fur, her burden shared with an animal who could not judge, would never berate. There was a solace in its company. Knowing that it never changed, its loyalty never wavered. She could be sad and needed time alone, and it would wait comprehensively in a corner, channeling waves of assurance through the distance. When she complained and moaned, it would stay put and lend a listening ear. Once forlorn, a seed of happiness was planted within her. The dog became her one true best friend, her shelter when all she needed was protection from the pervading sadness of her world. It was like a shadow of her, mimicking her ways, following her actions. They shared meal times and bedtimes. She would groovy along to the latest hits on MTV and it would bark along. Love was never an issue about reciprocity, rather, a natural act of feelings.

Alas, fortunate things do not last forever. When time came for the dog to leave the world, along with its demise, a little portion of the girl's heart ceased to function. It was a gaping hole that cannot be replaced nor amended. Nevertheless, memories kept her alive, breathing life into her. There was no regret, but an overwhelming fulfilment that there never was a time where each took the other's presence for granted. Time was just a continuum where both lives intertwined, like fate's whisper. Till the day came for the girl to herself vanish from earth's surface and become history, she would continue to pass by the same animal store, reliving the memories...

Happy birthday Singapore!