Reine
Okay, I've got to face it.
Pochi is getting weaker.
He still greets us when we enter the door, but he's much slower now.
He doesn't really eat much and now Neil tries to feed him slowly so that something will go into his stomach. It takes about two hours for Pochi to finish one bowl of food while previously he would gobble it down like there's no tomorrow. In the end, I try to divide the food into smaller portions and feed him at a regular interval.
He spends increasingly amount of time sleeping, and truth to be told, every time he does that, I will regularly check whether he is still breathing.
However, there are times when he's writhing in pain, and usually Neil and I will go to his side and I will sing a tune as Neil strokes him until he calms down.
It's obviously getting increasingly painful for Pochi.
Neil doesn't speak much, but I know he's been reading about hemangiosarcoma.
I can feel it: it's getting increasingly painful for Neil.
I see Pochi trying his best to seem cheerful and Neil tries to hide his feelings: it's getting increasingly painful for me, too.
Suddenly an idea comes up into my mind. "Neil, why don't you ask Felicity to draw you and Pochi together?"
Neil doesn't reply, so I turn my head and look at him. "Neil?"
He crouches down and strokes Pochi gently, his eyes displaying the same rare gentleness which I saw that day when he took Pochi in.
"Maybe I should..." he replies with a low voice before he kisses Pochi's head.
Neil
We agree to meet up at the park and she shows up promptly at one. Besides her drawing equipment, she brings a camera with her. She wears a short blue summer dress, the same blue with her eyes.
"Thanks, by the way."
"No problem," she replies with a smile.
When I introduce Pochi to her, she seems a bit scared at first, but eventually she is brave enough to stroke his head gently. Pochi licks her hand and she immediately retracts it. "It's okay, he won't bite." I tell her.
She nods and lets Pochi licks her hand.
"You can sit there with Pochi," she motions to the nearby bench. "I will take a picture of you first in case we can't finish it today."
I sit on the bench with Pochi cradled in my arms, but suddenly Pochi struggles. "Huh? What is it, Pochi?"
"Woof! Woof!" he barks excitedly.
I turn at the direction where he's staring.
I should've guessed. It's Pochi's favourite.
"Hey," When she looks at the other girl, they look a bit... awkward. And I thought they're good friends from middle high school.
"Pochi, stay still." I tell him.
Pochi extends his front legs to Reine.
I sigh long. "I think he wants you here."
"Would that be alright?" Reine turns at the blue-eyed girl.
She seems reluctant at first, but eventually she nods. "Sure, go ahead."
I slide down the bench to give her some space as she sits next to me. Pochi puts his head and front legs on her thigh, so now he's lying on both of us. Reine strokes his head very gently as she giggles softly. "What a spoiled boy," she says in an adoring tone.
Pochi whines lazily as he makes himself comfortable on Reine's lap. In doing so, Pochi pulls Reine closer to me so that he doesn't have to stretch his body. I accidentally touch her hand when she moves closer and I immediately take my hand back, but she doesn't seem to notice it since all her attention is solely for Pochi. She hums softly, something that she always do to lull Pochi.
"I'm done," the blue-eyed girl declares. "I will give it to you when I'm done."
"Thanks,"
I shake Pochi gently, "Wake up, cheapskate," I say, "Do you want a walk with Reine?"
He doesn't respond.
I shake him again, this time a bit harder. "Pochi?"
I did a bit of reading about hemangiosarcoma and found out if the tumour ruptured, it would cause a great blood loss that could kill Pochi instantly.
The first drop of water falls on his body. I look up and see the black clouds are gathered above us, and soon the rain pours over us.
It's just like the day I met Pochi.
Pochi is not just a pet for me: he is my companion, my brother from another species. He always woke me up each morning and would climb to my bed each night.
I let the rain pour on my face, in an attempt to cover my tears.
However, I can still feel it flowing down on my face, unable to stop it myself.
Reine
Neil takes off his jacket and wraps it around Pochi like a blanket. I take my umbrella and put it over them.
In silence, we go over to Neil's house where he gives Pochi to me. "I'll be back," he says.
I bring Pochi closer to me. Usually, if I do this, Pochi will immediately lick my face. But now, he stays still.
Pochi won't feel pain anymore, I tell myself.
But it's getting extremely painful for me and Neil, although he says nothing about it.
He comes out from the house with a shovel in his hand and leads me to the back of his house, where he starts digging in silence, letting the rain to fall over his head as he does so. After the hole is deep enough, he asks me to hand Pochi over.
I take a last glance at Pochi and kiss his head. I guess, it's goodbye.
He buries Pochi along with his jacket and we make a marking on his grave together. I put the umbrella over his head while trying to stop my tears.
Neil puts his hand over my head and gently pulls me closer to him. I rest my head on his chest, couldn't care less about the dirt that covers his shirt, his chest feels like a peculiar mixture of cold and warmth at the same time. I put my arms around him, letting the umbrella fall to the ground, and both of us are immediately soaked by the rain.
Pochi, to say that you will be missed, will be a severe understatement.
I'd admit: it's hard to create this chapter. I mean, yeah...
Just to let you know, Pochi in this story is a dedication to a dog with the same name who belonged to my friend. Pochi (in real life) also died of cancer, although it's different kind of cancer.
I hope you will still continue reading this story even after Pochi is not here
Please rate and review (again, no funny emoji)