Til the End

I was just a tiny pup when she brought me home. Can't say that these years have been easy, but I certainly wouldn't change them for the world. She promised me from day one, 'We'll always be together. It's you and me, until the end.' And though we've had many challenges since then, she's never, ever broken her promise. So, I have no reason to believe that she will do so now.

The world outside the window continues to taunt me, but I don't have the energy to even bark. I have to wait for her to come back. She'll definitely be back. The squirrels start racing along the fence, as if they can sense my attention is elsewhere, but they aren't worth my time. With a heavy sigh, I lean my head on the window sill. The breath from my nose fogs the glass a little, but I still have the clearest view of the driveway that I can manage from inside the house.

The smell of her sick is still thick in the air. It's sour, like the way fruits smell when they've been left in the refridgerator too long. I tried to ignore it, but the way it lingers in the air only reminds me of just how sick she was when they left.

It was early in the morning. I was laying with her as her breathing became worse. It was far too shallow and rattled like treats in the tin. Immediately I knew something was terribly wrong, so I woke her mate with a heavy paw to his chest. I hadn't been keen on sharing her bed with him at first, but I had never been more grateful to have him there than I was in that moment. He woke up, his own breath full of the same sick as her, but as he saw what was happening, he sprang into action with a frightened cry. After checking her over, he raced over to the phone. I laid with her, whining and letting my tail thump reassuringly against her leg. I had to trust that whatever he was doing would help my girl. Even in her weakened state, she patted my head and whispered kind words with the last of her strength. Her mate returned to her side then, telling her that something called an ambulance was on the way. I wasn't sure what that was, but it seemed to help her relax.

The ambulance turned out to be a big, scary vehicle that I had never seen before. It's flashing lights lit up the night and scary people in masks jumped out of it, coming up to the door. I began to bark then. My girl needed rest, not strange visitors, but her mate grabbed my collar and pulled me into his office. He grabbed my head and I could see the terrified expression on his face. "She's going to be ok. We'll be back, I promise."

That was three days ago. My girl's mother came by every day to feed me and let me out into the yard to pee and poop, but I just don't have it in me to greet her with my usual enthusiasm. She told me that my girl was in the hospital and that the doctors were helping her, but she still wasn't here.

Wait, what's that sound? I perk my ears and try to cran my face closer to the window. I look up the street and watch as my girl's car turns onto our street. She's home! I bark loudly, like I never have before in my life. I can barely contain myself as I watch the car pull into the driveway. Her mate steps out of the driver's seat. He looks at me in the window, but instead of coming to the door, he goes to the trunk of the car. I'm watching him as he pulls out a strange contraption that looks something like a chair on wheels, but he won't acknowledge me. Where is she? That's her car! Did you leave her behind? I'm so frustrated.

The passenger door opens and then I see her. She steps out, pulling herself upright using the door. Her mate cries out, quickly wheeling the strange chair around to her. She pays it no mind as she waves over at me, happy tears in her eyes and a beaming smile on her face. My heart feels like it's going to burst. She's home! She kept her promise, like always. We're going to be together until the end.