Swishhh
Fallen leaves flew by besides the man and the willful dog, one walking calmly and the other wagging its tail proudly as it strode onward, each step closer to the park, man going to the nearest bench and dog throwing itself to the earth and the dirt.
- Live w-
Bark!
As the man was zoning out again at those haunting words, the dog barked at him, impetuous as always, rough as ever. The man smiled slightly as he watched the dog, a bit more dirty than the las time he looked at it, a bit more cheery since the last time that he glanced at it, bringing him memories of when he was younger and had pets of his own, sometime getting dirty alongside them but never was he bothered by it too much, other than thinking that he might be scolded by his parents, thought that rapidly went to the back of his head as he continued playing around.
Bark! Bark!
The dog called out to him again, this time twice as the dog looked at him with eyes as intense as when he was being called out to go to the park. The man smiled bitterly, 'Seriously, what a willful dog', and then, instead of going to the bench nearby, he went towards the dog, below a tree, a seemingly dying tree, its branches dancing at the rhythm of the wind and its leaves flowing with the breeze, its trunk dry despite the earth moisture.
Under that tree now was man and dog, feeling the weather and at the same time ignoring it. Thee man noticed one of the fallen branches, small and seemingly useful to play catch, if the dog even wanted to play that, or knew what it was about. Trusting his instincts, as he had no other thing to rely on, he pet the dog's head, each time finding it more comfortable to do it compared to the first time, dog takings its tongue out and looking at the branch. There it flew, the dead branch on the sky, at least for a few seconds as the man watched the dog run towards it and masterfully missing to catch it while falling to the dirt and rolling.
"Hahahaha" The man couldn't help but laugh at the sight, a laugh he didn't notice he hadn't made in a long while as he was distracted by watching the dog and its antics of catching the branch. More memories came to his head as he smiled, 'She wasn't too fond of dogs…' he laughed internally at that. He could remember her looking annoyed at dogs barking and scaring the cats, or not letting her sleep or talk calmly. She mouth would make an inverse U, her lips would close tightly and her cheeks would put, her eyebrows would scrunch up a bit, and there it was, her annoyed face. The man smiled warmly at that face, she was so cute, so beautiful, and so radiant.
- I want to have lots of cats!
He could hear her voice again, this time clearer than before. She had such a beautiful voice too.
Bark!
The dog took him from his reverie and looked at him expectantly, moving the branch closer to the man with its mouth. The man smiled warmly at it and grabbed the branch again, moving it lightly as if it to tell the dog he was throwing it again and soon. Off it went, a bit further than before, making a rough arc in the air, and soon, the dog was accompanying it in the sky for the briefest of seconds, failing again to catch the branch. The man chuckled at the repeated failure. Truth was he was fonder of cats too, but dogs always had something, something that always made him feel comfortable.
- Maybe we can have a dog too, but only one! And it must be small and cute!
He heard her voice again, remembering her serious face when she was saying that, so cute he wanted to pinch her cheeks and kiss her.
The dog picked the branch and came towards him excitedly.
- I want to make you happy, my love. As happy as I possibly can, and even more. That's a limit I wouldn't mind breaking
He heard her voice again, sweet and vivid, a tune so beautiful to his ears than even the grandest of orchestras wouldn't match up to it. He could feel her hugging him, it was as if the golden ring on his finger warmly embraced him, not noticing that tears were forming on his eyes.
He saw the dog in front of him, again, wagging its tail with the branch on its mouth. The man smiled and took the branch while petting the dog, "Good boy" he said, wagged the branch a bit on the air and then threw it, even further than last time, even higher this time. He saw each step the dog made towards the branch, so full of life.
- Live well, my love…
He remembered that time when it was only him and her in that world of white, her hand on his cheek, lightly caressing him as he held it. It felt so weak, yet it had such warm that he couldn't help but love it.
- Live well, my love. Live as happy as you possibly can…
He watched the dog jumping up, flying higher than before, more determined than before.
- Live well, my love. Live as happy as you possibly can, even more so…
He remembered how the tears he was holding on started to flow, as she weakly cleaned his stained cheek. Her voice was quiet and hoarse, yet more vibrant and clear than ever, as if death would never be part of it and would never be able to take it away. Unknowingly, his tears started falling, not noticing in his moment of reminiscence.
Then, he watched the dog, as if saying the third time is the charm, grabbing the branch firmly and landing barely yet safely.
- Live well, my love. Live as happy as you possibly can, even more so. That's a limit I will gladly watch over you break it again and again…
Everything convalesced on the most radiant smile she could ever give, one he knew wouldn't be able to be matched, one that he knew that even the most radiant of stars in the Universe would pale in comparison. He lovingly remembered each detail of that beautiful smile, as he would love it until his soul ceased to exist. His tears started falling rapidly as he felt his heart beating with more life as ever, he knelt and sat on the ground as he sobbed.
The dog noticed and left the branch on the ground as it sprinted closer to the man, each time a bit slower until it was walking carefully towards him, licking his hands softly. The man looked at the dog an smiled at it with his tear stained face.
"I hope I made you as happy as you possibly could be, even more so. That's a limit I would gladly give my life for."
The man said, between whispers and sobs, but even then, it felt clearer than anything he could ever have said before.
He remembered those final words, as the euthanasia was applied, leaving the words he would never regret saying, as his was the same as hers. Her hand falling on his, and his hand falling on hers. He knew now, that she was eternal in him.
Elusively and quietly, before he noticed or maybe he was too distracted, a small kitten, maybe a
couple of months old, got up on his laps and simply started looked at him.
Meow
Meowing and putting its small paw on his sleeve, the man laughed at the sight and slightly scratched its head as the dog watched dissatisfied at the kitten. It was small and cute, white and with clear blue eyes like the ocean.
The man chuckled as he caressed both, "Yeah, maybe having a cat, too, wouldn't be bad".
Thus, man with kitten on hand and dog strolling beside them, made their way home. The idea of another cigarette never crossed the man's head again. The tree seemed to wave them off as the wind coursed through it, gently moving its branches, a single green leaf sprouting from one of them.
- …I love you.