In a little box on the side of a street, a puppy was crying out to the sky.
Its fur was golden, beautiful like the sun's shine, and its black eyes shined like black pearls.
A drop of tear rolled down its face.
The bowl of food was empty.
The bowl of water was dried up, both due to the puppy's thirst and the bright sun.
Abandoned, scared, hungry, and tired, the puppy whimpered and cried for his mother.
The mother who he had not seen in days.
He wanted to return to her and sleep in the comfort of their warmth.
The warmth of her golden fur that he would cuddle up to when he relaxed.
The warmth of her soft tongue would comfort him whenever he was scared.
He didn't want to be here, he wanted to go back.
The puppy never asked for this.
He didn't understand.
All he ever wanted was to bathe in the comfort of family and run in fields of green grass.
Why was he here?
Soon, he grew tired from the crying.
'Mum...'
He sat in the cardboard box, which was confining him, and whimpered as he stared at his feet.
"What do we have here?"
Hearing this, the puppy looked up.
He saw a teenage girl squatting down in front of him.
Her long black hair shined elegantly under the sun, and her gentle black eyes made contact with the pup's eyes.
"Hello," The girl baby talked to the puppy as she looked around. "What are you doing here?"
He didn't know who the girl was, and he didn't know what to do.
So in response, the puppy simply whimpered.
"Ok ok don't cry!" The girl said quickly as she caressed the puppy.
The girl's soft gentle hand ran through the puppy's golden fur as she stroked his head.
The puppy felt comfort, he soon stopped whimpering and looked at the girl with teary eyes.
The girl smiled.
She picked up the puppy gently with both hands and hugged him to her chest.
"Don't worry. I'll convince my parents to let me keep you." She said as she stroked the puppy's head.
The girl took him away, walking down the sidewalk.
The puppy looked up at the girl's face, his head leaning into her chest.
The beat of her heart was calming and rhythmic, and her smell was soft and sweet. It comforted the weak and tired puppy.
The puppy slowly began to relax as he licked the hand of the girl. He listened to her soothing voice as she talked.
Every now and then, she would look down at him and smile.
He watched the girl's face as she continued to talk to him. He didn't understand her, but he didn't need to.
He simply wanted the listen to the tone of her voice.
Soon, the puppy fell asleep in the girl's hands.
A few days later, the puppy was sitting under a tree with the girl in her backyard.
"Kai!" The girl pointed at the puppy's face with a grin.
A moment later, she pointed at herself.
"Ren!"
The girl's parents accepted the puppy, he was now a member of their family.
Their house was a normal two-story building, but their backyard was a grass area big enough to fit another house.
The girl repeated her actions.
"Kai," She pointed at the puppy, then at herself. "Ren!"
'Kai? Ren?' The puppy tilted his head.
She smiled and held the puppy by his face, squishing the dog's face softly.
"Kai." She said as she poked his nose.
'Kai?'
Next, she pointed at her own nose with a grin.
"Ren."
'Ren?'
For a moment, the puppy sat there thinking about what she said.
Soon, it finally clicked in his head.
'Me, Kai. Master, Ren!' The puppy wagged his tail.
He opened his mouth and panted in excitement, showing the cheerful smile of a golden retriever.
The next moment, he stood up and rubbed his face into the girl's hands energetically.
'Ren! Ren! Ren!'
His excitement spreading to her, Ren stood up and walked out of the shade of the tree.
"Kai, come!"
The puppy chased, his short stubby legs moving as fast as they could, his owner giggled as she ran around the lawn.
The warmth he felt brought him happiness.
His new master, Ren, was the most perfect person ever in his eyes.
He wanted this happiness to last forever.
Two years went by, Kai grew up.
Every day they would play in the backyard, laying down under the tree whenever they were tired and playing whenever they were bored.
Fetch. Tug of war. Hide the treat. Chase. Walks.
Days when she stayed home they would play with him when she felt like it.
Most days Ren would go out somewhere wearing a uniform. She would always hug him goodbye and play with him when she got back.
It was fun and peaceful.
The days were filled with life.
That was... Until one day, Ren stopped coming home.
No matter how long Kai waited at the door or at the window, Ren never came home.
'Where master?'
A few days later, Kai was taken along with the family to a strange place.
It was an open field with many stone structures shaped like rectangles, but the tops of the stones were round-shaped.
There were many people there, and they all wore black outfits, including Kai's family.
Ren's parents and siblings were all crying.
Their faces, as well as many other people present, were stained with tears.
Kai didn't know what was happening, but he could sense something was wrong.
So did his best to comfort them.
All it achieved was Kai receiving head pats, the crying did not stop.
The crying reached its peak when the people were lowering a big box into a large hole that had been dug up.
His tail dropped and his ears flattened as he watched the box finally touch the bottom of the hole.
Next to the hole was another one of those stones, but on it was a photo of someone familiar.
'Ren?'
The family returned from the event, but still Kai didn't understand what had happened.
He still waited by the door every day, wagging his tail expectantly whenever someone approached, only to be disheartened every time.
But still, Ren never came back.
'Ren, Kai misses you...'
Many years passed, and Kai grew old.
The family moved on, but he still waited by the door.
His once pearl-like black eyes were now clouded over with cataracts, and his joints ached with arthritis.
But still, he waited.
One day, the family left the door open by accident.
Kai walked outside and looked around.
His vision was blurry, and he was now deaf.
But for some reason, he saw Ren.
Although he couldn't see much, Ren was strangely clear in his vision.
'Ren!'
Kai bolted off, running as fast as his tired legs could carry him.
He felt that someone in the family called out to him, but he couldn't hear them very well so he kept running.
He followed the strangely clear scent of Ren, chasing after her ghostly figure that appeared in front of him.
He didn't know how long he ran for, but he still chased.
No matter how much he chased, he never seemed to be able to close the distance.
But soon, the scent and vision of Ren faded, and Kai found himself lost in an unfamiliar place.
He was tired and hungry, his paws sore from the long journey.
He was sad, and after losing sight of Ren, he whimpered for the first time in many years.
'Maybe Ren will come back if Kai waits here. She always does.'
Laying down on the street, Kai rested his head on his paws.
'Ren will come to pick up Kai again.'
He closed his eyes and slept.
He dreamed of Ren and the happy times they had shared.
The pleasant and warm memories made Kai happy, and he slept soundly. More soundly than he had ever before.
After what felt like an extremely long sleep, Kai slowly awoke.
His eyes sleepily spread open.
When he came to, he realized he was no longer on the street.
The sky was a different shade of blue, and the smells and sounds were unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Kai lifted his head, sniffing the air and looking around.
His senses were clear again, and he no longer felt tired.
His eyes were once again clear like black pearls, and his bones no longer ached.
'Weird.'
Kai stood up and walked around.
He was in a forest, but the smell of the trees was different.
They looked similar to the tree where he and Ren would rest under, but they had strange colour shades instead.
Kai felt a strange energy coursing through his body, something he had never felt before.
Suddenly, he caught a whiff of Ren's scent.
'Ren!? Master! Wait for Kai! Kai is coming!!'
Kai's tail wagged tentatively as he took his first steps in this new world, the world where he would embark on a journey to find Ren, or at least, some semblance of her.