I gaze into the void without a focal point and smirk stupidly as sweet memories overwhelm my mind. I can almost see her running around me, while beaming with the gayest smile. Back then, we used to play hide-and-seek, and often it’s I who started it first. I just liked to observe her scuttling and hoping around, and how jubilantly she stuck her tongue out at me when she found me.
But the others didn’t like her. They hated her just as much as I loved her. The sight of her would raise the inner anger in them, exasperate the composure in them. Yet they would not speak out; they would just walk away. She could not have comprehended what had happened, or why they had treated her that way. As much as I felt upset over their hostility towards her, I tried to keep it in my heart and calmed her little ruffled heart.
Later, there came the day when I had to leave her and my hometown. I had a dream of mine to catch. I had to further my studies in a place far away. She was oblivious of it, and there was no way I could tell her about it. I felt very sorry that I had to leave her, and I could not imagine how I would go through the long period without her beaming smile. And what about the others who hold grudges against her? As I looked into her eyes, bitterness twisted my heart. A song, barely inaudible at first, slowly reverberated within my mind:
May it be, an evening star shines down upon you…
May it be, when darkness comes, your heart will be true…
You walk a lonely road, oh how far you are from home…
I reminded myself, from time to time, that the wait would be as fleeting as the twilight dusk, and that I would come back very soon. I would miss her as much as I miss my family: to me, she had become part of my family. Yet, fate, it seemed, was not without a sense of ironic. Hectic life and passage of time had changed the inner me. Whatever memory I had of her, they were tuck far away in the corner of my memory lane. Alas, I did not feel the bond anymore. She was as distant as the farthest constellation that the naked eye could see.
I have finally come back, and tonight is as dark as it was before. Chilling breeze waggled the dim orange lamps above my head, causing the fuzzy shadows to sway in a playful manner. I stood beside the kennel, staring into her eyes. She sits in front of me, staring into my eyes, too, but in genuflection. I gently stroke her head, and suddenly, that familiar warmth gradually infuses my body. That special bond, once lost, is now reconnected once more. She can’t say anything, but already I can tell how much she misses me.
I stop my stroke. Her tail wags with vigor. I kneel down and put my arms around her thickly furred brownish neck. I hold on to her tightly, as though I’d lose her. As I pat her, I whisper to her: Mimi, you are the best friend that I can ever wish for!