Sorry

In my house, in my room, sky blue walls and car posters. I was wearing red pajamas and playing xbox until my mom came into my room. She was dressed in corporate black suit with a white shirt. She seemed sad. In my mind, I said, “Something is not right.” She sat next to me on my wooden bed crying, “I’m so sorry.” I said, “What are you sorry about mom?” She told me that our economy was bad and we were going to leave the country. She wanted me to know that we couldn’t afford to take our dog, Alf, with us. It hurt as if someone put a knife in my heart, and I couldn’t talk. I was shocked, then I started crying. I asked, “Why is this happening?”

She told me that her friend wanted to take the dog to a farm far away, and he would have a lot of space to play. I told my mom that I could work or do something to keep him with us. She told me, “If we keep the dog, where are we going to put him, or where can he live?” I said crying, “Please don’t take him away from me.” He was another member of the family. He had been living with us for 4 years. We spent Christmas together and New Years. We also went on a lot of trips with him. We went to the park to play ball with him. We were family. I ran downstairs and I saw him staring out the window at to his brown and red painted house outside. His toys were around him. Alf, my german shepherd, turned his head around and looked at me with that beautiful face, the black nose and coat faded black to brown. With that look, he was trying to tell me something.

I walked slowly towards him and I slid the glass door and I sat next to him. A while after, he started looking at the stars. I think he knew what was going on and he felt bad. Somehow I think he also knew that we didn’t have any choice and he laid his black and brown head on my red pajama lap. In a couple of hours, my mom’s friend came to take Alf. I hugged him so hard and told him that I was so sorry and that I was always going to love him. I remember I walked out and I told my mom, “Please don’t do this, We can work something out.” My mom cried and said, “Lo siento mucho.” I started crying and I called my dog, “I love you.” My dog ran towards me to lick my face with that sweety tongue and then I hugged him so hard. I told him in his hairy ears, “I love you and I will come back for you.” My mom called him to the gray pickup truck with shiny wheels and he ran and got in the back of the truck.

When he was gone, I went upstairs to my room and I shut the door and lay down in my bed. I started to remember the times that we spent together. I remember going to the beach with him, He was so happy swimming in the ocean, playing in the sand so happily, Sometimes my dad let him stay to sleep with me in my bed. I loved that because I was warm all the time and he was like a pillow. Or once I bought a large pizza and we shared it. I was the only one who always played with him because my sister didn’t want to play with me, but my dog was always there for me. It was so hard because I loved him like my own brother. I felt like a part of my heart had broken. A while later my parents and my sister wanted to talk to me but I didn’t respond. Later they came back and tried to reassure me. My mom and sister went out of the room and my dad gave me a kiss on the head and told me, “We need to get ready for tomorrow’s flight to the US.”

12/14/17