I was walking under the boiling hot sun and wondering what was the meaning of my life. Back then, I spent the last six years of my life in primary school, doing tons and tons of homework. They’re supposed to improve my knowledge, but till today, I find them useless. We humans work and work and work without knowing why. We just work. We lived and die. Just like that. We come and go, and most of us don’t make a huge impact to the world. We spend much of our lives doing what we detest – either working. After doing much thinking, I found that I could not stand the heat and sought refuge at a nearby void deck. It was, perhaps, the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. Waiting for me at the void deck, was a huge white dog, or maybe it was a wolf, I’m not sure. The dog was not a stray, for it wore a collar, but was really thin and I could see its rib cage. I was told by my mother not to feed dogs, stray or not. But there was this voice in my head that say, “Look at that poor thing. You have a half-eaten sandwich in your pocket. Just feed it. You live only once, if that’s what you want, do it. Rules are made to be broken.” I hesitated, then offered it the sandwich.
The dog was probably starving. After two quick sniffs at the sandwich, it gobbled the sandwich down. I took a close look at the collar. “Kiba” was written on one side and on the other was some kind of address I didn’t bother to read back then. I smiled and patted Kiba on his head and left. He followed me all the way home. I ran, I walked in circles, but he still followed me. Defeated by Kiba’s patience, I turned around and stared into his eyes, saying, “Shoo! Don’t follow me. You’ll only get me into trouble.” He seemed to understand and whined a couple of times, flattened his ears and gave me a sorry look and left. For a moment I regretted. It might be the last time I’m seeing him.
The shocking thing was, when I stepped out of school I found Kiba there, waiting for me. For the next month he appeared there everyday, waiting for me. I would buy a sandwich and offer it to Kiba, who gladly accepted. Then, for the second time in my life, I deliberately broke another rule of my mother. The reason why I did it was simple. We only live once, and I’m going to enjoy mine. I told my mother that I was going to the library, but actually I was at the park playing with Kiba. We continued doing it until the end of my primary school life. That was, perhaps, the happiest moments in my life.
Happy times are bound to end. One day my mother questioned me why I was always sweating and smelled like a dog when I came back from the air conditioned library. I didn’t want her to find out about Kiba, so I made an excuse and escaped as soon as I could. My heart raced. If she did find out about Kiba, I would be in deep trouble. But it would be really suspicious if I just stopped sweating and smelling like a dog. From that day onwards, I spend lesser and lesser time playing with Kiba. Then we stopped going there. I changed school but despite that, he still waited at the school gate and I never fail to offer him his sandwich.
There was this day when Kiba didn’t turn up. I was really worried. I don’t know why but I ran all the way from my new school to the void deck where I first met him. I’m still puzzled why I could do that without stopping to rest. Back then, there was only on thing in my mind. Kiba. As I approached I heard the whimpering of a dog. I knew immediately what had happened. Just like I expected, a few teenagers was crowding around Kiba, kicking him. Powered by rage I threw myself onto them, although one of them was nearly twice my size. They threw me onto the floor and kicked me hard. I curled up like a snail, desperately trying to protect my head. When they finally stopped, I could taste blood in my mouth. I managed to catch a glimpse of Kiba, whose fur was stained with blood and turned red, attacking them before I lost conscious.
After that incident I often wondered why no one came to my aid when I was unconscious, and that mystery remained unsolved till today. It was raining when I woke and it washed away all evidence that the battle every occurred, all except my wounds. Neither Kiba nor the teenagers were around. When I stood up shakily, I found Kiba’s collar in my hands. I staggered home disappointedly, inventing a lie to prevent my parents from learning about the truth. When they demanded for more details, I merely said, “It’s my fault,” and retreated into my room.
One of the many mysteries in my life was why I decided to visit Kiba’s owner after the incident. Maybe I wanted to know more about Kiba’s condition, for he had never visited me since the incident. A small, lean face of an old man appeared after I rang the door bell a few times. “What do you want? I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer. I’m a poor lad myself.” I could not speak and help up the collar. His eyes widened and he invited me in. His apartment was small and neat, with no sign of dog hair anywhere. “Kiba’s at the vet?” I quizzed. “Nah, he’s probably with god. He was a saint when he was alive.” My heart missed a beat. “Kiba’s DEAD!” “Of course he is. In fact, he’s dead for almost twenty years now. Tomorrow’s his twenty fifth birthday. Where did you get that collar? It was burned together with Kiba’s body right before my very eyes!” I stared at the old man, aghast. “But… …” and so I told him about my tale. He laughed. “He has always been a playful dog. Perhaps he’s just stretching his old bones.” I offered to give the old man Kiba’s collar, but he refused. With that, I said goodbye and left, still thinking.
Till this day I haven’t found a convincing reason why Kiba came back, but I’m glad that he did. I don’t believe in supernatural things. You might say that he changed my life, turned me from a angle to a devil, but it was Kiba who taught me how to live, it was him who gave me a personality. If not for him, I’ll still be following the rules. I’ll either become the most boring person on earth, or a robot. Thank you, Kiba.
__________________________SPOILER___________________________________
This didn't happen to me. I'm still twelve for haven's sake
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