pets

i have heard stories of my friends' pets passing away. i have never experienced losing a pet since i was too young to understand.

when i was 7 or 8, my mom's pet turtles passed away. we lived on 2nd floor of a condo, so we kept the turtles in the balcony. the blacony has a wall about 4 feet tall, completely tiled, with no gaps at all. it is almost impossible for the turtles to climb up the walls. yes, almost impossible.

one morning, we couldnt find one of the turtles. we searched the entire balcony, turned everything upside down, looked behind, above, below, around everything. it was gone. we thought maybe birds or other animals somehow got in and took it away. for safety reasons, we brought the remaining turtle indoors.

the missing turtles showed up the next day in our balcony. wounded all over, scratches on the shell. we have no clue what could've happened to it, how it got away and how it got back. we kept it indoors and tried to tend its wounds. it didnt make it.

the surviving turtle was extremely protective of its friend. it attempted to bite all who tries to touch the dead turtle. it refused to eat or rest. eventually, it passed away too.

i was more amazed than sad at the time. to this day i dont understand what couldve happened.

since then, ive had to give away pets, but never watch any of them die. it is hard for me to even imagine that one day when i open my eyes in the morning, my babies wont be here anymore. ive seen people age, animals age, other people's pets age. makes me really cherish the moments i have with my pets. they are still young, active, and ready to take on adventures.

i love them so much, nori, bell, and lumi. they are my first pets. i dont ever want to lose them.

|| [ 雪子 ] ||