Unit 2: Life and Death Mind Chanika P.

1109 5961182

Care

My hands and legs are trembling, like the world is about to shatter in front of me, when I

hear the news.

Walking down the street, Im returning back home with handful of things for my cat. The

todays sky is as bright and clear blue as the color of my and my cats eyes. Its such a nice day,

Id say. Most people would agree with me since many of them are coming out and playing in the

sun while Im walking pass. I think about many things while walking, one of them is the idea of

walking my cat outside today; even though, I havent finished any of my works yet.

Going back last few years, I was just a nerdy boy with outdated clothes on. My name is

Waldo, but no one seemed to remember it or be attentive to me anyway. I was the one whom

nobody liked. I was only accepted and liked by the teachers, because of my politeness and pureness,

which made it worse. My world was always dark, I saw no joy in my life. Until the day my cat,

Daisy, came into my life, everything changed. She brought my life a pleasure, ecstasy and hope. I

was blossomed out; I came alive again.

Home sweet home! I finally arrive home after a long walk.My little Daisy, look who is

home!

My house is my favorite place to be. Its warm and comfy. Love and care are in every inches

of the house. Everyone can feel them from the very first moment of opening the door, and so do I. I

imagine the picture that Daisy will come towards me and starts to cuddle with me as soon as I enter

the house. I dont know how can she always make me feel like Im floating with joy in the clouds.

Maybe its because of her white fluffy fur.

Daisyyyy, where are you? I try to call her again.

instead. If Daisy is the cloud, Wendy will be the sunshine. Wendy always appears with her lively

colored dress and a smile on her face. The smile is special; it is the smile that can brighten up

everyones day. Shes too sanguine to be real. But now, her face looks somehow frustrated. I ask her

where Daisy is, then she starts to speak.

Its a good weather day, so Daisy decided to go out and hang around under the sun, she

answers.

And she hasnt returned yet? Ahh if I was her I would not want to go back inside early in

this kind of day either, I say.

But after a while, Ive heard a sound. She has been chased by a stray dog.

I start to panic, What happened to her?

She was so scared, so she ran fast like crazy, until she was out of my sight.

Wait, and you couldnt find her?

Weve tried our best, but no, my brother, Wright, jumps right into the conversation with

his calm and unflustered voice.

Oh gosh.

I toss away everything Ive bought on the floor. This is the moment I fear the most that it

would come, and I didnt expect it to be this soon. I try to figure out how my life can continue with

out Daisy.

Thats my fault; I should keep an eye on her at all times, I blame myself. I will bring her

back.

There is a sound behind me, Wait a minute bro. Where are you going?

I say nothing and hurry out of the house. The one and only thing inside my brain is that I

cant lose her. She has always been there for me, so this time, I have to do my best for her. After a

few hours of walking, theres no evidence or anything to be used for tracing my cat at all. I see no
way out, so I decide to go home instead. Suddenly, I see Mrs.Regina, my sweetest neighbor, coming

around at the corner. Im half walking and half running towards her.

Hi Waldo, my dear, she greets. You look like you have something bothering you, right?

Yes maam, my cat got lost when I wasnt home this afternoon.

Oh poor Daisy.

Have you seen her lately?

Unfortunately no, she replies sadly.

What about a sound, have you heard any barks or meows? Wendy said that Daisy has been

chased by a stray dog, I ask.

I havent heard any of that either.

Okay then, thank you maam.

However, there is one thing that Im sure, she continues. There is no stray dogs around

our area, havent been one for a very long time.

What! Oh I apologize for being too loud.

Maybe you should ask your sister how the dog looks like, and ask our neighbors about it.

I greatly thank and show my appreciation to her about her advice before I run quickly back

to my house. I try to find Wendy and Wright as I came in, but they arent there. Im not surprised;

they always prefer outside and dont like to stay home like I do. Almost every time I come back

home, they wont be there, except this afternoon. So, I decide to go to bed and wait to talk to them

tomorrow instead.

I wake up in the next morning with terrible feelings. It took me a few hours to completely

fell asleep last night. I just cant help it, as I have been thinking about Daisy over and over again. As

soon as I can stop myself being drowsy, I hurry down stairs to meet me sister. Finally, shes here.

Wendy, I have something to ask you, I start.

What? she replies quickly.

Yep.

But yesterday I went out and asked everyone, no one has heard anything, I try sharpen my

voice to be more serious.

They might be too far away from the incident. I guess, she replies again after a few

seconds of worried and weird face.

Anyway, you are sure that its a stray dogs voice?

Yes.

Then, fine.

I walk back to my room with my mind full of questions. Why does she have to lie to me? Or

if she doesnt lie, why does the story told by her differ from what Mrs.Regina told me? Suddenly, I

wipe out all thoughts out of my head. I feel like I dont want to conclude or judge anything with this

few information that I have.

What is this? I exclaim to myself.

When I first woke up this morning, I thought only about asking my sister, so I didnt realize

how my room has changed. Everything is gone. All of Daisys toys and stuffs are gone, like there

has never been anything here before. Furnitures are all tidied, not full with Daisys fur like always.

This is so strange. No one has ever dared to touch my cats stuffs before. It seems like Im getting

angry, but to be honest, Im more confused. I know that whoever has done this did it on purpose,

but I just dont know who. I go downstairs again to find out. Wendy has left the house already, but

my big brother, Wright, is still here. The only problem is he sounds busy calling someone in his

room, so I have to wait patiently.

There are too many theories and thoughts appearing and flying in my brain. I cant stop my

eyes looking back and forth between the house door expecting Wendy to comeback and my

brothers room door expecting him to finish his errand. Im excited, but not in a good way. My eyes
start to be exhausted at this moment. I dont want to be rude by just showing up to make my brother

feel uncomfortable and rushingly finish his call to talk with me. To be honest, I hesitate because I

have been waiting for so long. All of sudden, Wright opens the door and shows up with his good-

looking suit. He is always in his formal uniform even on the day he doesnt have any appointments

and doesnt have to go out anywhere.

What happened Waldo? he asks with his earnest voice again.

Someone has cleaned my room and taken away every single pieces of Daisys stuffs, I say.

Oh, its my own order.

Why?

Wendy and I think that if you can still see those things, they will remind you of Daisy.

Finally, you wont be able to admit of losing her.

I want them all back, I insist with a voice that stronger than my usual voice.

Stop acting like a kid, Waldo.

Im not.

You are.

His face turns wicked. I dont want to argue with him and show aggressive acts to him,

because he is way older than me and he is like another parent for me. He takes care of his siblings,

Wendy and me, since he was a kid. He always knows what is best for us, I believe.

You didnt throw it away, did you? I ask.

No I didnt.

Can I get it back if I can find Daisy?

Sure. But I suggest you not to expect and hope for something impossible.

Ill make it possible.

I walk out of the house and try to gather more evidences and clues about Daisy. I miss her so

much and I want her back so bad. However, today is different. I cant find anybody nearby. I keep
walking and walking until the sun starts to go down. The village is now completely silent. No living

creatures appears or makes a sound. Im so tired and want to find somewhere to rest. Meanwhile, I

see the police station, then an idea pops up in my mind.

Excuse me sir, can I look at the security camera around here? I ask the nearest policeman.

Whats the problem, young boy? he asks me back.

My cat got lost yesterday and I have no clue where did she go after being chased by a dog.

I dont know what to do anymore.

He looks at me pitifully and says to me gently, Okay, follow me.

Then, he opens the door and lets me enter the room full with screens. He begins to rewind

tapes recorded since yesterdays morning deliberately. It is a hard job, Id say. The variety of

different angles and repeating actions from people passing around are shown on those screens.

Before we can get anything useful, yawn after yawn, the ticking clock shows that its now 11 p.m. I

am about to say good bye, get off my seat, and leave the room, the policeman shout abruptly, Wait

young boy!

I haste back to be in front of the screens again. The policeman points to a screen showing

footage of my cat yesterday. I would be really exited and happy seeing this, unless it goes wrong

and far from what Ive expected like this. Its true that it is a footage of my cat, just not being

chased by anything but walking peacefully with my sister along the road and get into a car.

Im shocked. I dont believe, or cant admit, in what is playing on the screen right in front of

me. Everything is a lie. Where is Daisy? What did Wendy do to her? Is that car Wrights? Why did

both of them have to lie to me?

I quickly thank to the policeman and leave the station. Im heading back home along this

dangerous road alone. Nothing is real. I wonder how these things happen to me.
 The big familiar door is right in front of me, and Im scared to open it. Before I can do

anything, Wendy opens the door and pulls me in. She hugs me and tells how much she and Wright

worry about me. I can bear it no more, so I shake off her hands.

I have already known the truth, Wendy.

Her voice starts shaking, What truth bro?

Daisy has never got lost, you took her to somewhere.

No, I didnt.

You did Wendy, you did it. I saw everything through the cameras.

I didnt mean to lie to you, she says as she starts crying.

And why would you do this to me?

Because of you, Wright joins in again.

What?

Your allergic symptoms are getting worse and worse, you know it Waldo.

And you dont even care that its from Daisy.

We had no choices Waldo. We know that you will never want to separate from Daisy, the

cat that you love, love more than yourself, Wendy stops sobbing and says.

Where is she? I ask.

She is in a safe place, I guarantee, my brother says it as if he is speaking with his clients

and tries to persuade them.

I ask exactly where she is! I yell at them. This is my first time being aggressive to them.

Dont you dare yell at me!!! Wrights enraged, and his face turns extremely red.

Ive always respected in your decisions for us, but not this time. This is my life; I can

choose or do whatever I want. Dont you understand???

Wright is coming towards me with his fist ready to hit right into my face, but before that

actually happens, Wendys voice intervenes in between us.

I stand for no more arguments and explanations, and go straight to grandmas house. After I

have brought Daisy back, I move all of Daisys stuffs and my necessary things and clothes out of

the house at the same night. I rent a room far away from the house. No matter what will happen, I

insist of keeping her with me.

It has been a long peacefully period of time getting away from them. However, life is not

fairytale. Since Ive moved out, I stay with Daisy all day all night. Thus, it aggravates my condition.

I still believe that being with her is the best thing in life that I can do. Nothing worths more than

cuddling and playing with her. I'd give my all for her.

One day, after a while of tiding the room, I feel dizzy and faint. The only thing I see when I

wake up is the hospital lamp. I can see, glance, and flick my eyes around, but I cant move any

other parts of my body at all. My mouth keeps shut, and no words can come out of it anymore. The

longer I keep my eyes open, the more pictures I see fade away. Everything becomes cloudy and

unclear like the mirror after the rain. Then, I see Wendy entering the room and sweating. She comes

towards me and stand near Wright.

My hands and legs are trembling, like the world is about to shatter in front of me, when I

hear the news, she says.

So do I. Doctor said that this might be his last hour. If you have anything to tell him, just

tell it right now, before its too late, Wright replies with rocking voice that he has never used

before.

I didnt know that they care about me this much before and I denied them. Id blame myself

for that. Before I can hear anything from my sister, my eyesight, my vision and my pictures are all

gone. Then, I fall slowly deep down and drown in my own imagination. I feel like Im floating on

my memories. Im going to hit the bottom of the dark abyss now. It must be the end for me is the

last thing I think to myself, before I cant feel and perceive anything anymore.