“Hey, what’s your dog doing on Joza’s third floor building?”, our store neighbor Keith told me as I was up on a chair, fixing some products on display.

“Wait, what? That’s silly, that’s not our dog.” I answered him without even looking.

“That’s your dog, the one who just had the puppies!”

This time, I hurriedly went down and looked up at Joza’s store. She really was there, at the top, and had no idea how to get down. The building was not yet done. There were still no safety railings by the terrace. Khaki was starting to panic as she searched for a way down. She was at the edge of the 3^rd floor.

Khaki gave birth to four pups, Kikoy, the only male. He looks exactly like his mom.  They both have panda eyes. Next was Greygrey because she’s a mixture of white and gray. Then, Tiny Cow, because she looks like a mini sized cow. Lastly, Pretty, the youngest and she’s pure brown. I witnessed it, how they developed their personalities. It was amazing. Kikoy was the sweet one. Greygrey, the playful one, Tiny Cow wanted to be treated special, and Pretty was the shy one but loves to eat a lot. They all enjoyed their time, sleeping and playing on our rooftop. They loved the wind and the cold breeze. It was perfect for their thick fur. Not to mention, it's Khaki’s favorite place.

Every day, right after we close the store, I head straight up to our rooftop to feed them dinner and milk. It was fun spending time with a bunch of cuties. Me, on the hammock writing poetry or reading a book, and them friskily biting my feet and butt.

The day came when they were ready to be given away. This was the day before that incident. I talked to Khaki first, of course. Who wouldn't. Greygrey was the first one. I held the pup in my arms. Khaki was giving me a look that she knows. I kneeled in front of her.

“Baby dog, say goodbye to Greygrey. Don’t worry, you’ll still see her. We always walk by their house while going to the store.”

She scratched Greygrey’s face with her mouth as if fixing her up.

I gave her to the Conde family who lives a couple of blocks away. I handed Greygrey to Mr. Conde. I swear, he was smiling ear to ear. It was love at first sight. His son saw me giving Greygrey to his dad. The young boy was so happy.

“Papa! Papa!”, he cried. He was holding back his tears.

On the afternoon, it was Tiny Cow’s turn. I gave her to a friend of mine. They also live near us, so we can just visit anytime we wanted to. They waited outside the house while I informed Khaki that Tiny Cow’s new owners were already downstairs. Khaki groaned at me. Groaning had always been Khaki’s thing. She then did the same, scratched Tiny Cow’s face with her mouth.

I was approached by my friend’s younger sister, Melody. She gasped when she got a good look on Tiny Cow. Her eyes were filled with amazement and surprise. That was the first time she saw Tiny Cow. She was not able to speak but her reaction said it all.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”, I told my friend.

“Nah, it’s okay.”

“She’s so cute!”, her sister finally uttered with all the excitement she had in her.

Melody took the puppy from my arms. Her eyes were on Tiny Cow all the time. It was adorable to watch. My friend thanked me before they left. I heard from her that Tiny Cow and Melody bonded the whole afternoon. They were inseparable. They dubbed Tiny Cow as Bella. Bella now constantly fills the Facebook myday of my friend.

Afternoon came, Keith told me about Khaki. I looked up at the Joza’s third floor and there she was. She was walking back and forth, looking for a way down. She was at the edge of the terrace. I hurriedly went to Joza to help her go down. When I got there, I said to them my dog was at the third floor. They led me to the side of the building. There was the entrance to the third floor, but it was already locked. The employee went back to the front store to get the keys. When he came back, there were a bunch of them. He tried the keys one by one. None of them was a fit. I swear, it felt like the movies. I heard the people scream. Khaki’s little stunt was starting to draw attention.

Another guy went to our aid. He took the keys from his coworker and searched for the right one. He was able to unlock the door in one try. We all quickly headed straight to the third floor and towards the open windows.

“Khaki!”, I called her out.

She groaned. People screamed once more. I checked outside and I couldn’t see her. She was not by the terrace.

“She went down!”, I heard Keith shouting downstairs. “Go on the second floor!”

Khaki was on the plank of woods in between the third and second floor. She was frantic and eager to go down. I dashed towards the second floor. On my mind, I had no idea how we would grab her from her current position.

When I reached the second floor, the people screamed once more. It was too late. I saw Khaki’s fall.

“Oh my, she must have been fractured!”, Joza’s owner exclaimed. He was behind me.

“It’s too high.”, the employee told me.

I dashed downstairs. My mind was racing. I was already thinking of bringing her to the Vet Clinic. I was not even prepared to see if she fractured her limbs. Breathe. I calmed myself.

When I got downstairs, Khaki was not there. There was no blood on the road which gave me a relief. I instinctively headed back to our store. Khaki was there, sitting and panting, but no blood, and no fracture. It was as if nothing happened. My mom was giving her water.

“How did she survive the fall?”, I asked.

“Thank God for the net, it caught her, softened her fall.”

“Jeez, Khaki, you almost gave everyone a heart attack.”

“What was she doing there?”, it was Keith.

“We just gave away her pups, yesterday and today. She may be looking for them. The rooftop was their place.”, I answered Keith.

The end. Thank you for reading.

Will be posting The Messenger soon, just had trouble with my laptop.