THE AGONIZING CHOICES BEFORE A YOUNG GIRL AS HER BELOVED PET GROWS OLD AND FEEBLE.
It's not unusual to love your cat—at least that was the way Ruby viewed it. Pondro had always been around. Her mother had told her that Pondro had showed up a few years before she was born. They didn't really know how old the cat was. Ruby decided that since she was ten, Pondro was ten plus. That's not exactly old age for a child, but it's kind of elderly for a cat. Age had become a problem for Pondro. His fur was thin and didn't shine anymore. Ruby felt sad for him, but she didn't want her feline friend to go away.
Pondro was a large tabby cat, a little too well fed and a whole lot spoiled. Ruby had grown up with Pondro. He'd patiently put up with her childish games. They'd play "mother" together. Pondro, naturally, was the one chosen to be the baby. Ruby would wrap him in a small blanket, place him in the toy carriage and away they'd go. When they played "pet store", Pondro was the one placed in the cat carrier with a sign on the top that read "For Sale”. He played ring toss with Ruby, hide-and-seek, and would chase the ball. All things considered, Pondro had been a true friend to Ruby. She looked at him now and missed the frisky cat who'd played with her all these years.
Ruby had learned quickly what made Pondro mad. He didn’t like to be interrupted while eating, hated to get wet, and definitely didn't like rough-housing. What really got on the cat's nerves was the yearly trip to the veterinarian. He would meow in the car on the way to the vet, meow while the doctor checked him, and meow loudly all the way home. Ruby didn't like taking Pondro there anymore than he liked going.
Today, after arriving home from school, Ruby didn’t rush into her bedroom to greet Pondro. She was still thinking about what her mother had said the night before. Was Ruby being unfair to Pondro? It didn't seem that way to her. She didn't mind taking care of the old cat. She always took him outside on warm and sunny days so his old bones would feel better. She would carry him to his litter box whenever he gave that "special" meow, and she would help him to eat his food by holding him up. She didn't even mind cleaning up after him when he had an "accident”.
Ruby sat on the sofa in the living room and thought about Pondro's life with her. His legs were now stiff and his joints sore. He couldn't get around without her help. When she held him, it seemed to her that he was purring less and less. She'd made a bed for him in her room so that they'd be together at night and he wouldn't get lonely. Ruby would hold him in her lap as she read or watched her favorite shows on television. She'd spend hours talking to him, but Pondro had become indifferent. She knew something was really wrong when he didn't protest with his loud meows on the way to the veterinarian last week. Her mother had wanted to leave him there so the doctor could help him to die, but Ruby had refused.
"Why don't you put me to sleep, instead!" she'd cried. "I have days when I don't feel good, too!" Her mother wisely didn't argue with her, and Pondro had quietly returned home.
"Is it fair?" Ruby whispered to the empty room. "I love him so much! How can I let him go away?"
Sadly, Ruby got up and walked into her room. Pushing open the door, she found two dull, yellow eyes peering up at her.
"How's my baby doing?" Ruby asked, softly, as she reached down and scratched his head. Carefully she picked up Pondro and cradled him in her arms.
"You don't purr anymore, Pondro. Are you really that tired?" The old cat looked up at her, and she thought she saw his answer.
Pondro didn't seem to mind that her tears were falling on him. Ruby walked Pondro around the room and talked to him.
"We had fun, didn't we? Mama sure hated it when you clawed her new sofa, and Daddy always got angry when he saw your paw prints on his car. I've missed your not being able to play anymore."
Tenderly she returned Pondro to his bed. Lovingly she brushed his fur and scratched his favorite spots.
"If only I could know I'd be doing what's right for you," she pleaded. "Pondro, what do you want me to do?"
For the first time in a long while, Pondro purred. Ruby looked into his eyes and suddenly knew what she must do. It wasn't fair to Pondro to treat him like this. She loved him and realized that it was her "wish" that kept him like this. His eyes looked tired, and he'd become so frail, so weak. Tearfully Ruby now understood what was fair for Pondro.
She cleaned up Pondro and wrapped him in his favorite blanket before carrying him to her mother. With newfound wisdom, she understood just how much she loved him and what being fair to Pondro really meant.
A page-turning novel about a relationship between best friends that is interrupted because of betrayal , deceit, sexual promiscuity and pregnancy happens!
A page-turning novel about a relationship between best friends that is interrupted because of betrayal , deceit, sexual promiscuity and pregnancy happens!
Rovella is a beautiful woman with a cold heart whom blames herself for an unfortunate old family secret that is literally ruining her life. This secret impedes a gorgeous woman from having happiness in her childhood, and throughout her life. Dark sec
