At the Cost of Nothing

Humans are wonderful. Humans are dangerous. These two thoughts seeped through my mind as I walked beside my owner with a collar around my neck. My owner is a good person. She can be annoyingly clingy at times, but she takes care of me at the cost of nothing. I spent most of the day locked up in a cage. No matter how much I cried, no one came to my rescue. I wasn't allowed outside until my owner came back home. My owner has saved me many times before.

As a pup, my owner's family thought of me as a nuisance. I was careful not to provoke the violent human in the house. Whenever I made a mess, he would punch and kick me ruthlessly, but my owner stopped him. She would cry as she took the beating for me, then she would clean after my mess. I was always so frustrated with myself whenever I made mistakes. The only thing I could do against the violent human was bark and growl with all my might while quivering in fear behind my owner.

Days turned into months and suddenly two human years passed. I matured quite well. With my owner's help, I ate delicious food every day and learned how to stay out of trouble. I didn't want to see my owner cry. I tried my best to cheer her up. I listened to her all the time and even got treats for learning new tricks. She would come home with a new purple spot on her face, arms, and legs but she never forgot to smile whenever I showered her with kisses.

One day, I watched her frown. I tried my best to cheer her up. I rolled over, spun around, and even reached out my paw. She looked at me with sadness in her eyes that betrayed her smile. She gave me a treat, put down the bag on her back, and crawled under the bed with a book in her hands. I knew something was wrong, so I wanted to fix it the same way she did for me... at the cost of nothing.

After getting my favorite chew toy, I slowly crawled to her. She didn't seem to notice me, but I could see tears aggressively flowing down her chin while she put the book aside. She looked like she was in pain, but she didn't make a sound. She reached out to me with her purple-spotted hand. She gently patted my head and scratched the back of my ears while I lied down next to her. I quietly chewed my toy on my own until I slowly fell asleep.

The next day, I woke my owner up because I needed to use the bathroom urgently. I licked her face and pulled her hair. When she woke up, she had puffy red eyes with a bright smile. She picked me up, hid me the bag she carried every day, and walked out of the house quietly. It was still very dark out. The street lights dimly lit up the sidewalk. I sniffed around while looking for a good place to take care of my business. When I was done, the morning started to get brighter, so I knew we had to get back.

Suddenly, my owner started to run towards the house after looking at her phone. I chased after her until we finally made it back. My owner looked panicked when she saw the door wide open. Two of the other humans, the little ones, ran out to her. The two of them looked really scared. The smallest of the two looked like he was bleeding from his nose. My owner took off her sweater, gave it to them, and rushed inside.

Almost instantly, I followed her into the house. I heard the violent one's bone-chilling voice. He turned to my owner with a threatening glare. They started to exchange words, but I couldn't understand him. I noticed the last members of the others curled up in the corner. The quiet one was crying while the crazy one covered her like a shield. The violent one looked like he was ready to kick the crazy one's back, but then my owner blocked his kick. She took the blow as she always did... at the cost of nothing.

In the next moment, the crazy one took the initiative to escape outside with the quiet one in his arms. I looked back at the owner only to witness the violent one throw her head against the wall. I wanted to help her, so I attacked the violent one's leg. I desperately closed my jaws and held on no matter how hard he punched me. I felt my ribs crack under the impact of his fists. My owner could hardly move her lips as she looked at me with puffy eyes. She had no more tears. What was left was anger and it seemed to be aimed at the violent one.

After hanging on for as long as I could, the violent one finally kicked me aside. I crash-landed beside the couch. Barely hanging onto my life, I watched my owner stand up again. She looked hurt. One of her arms refused to move. It was the same arm that patted my head as I drifted to sleep the day before. Fond memories of my owner and I together started to flash before my eyes. I don't want to leave my owner yet, but my fate has been decided. There was nothing I could at the moment to change that. I wish I could see my owner's bright eyes again. 

In the end, I barked farewell as cheerfully as possible with my last breath. My owner didn't seem to hear as she was fighting against the violent one's swings. I felt sad to leave without being able to return the favors and affection given to me, but I knew that my owner would not have to take my punishments anymore. At the cost of nothing, I left without a proper farewell, with the hope that I could meet my owner again.