I remember the day as vividly as it was yesterday. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAqeeT9nO13i
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The four of us were sitting in front of the Mandir (temple) at home and praying, my cousin's hands shook as she held onto the book of Ganesh Aarti (Indian deity), my other cousin ringing the bell and both me and my sister sat there with folded hands, all of us wishing that she pulls through. 401Please respect copyright.PENANA2mlpJLDT42
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It was the ninth day of Navaratri, (Navaratri is a Hindu festival that spans nine nights and is celebrated every year. Young girls are invited to the devotees' houses, where they wash their feet as a mark of respect, and then offer food to them) we had just come home after a substantial meal next door, smiling and comparing our inexpensive gifts. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAaP0j0cr3lK
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We stopped short, our eyes landing on the small bundle of black, white and fawn coloured, barely five months old, floppy, lying on the ground in the living room, breathing heavily. Next to her, my mother and buasa (aunt) sat, injecting her with medicines and slowly dripping water in her mouth. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAqGQVzx9hZS
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My father and fufosa (uncle) kept going back and forth between home and the vet.401Please respect copyright.PENANAd3fHjDGblC
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The doctors had prescribed some medicines and injections to give her.401Please respect copyright.PENANAF3h9snTMSr
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"Go pray", Mumma cried out. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAG1rwURmZQi
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To say that we were stunned, would be an understatement, she was perfectly fine before we left. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAHSqbDJRx7S
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My cousins had come to stay with us for a few days and they had gotten floppy as a present from one of their close relatives, I remember my cousins being ecstatic over having her as their new family member. 401Please respect copyright.PENANA0npmTNtjsL
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"Go", Mumma reminded us again, softly this time. We quickly made our way to the only hope that had left. *GOD*401Please respect copyright.PENANAw0ic0zzd1Z
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It felt like an eternity but it had hardly been 2 minutes, as we sat there praying. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAOo43XY0No8
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Unmistakable sound of wailing made us sprint towards the living room.401Please respect copyright.PENANAYdgLFEcJTn
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I can't forget the sight in front of me, for the longest time I'd just look at that spot in the living room and see her body laying there. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAr4nrruUTzh
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Buasa and both my cousins shook her, trying to wake her up as they sobbed and screamed.401Please respect copyright.PENANAQA6qRhfVbi
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I escaped to the bathroom unable to believe what's happened. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAVAukxxGsmG
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Fufosa not being able to handle it, went out, I don't know where. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAzg8XAy3HmD
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My father kept on getting calls from the neighbors, asking if everything was alright.401Please respect copyright.PENANAVIUYz4Z8M2
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Everything was pretty much a blur after that.401Please respect copyright.PENANAJXHvEP0M6E
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Things got settled in the evening around 6:30, that's when the house went deadly quiet. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAiWA1f8FCDY
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Me and my cousin (the one my age) were sitting on the balcony. I didn't know how to comfort her, so I kept silent, staring at her as she stared at the setting sun. 401Please respect copyright.PENANA31uC6NSF3T
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"It's Navaratri and all the girls are worshipped today, then why did they take her?" She asked.
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"She'll be happy wherever she goes", she continued on. "Only two months with her but the pain of losing her is unbearable", she finally looked at me, as she whispered with tearful eyes. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAPG7bfMHwuY
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The next day, when I went out to buy something, I ran into my neighbor and the what they said broke my heart into pieces401Please respect copyright.PENANAC9EZCjECdz
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"We heard a lot of crying yesterday, I called your father and found out your relatives' dog died, the way everyone was crying, we thought someone passed away." and then he laughed, I was speechless, I just stood there and stared at him, thinking had it been my cousin here instead of me she would've effed him up good but I just left without saying anything. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAg6ZCywKuYn
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I can't begin to imagine what my relatives went through that day. It's something not a lot of us can understand until we've experienced it.401Please respect copyright.PENANAo9atj873AC
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Years later after losing another dog of 10 years, my cousin said to me "It's like she took part of my soul with her, I have a hole in my heart now, which only she can fill." 401Please respect copyright.PENANAZYrzSjyezf
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Dogs are the greatest gift to humanity, and it's true, when they leave they take a part of our soul with them. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAHxexzahXpD
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Love and strength to all those brave people who have loved and lost. 401Please respect copyright.PENANAKUWqW1rHdj
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