Chapter One
Thump. Thump. pause Thump. Thump. pause Thump. Thump. pause Thump. Thump. Someone, someone is stepping up the stairs. Thump Thump. pause Thump Thump. pause Thump Thump. pause Thump Thump. The two shadows below the closed door, I wish for the day that I can sit behind the door, and not fear for what is behind it.
I’m sitting in the corner, below the slanted roof, next to my wooden desk, below my favorite picture of Dono, a friend, who shared twice my qualities. Two times my legs, two times the self confidence, two times the love, two times the caring personality that I wish I could share back to him; but it ended too soon. Dono, my friend, my companion, the other half of me.
A sharp breeze passed my face as the door to my personal sanctuary was opened. In walked Meynair, my mother, who scolded me upon eye-contact. Dono, only passing days earlier, I couldn’t get over it; and Meynair became irritated that I couldn’t let it go.
Ever since he left me, I felt on a personal level that I didn’t love Dono as much as he did to me. He loved me like there was no other, but I feel like I never did the same. Now, some people may say that one is too hard on themselves, but this is something different. I played with him, ate with him, even slept on the floor with him; but I never went to him when he was sad, I never came by just to tell him how much he is loved, I never showed him the amount of love he shared with me.
The scolding that Meynair imposed on me is like any other; starts with a grand entrance, followed by a yelling like no other, and then well, now she can’t, but she would take Dono with her; and that would be the killing blow to me. Every time, she would take Dono - and I would see the beady eyes as he looked back at me while he was carried away. He didn’t want to leave me, nor did I want him taken away; but I never could influence it, once Meynair left, I wouldn’t see Dono until the next day. As Meynair continued to take Dono away, I just be came accustom to seeing him the next day. But now, what would she do, now that Dono is gone? Would she just take me, and put me where ever she put Dono until the next morning? Would she just take my blankets, and make me sleep in the cold?
All Meynair did was take the last thing that belonged to Dono that I had; his tag. In shiny green plated metal, inscribed with precision the letters D O N O in all uppercase made the tag unmistakeable - you knew it was Dono’s when you saw it. Now that Dono is gone, it hurt, emotionally, because I knew I wouldn’t see Dono the next morning.
What hurt on the day that Dono never returned, was that I couldn’t be there in his final moments. I couldn’t be the last thing he ever saw. All I heard was tumble, and a painful whine. I went to my door, to see what happened, but Meynair locked it up. I felt helpless, that I let my best friend, my closest friend, the only thing that loved me, die, and I knew I couldn’t do anything to change it.
Dono was everything to me, and now everything was taken away.