VII. Better late than never
VII. Better late than never
As told by Milo
The next morning was rather uneventful, and the fact that I was going to return to my apartment that day dampened my mood somewhat. Nina's family was so nice to me and now I had to leave them, while I had only just met them and was livened up again.
But alas, I had to leave Sandshire behind, and with it, Nina and her family. Although I knew I would see her again soon, I already missed her as soon as I boarded the train. Probably, I had tears in my eyes when I waved at her as the train departed.
I did not allow myself to cry, though. Instead, I decided not to care about what anyone thought of me and got Sharra out of my bag. Luckily, cuddling him caused the desired effect of calming me down enough to keep myself together.
Two hours later, at around four in the afternoon, the train finally reached Northshore Central Station, leaving only the last ten minutes of the trip by bus for me to travel. When I finally reached my apartment and opened the front door, it felt like it was ten in the evening, rather than four in the afternoon.
For the first time, I felt lonely after a holiday instead of during one. Looking down as I wiped my feet on doormat, I noticed a piece of paper lying on the floor. I picked it up, wondering who could have sent me this, only to find out that it was not the actual postcard, but rather a ticket.
On closer inspection, I concluded that the postal services had attempted to deliver a package earlier that day, but since I was not home, they decided to deliver it at my neighbor's instead. I dropped my bag in the hallway and went to the said neighbor, the ticket in my hand.
Luckily, my neighbor was still at home and he handed me the package. It was about one foot high, one foot wide and two feet long, far bigger than I had expected. On the other paw, I had not ordered anything, so I did not expect any package at all, either.
Once inside my own apartment, I put the cardboard box down on the table in my living room and carefully ripped the accompanying envelope off the top. With a claw I expected to be sharp, I ripped the top of the envelope and took the piece of paper out. It was a message, printed in a playful font.
Dear Milo,
Midwinter is not complete without presents in my family. I know it's not about material goods and I don't want to spoil you, but you're my very special puppy and I enjoy giving you puppy gifts more than anything else.
I heard of this gift on the day before we went to my parents and remembered that you don't trust Poochies to keep you and your bed dry at night, so I ordered this for you instead.
Let's hope that the contents of this box work out better for you.
Love,
Your little princess, Nina
So apparently, Nina had ordered me a present and managed to get it to my apartment in record time. Eager to find out what was inside, I got a pair of scissors from a drawer in the kitchen to open the box. The cardboard box turned out to hide something I had half anticipated from the information on the note.
The package contained a bag of Poochies, but not the usual kind. This bag carried eighteen diapers instead of twenty-four and it had a good reason to contain less diapers than the equally sized bag of regular exemplars.
On the front of the bag, it read "Whelpies" and it showed a shield-shaped emblem with the word "Safeguard" on it. Closer inspection proved that the Safeguard referred to a technology in the diapers that was supposed to help prevent leaks. The bag contained less diapers because they were significantly thicker than Poochies. I decided to open the bag and examine its contents.
Unlike the normal version, Whelpies had two tapes on the wings of the diaper. The thicker diapers were clearly designed for nighttime use, as the wetness indicator showed stars instead of paw prints when wet. In addition, the tape panel was embellished with stars and crescent moons, making the Whelpies suitable for both boys and girls. The center of the tape panel showed a cartoonish number ten, as an indicator of the size.
Feeling the thickness of an individual diaper, I judged that it would be sufficient to keep me dry overnight. I could not wait for bedtime, anticipating snuggling up to Sharra while wearing my new diapers. Life was getting better, and simple pleasures assisted in this process.
_ We'll do it all, everything, on our own _
We don't need anything, or anyone
I don't quite know how to say how I feel
Those three words are said too much; they're not enough
Forget what we're told before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life
Let's waste time chasing cars around our heads
I need your grace to remind me, to find my own
All that I am
all that I ever was
is here in your perfect eyes
They're all I can see
I don't know where, confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all
If I lay here
If I just lay here
would you lie with me
and just forget the world?
(Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars)
The end (for now)