3. Beginning
“Life is all about choices, my dear,” said Mom.
“Great, another lecture of wisdom!” I thought. I was not ready to listen to one of those
I-know-everything speeches my parents love to give. Yes, what they say is sometimes
right, actually most of the time, even always, but I did not want to hear it. I just wanted
to go to my room, put a pillow to my mouth and scream as hard as I could. My
father saw how angry I was and tried to change the subject but the outcry of anger and
frustration came even before he opened his mouth.
“It’s not fair. Humans are cruel, stupid…” Before I finished my sentence, my little
Brother said, ‘Oh no! Don’t say that word!” “Shut up!” I said.
I left the table without being excused and rushed up the stairs.
“Another bad word!” said my brother as if he wanted to make me angrier.
I threw myself on the bed and began crying frantically.
4. Middle
Suddenly, I sat up on my bed and decided that I would not go with them to visit my
grandparents if I was not allowed to take my sweet Fluffy.
I ran downstairs and told them that I was not going with them. My father got very
angry and said, ”It is not even an option! We are all going and this is the end of the
conversation”
I began crying out loud and ran back up. My brother came and tried to console me but
I pushed him away and hugged my sweet Fluffy. I didn’t leave my room for the rest of
the evening.
“Knock, knock! Can I come in?” said my brother. “We are going to miss the bus. Dad
will be really angry. Let’s go.” After I made sure my brother was gone, I opened my
room door and ran downstairs. My mom was in the kitchen, calling me to take my
lunch but I sneaked out and got on the bus. At school, I did not talk to anyone and my
friends knew not to ask me why.
5. It was dinner time. I had to sit at the table and listen to my father’s lecture on
obedience to parents and their love for their children. All that parenting nonsense!
Then he moved to the topic of having a wonderful summer vacation.
“Without Fluffy, it is impossible!” I thought.
To everyone’s surprise, my brother asked my father,
“Why can’t we take Fluffy? A lot of people travel with their pets.” The rest of us was
shocked and stopped moving for a second because my father was not the kind who
can handle such challenges from his kids. My mom and I were waiting in fear to see
what my father would do. Shockingly, he was calm and told my brother that he did not
have enough time to prepare all the documents, required for Fluffy to travel with us.
When my mom realized that my brother was going to talk again, she asked my brother
if he wanted more chicken to distract him.
6. “You don’t have to.” he said. I looked on Internet and found out that
there are some travel agencies that offer special services to people
who want to travel with their pets.
“You need to understand. Most of the information on the Net is not reliable. It is time
that you finish your dinner and start working on your homework.” My father reacted.
My brother very confidently continued,
“I know that. But I checked out the travel agency in our town. When I called them,
they told me they could get the visa and the other documents ready for us before
they book the flight. They even have a veterinarian in their office who prepares all the
health certificates. They also said that they have a brochure that has all the info we
might need during the trip. They gave me a web-site that has lists of all pet boarding
facilities, pet-friendly hotels, pet emergency centers all round the world and much
more. And…”
7. Climax
Alas, he was very persistent on continuing his conversation with Dad.
Before he was able to finish his sentence, my mom tried to interrupt him by asking if
anyone wanted dessert.
“No way, he is not going to shut up.” I thought. Scared, I turned to my dad but he
seemed to be interested in what my brother was saying. My brother went on,
“ Then, they told me to go online and check the Ministry of Agriculture’s web-site for
the info on traveling with pets.” Then he got up, walked to his backpack and took out
a white folder. He took out a piece of paper and gave it to my father, saying, “Here is
the printout of the checklist they had on their page.” ‘
Amazed, my father took the paper from my brother. My brother added, “I checked
out the ones the travel agency will take care of for us. So if we start now, everything
will be ready before we leave.”
Those were the last words we exchanged that night.
8. Resolution
My anger and sadness was decreasing. Defeated, I was trying to get myself used to
the idea that Fluffy has to stay behind with my friend. I kept repeating, “It is so unfair,
so unfair.” After a week of trying to persuade my father to leave me behind with Fluffy,
I gave up. My father kept quiet whenever I tried to talk to him. It was so frustrating. I
was so hopeless, helpless, and felt so lonely. Knowing that my friend was in love with
Fluffy and will definitely take good care of him was the only solace I had.
One evening, my father was knocking on my room door and asking permission to
come in. Surprised and very nervous, I opened the door. “Here is the documents you
need to put together. I will take them to the travel agent next Monday.“ Without
waiting for my response, he went downstairs. Later that evening, my mom came to ask
me why my dad was in my room. I showed her the paper my dad gave me. It was the
paper my brother gave him a week ago. Then a smile shone her face: “See, Life is all
about choices.” said my mom.
This time, I was ready to listen to her lecture. I had to go and give a hug to the person
who turned the things around
