Silent.

Everything is silent now. No more cars or honking. No more hustle and bustle of the streets. Nothing. Nobody. Now it’s just me and Mira.

Sometime before “Destroya”.

During a late, rainy summer night, I was with my best friend Lorelei; we were coming from the pet hospital in town. It was 3 o’clock in the morning. Mira was sick with heartworm. It was getting really bad. I looked down at the bill, horrified. It was 3,000 dollars; that’s more than my rent and living expenses. I grip my hands tightly around Mira.

Now remembering that moment, I felt like I did it to comfort Mira. To keep her safe, but now I think I probably did it to comfort me. To get some sense of relief; because I was worried sick about her.

I need Mira.

Mira has been my service dog ever since I got COVID. She’s saved my life in more ways than one.

“Lorelei, what am I going to do?” I say in distress. I cringed at my words. “I can’t pay this all on my own.”

My skin is tingling, and my face feels hot. Tears slowly started to well up in my eyes. I grip and scratch at my skin. A pool of anxiety and guilt fills me. I feel as if this is my fault, but it’s just Mira’s old age. I guess I’ll just have to wait in order to know.

“Imani, don’t worry.” She blurts out.

I stare at her in disbelief and soon start to dissociate. I feel as if I’m floating right now. Lorelei shakes me out of my trance and says, “Imani, you’re not going to do this alone; I’ll ask my mom if she can help pay for her treatment.”

Lorelei hugs me tightly, trying to comfort me. I just nod. We quietly got into the car; Lorelei helped Mira climb in, and Lorelei starts the car.

“Lorelei, you… don’t have to do this, you know; I can find some other way-”

“Imani, please.”

I stare at her and give her a small, but grateful, smile. “Thanks, Lorelei,” I say, my voice barely audible.

We sit in silence, comfortable silence. I stare out the window, covered in condensation and droplets. Watching the lights change and cars go by. I start to get teary-eyed due to my staring too long at the light in front of me. I zoned out again.

Ringing bounces around in my head, and I start to feel sick again. I’m just a sick soul, I guess. We soon arrived at our apartment complex. It’s old, but it still stands tall and strong, like a stone wall, unbreakable by the elements. I grab Mira, and Lorelei grabs all of our heavy groceries, and we head through the lobby. I almost trip on the wet floor sign as we get into the elevator.

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Photo by Frames for Your Heart on Unsplash