There are hopes that cannot be measured in minutes or hours, but can only be felt with each painful heartbeat. Before me sits a small body, silent and motionless, its gaze lost in an undefined void. There is no call, no answer, only a dense silence, so heavy that it forces me to look away to hide the lump in my throat.
People often think that animals don’t understand loss. But one only needs to look into their eyes to recognize a profound sadness, an emotion that human words sometimes can’t even begin to express. That gaze seems to guard something that’s gone forever, but the heart won’t let it go.
Day after day, the cold wind continues to lash at that thin body. Footsteps come and go, a few pitying glances, a few sighs, but no one stops long enough to offer comfort. He remains there, like a promise that cannot be broken, as if his presence were the last thread holding together a bond already so fragile it is almost gone.
Perhaps the most painful thing isn’t knowing they’ll never return, but sitting and waiting, afraid that if I leave… someone will be left forever in the cold and alone. And in that moment, you understand that sometimes love doesn’t need reasons to exist: it only needs a heart strong enough to wait, even when hope has long since faded.