"Why are you crying?" Asked an old man. His gray-blue eyes were muted, yet gentle. He had a scarlett red coat and a missing tooth. The girl looked away. She tried to make her feet scrape the floor as she kicked them up and down-but she was too little for that. She grasped her green coat and looked out the window, watching the green speckles of trees dart away in the distance.
"My dog-Phoenix." The girl wiped a tear running down her cheek. "I miss him a lot. He just died. Mommy had to take him away-I just wanted to say goodbye." The girl got her legs up and curled herself into a ball, crying again. Her mother looked away, almost not aware about what was happening. "I don't ever want to have a dog again." She admitted, her voice sounding defeated.
"Why?" The old man asked, his deep wrinkles in a frown. "It hurt so much to say goodbye. If I get another dog, it'll just happen over and over again." Her voice was horse and weak. When she looked up at the old man, her eyes were red from the tears. She brushed a lock of hair away, and let her legs fall down again, still not touching the steel floors of the train.
"Hmm..." The man pondered on her words for a moment. "But how many opportunities will you leave behind? How many wonderful memories will never be made?" Suddenly, the bus started to go faster. The girl sat up in shock and almost shrieked. She looked outside of the windows, and saw stars. She felt her body lift into the air, the gravity leaving the bus. She looked around. She was alone, with just her and the old man. "Woah." She said in shock, gazing out the window again. The man simply laughed.
But the bus still moved. After a moment, they were back on Earth. "This stop: No pets." The loudspeaker declared. For a moment, the girl waited for the doors to open. But they never did. Instead, she watched outside of a window as a young woman was drinking coffee in a city. She wore glasses and a proffessional suit, her face expressionless. "Good morning." A man told her as he ran past her with his dog. She smiled and replied. The woman looked at a store across the street-a pet store. Then, she looked away and continued to sip her coffee.
"Why is she so sad?" The girl's voice was no longer horse. "She's afraid of the pain, like you are." Suddenly, the bus started to move again. They were back in space, and the girl started to float. She attempted to fly, wiggling her arms in the air. She saw as the worlds collided. She saw flying colors and mythical animals as they drove past to a new destiny. "This stop: new puppy." The loudspeaker exclaimed. The girl watched as she saw the same woman again, this time in a shelter. She picked up a small puppy, who's tail wagged in delight. The girl watched as the puppy and the woman spent time together-she watched when the puppy first sat on command, the last time when it peed on the carpet, the moments when the puppy would disobey the woman and eat a piece of a cookie, the moments they ran and played fetch together. But the moments slowed down to one on a pier. The woman is laughing, running with her dog. But it's leash slipped out of her hand, and it ran farther along the pier. When the woman caught up to it, it was by a man who was petting it. The dog wagged in delight. The woman thanked the man, and they talked for a bit. The girl already knew what was to happen, as she saw the diamond-tipped ring and the wedding.
"See." The old man spoke up for the first time in a while. "Not only was the woman happy, but she found true love." The girl looked away from the window, and back to her dangling feet. "But what about when the dog dies?" She finally asked. Suddenly, the bus started to speed up again. It went dangerously fast. The girl was knocked back to the edge of the seat, and felt stuck to the wall for what felt like an hour. Finally, the bus halted to a stop. The loudspeaker announced nothing. Instead, the girl watched the moment unfold.
It was the same woman, looking slightly older. Next to her, was a little boy. "I don't want another dog. Nothing will be better than Jack!" He exclaimed, and started to cry next to his mother. "W-why do you want another dog, Mama?" The woman sighed. "I've seen many of my loved ones pass away. But you don't think about their last moment, do you? You think about all the memories you had together, and all the joy in your heart. You just thank the universe that they were there, and that you could have the journey together. That of all the stars in the universe, you could be with this one." She smiled for a moment, a tiny wrinkle on her forehead.
"I just wanna see Jack again." The boy croaked, wiping a tear. "You'd be surprised about how you find your loved one's souls in the most peculiar places. You'll understand one day. You'll speak to your kids about your dogs, and they will speak to their kids about their dogs." The boy gulped, and then looked up, straight into the girls eyes. He squinted at her, as if he almost saw her in the window. She almost fell backwards as he did. But the bus quickly moved again, and they were back in the cosmos.
"Tell me, would you rather give up your memory of Phoenix to get rid of the pain of losing him?" The old man asked. The girl looked back at her feet. "No." She admitted. "And I guess I could get another puppy, one day. I just wanted to say goodbye." She felt the tears fall down her cheeks. She tried to brush them away again. She thought about Phoenix again. If she ever got a puppy, she would have to endure this by the end. But that would be okay. No amount of sadness could ever get rid of happy memories.
Suddenly, she felt a warm breathe at her feet. "You'd be surprised about how you find your loved one's souls in the most peculiar places." She looked down. "Phoenix!" She shouted with glee. Tears of joy barreled down her face. "I'm so happy to see you." The golden retriever licked her cheek. She giggled, and grabbed her best friend. "I love you." Phoenix licked her again. It felt like the old days, where they could just play joyfully in the grass. Suddenly, the bus stopped. But they weren't on Earth.
"This stop: Rainbow Bridge." This time, the door did open. She sighed. "We have to say goodbye soon. But I'll never forget you, Phoenix. I'll always love you." She hugged Phoenix again, and then stood up. "I can walk you to the door. But I can't go any farther." Phoenix almost seemed to understand, and he got up. Together, they walked to the door. "This is your stop, buddy." She smiled. "Oh, how I'll miss you." Phoenix barked one last time and licked the girls leg one last time, and trotted down the Rainbow bridge. The girl watched as he headed up, waving over and over again with a smile on her face. She watched as his body slowly went out of view after he crossed over half of the rainbow bridge.
The bus closed it's doors, and she sat down again, her legs dangling and still not reaching the floor. She was all alone. She closed her eyes.
When she opened them, she was back on the bus. Her mother's arms were around her. "Hey, honey, are you okay?" Her mother asked. "I'm fine. I-I just miss Phoenix." Her mother sighed, wiping her own tear. "This'll be hard. Maybe in a few months, we can get another puppy. This time, you can name it whatever you want."
The girl smiled, embracing her mothers arms. "Mom, I'd love that."
ns 15.158.61.20da2
