The Salvatore Saga. Volume one

2.

Year 2042.

That morning started beautiful and sunny, when I opened my eyes and saw what a beautiful spring day was coming. Winter was behind us, and the warmth of spring felt comforting after a long, cold winter. There were already small leaves on the trees and I loved to wander around the yard, see what plants were coming up, see if everyone had survived the winter.

I still had to get used to my new life because I was all alone now. No longer any cat or dog around. I had been living alone with my animals up to this point, but as I knew, cats and dogs were only ever with me for part of my life. There is death in life. There is a goodbye. There is loss but also growth and adjustment.

Change has never been easy for me. I am pretty much a slave to my habits, and now, not having anyone to look after and no furry companion, was another new thing to learn, if only temporarily. My sister and my parents had passed away decades ago, taken by their sickness, and I was left here with my animals and my memories to stay and live with.

I had lived alone with dogs and cats for twenty years. A week ago, I had said goodbye to my last cat and had not yet considered new animals for myself. Not having animals gave me a new kind of freedom again, but I also felt the loneliness more bitterly than before. I had relatives surviving here and there, some very old, some distant, and I hadn't kept in touch terribly closely all the time. Now, I would just be with my memories, ready to face what was next.

I spent my time in bed. I was in no hurry to get up. There were no cats to feed. I had all the time in the world to enjoy my morning at my own pace. I got dressed and headed downstairs to make myself my morning coffee. I hadn't decided what I would do today. On my way downstairs, I wondered whether I would go to the shop or just go for a drive for fun. Either way, I thought I'd just get the mail because I wanted to see if the results of my genetic tests had arrived yet. There was no need to go to the store; plenty of food and other goodies were left. Driving sounded like a hobby I might be interested in.

I sighed as I put my coffee on, remembering how decades ago we had driven with my mother and sister in the bogs and fields in our old hometown called Joutseno, watching birds in spring, summer, autumn, and even winter. I laughed in my mind as I reeled off all our adventures that were now only in my memories. And maybe, just maybe, I could even browse the internet for kittens and even dogs. It didn't sound bad at all, the idea of a little puppy that would be a fun but demanding project to teach and raise.

I remembered how my dog Honey, who had been a poodle-pumik mix, had had puppies decades ago, four little ones. I also remembered that I still have recordings of those puppy days as well as some of the driving trips. I should probably watch them again sometime.

I remembered how my sister and I would sit on the floor all night and watch Honey give birth. Honey had been officially my dog, but my sister had been the more important one to Honey again, and I didn't know if my dogs were grieving if Honey was grieving my sister's death at the time. There is so much in the world that no one knows or understands and so much more that cannot be measured or scientifically studied.

After I made my coffee, I wandered downstairs and thought about everything I had experienced in this house. I walked into the living room with a coffee cup in hand and sat on the couch. This was still the same couch I had found my father on when he died. He had just fallen asleep.

I got up and walked into the small bedroom. I had slept here once during the renovation, but this was the room my sister had been in for ten weeks before she died. But this was life, and you don't survive life alive. Even though I remembered my losses, I remembered my good times, and I also wondered what I would do.

What kind of dog I might get depends on what I can find. I had considered moving to an even smaller house, but the little thought of a dog or cat kept the idea on the sidelines. As I was drinking my coffee, I looked out the window in amusement, and in the middle of my thought I noticed a white van pull up to our intersection and turn into my yard.