003 - Neighbour

I could hear the door to my room slowly creaking open. As I turned my head in that direction, I spotted that my white Labrador retriever puppy was exerting an immense amount of effort to enter the room by pushing the door with her adorable little head.

I simply observe her struggling without feeling compelled to lend a hand—because, why not? She is adorable in her moments of desperation. I am pleased to provide her a hand, but I prefer to let her be when the situation is not critical or dangerous. On occasion, I can be a harsh owner.

She managed to pry open the door just enough for her little frame to squeeze in and, with much effort, try to climb my bed. Her legs are still too short to tackle my king-size bed, even if she has grown a little since last time.

The pup yells out, "Woof!" After several unsuccessful attempts to leap into my bed, I most likely became exhausted. I let out a chuckle before deciding to assist her.

I merely lifted my upper body and gently scooped her by her belly. As I moved her from the floor to my stomach, she let out a few barks, which gives the impression that she is pleased with the experience.

“Hi, baby.”

In a joyful response, she exclaimed, "Woof!" She weighs only about two kilograms, so her presence does not in any way suffocate me.

“Miss me, Snow?” I said softly as I caressed her fur and scratched her ear. She absolutely adores that, I can tell. She yells out, "Woof!" as she nuzzles on my palm. To see her reaction makes me smile.

Snow has a challenging beginning as a puppy. It was just a month ago that we officially adopted her. On a rainy Friday night, my brother Kairo saw her lying damp on the grass next to my mom's flowerpot.

Just as he was going to set down his bike after a game with his friends, he noticed a little white creature by his side. He discovered that she is still breathing after he checked on her.

In the midst of our dinner, he dragged her in his little clutch and pleaded with my mom for assistance. They have warmed up to her and have chosen to keep her, even though we were simply intending to nurse her to health. When I first heard about it, I was not pleased.

Why? Because everyone else is so preoccupied with their own lives, no one will be able to give her the attention she needs. Snow is a puppy; she needs more attention than a dog. Before accepting her, we had to think about a lot of things, like my mom having to work and my brother and I having to go to school.

Their solemn vow was to watch over her until she felt well enough to walk again. After three days, I could tell she was healthy enough to walk around; in fact, she followed me everywhere I went, even though she should be more attached to my mom or Kairo.

Dogs are not exactly my thing. Animals, to be fair, and precisely those that have well-defined eyes. Unfortunately, my powers extend beyond humans to any living thing with an iris and pupil.

They become absolutely enthralled whenever I read them or people around them. My actions appeared to have a tangible impact on them. It is not their fault, but the fact that they did it drove me to despise them. They are really unruly.

However, I could tell that Snow was unique. I just wanted to get away from her, so I kept looking and did my reading on her, but what I saw was surprising.

I remember seeing her mother, who is identical to her but larger. There were five more siblings who were also there and they were all placed in a large house, most likely a mansion. The previous owner of the dog claimed that they did not want a particular puppy and that they had instructed a man, possibly one of their employees, to get rid of it.

Viewed from the perspective of a puppy, she was scooped out from the company of her many siblings, who were consuming their mother's milk and placed inside of a little box that was empty. I am only able to perceive darkness from this point forward.

While she wailed in the shadows, the box that Snow was in eventually opened, revealing a group of mischievous children rescuing her. She was subjected to severe physical abuse, including multiple strikes from a stick, frequent tosses around, and even hitting the ground before being hoisted again.

They dumped her on the side street near our house after they were satisfied with her. She struggled for a few more steps before collapsing and passing out at the location of her discovery. According to my vision, she is distinct among her siblings, which is why they did not want her.

Compared to her siblings, she is noticeably smaller and was mostly silent, unlike other pups. The vet explained that she might have an illness that caused her to be this way. Because of that, she was often forgotten and her small size resulted in her always being pushed back by her siblings and missing her meals. Her bone development became abnormally slow due to a lack of milk consumption. I’m no expert; that’s what the doctor said.

Thankfully, the puppy's sickness was only a short-lived reaction to her childhood maltreatment. She will be just as good as any puppy as long as she obtains enough vitamins to compensate for her losses as she grows older.

After I read her for the first time, she was still casually sitting in front of me, looking at me in a way that was completely innocent. I do not know if she could sense that I am also different like her but I am taken aback by the fact that she did not yell or run like the other canines did.

That is how I fell in love with her. From that point on, I have spent more time with her than she did with her original owner, Kairo.

Upon returning to reality following the prolonged playback of that flashback in my thoughts, I noticed that Snow was curled up on my tummy, her adorable paws lying on her chin, and her head perched on top. As she relaxes, her eyes meet mine.

Although the grass takes up most of the view in this shortened version of my front yard, I can still make out my mom's beloved flower pots neatly lined up in the yard.

I am able to see the old bicycle that belongs to my brother settling on the side of our porch as she continues to walk around. He hasn't cleaned it in quite some time, which explains why it's dirty. He said he did but blamed it on the rain for making it dirty again. However, I do not believe him. I was aware of the truth, but I chose to disregard it for a peaceful life.

As a result of his gaming, he has developed a short temper and has learned all of those foul words. Because of this, I always lash out at him whenever he utters a curse word aloud. He would occasionally just accept it, but the majority of the time he would lose his temper and cause us to argue. What a spoiled brat.

It came to my attention that Snow had gone to the next door and halted next to the short steps that were located at the front door. After keeping an eye on the situation for a time, I became aware of some rustling sounds coming from behind her.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” I look at Snow, who still hasn’t moved an inch from her position. “Don’t say you pooped in the next door’s yard.”

And she did. Thankfully, it’s on the grass.

“Snow, you can’t poop at the neighbor’s yard.” I nagged as if she could understand. She tilted her head. “Woof!” she replied, then licked me.

“I know there’s no one there but still Snow.”

After carefully moving Snow to sit on the bed, I get up from my bed and make my way downstairs to the kitchen. I took out a plastic bag from the top drawer before proceeding to the door.

I discovered the boys I had scanned earlier still hanging by the tree as soon as I opened the door, and I immediately closed it again. “I’m just gonna grab the thing real quick and get back inside, right?” I ask myself.

"Well, if that’s the case, I see no need for this." With a final glance, I place it on the little table beside our front door, feeling a pang of regret for my decision already.

Thankfully, I am still wearing my hoodie from class, so I pull it over my head and attempt to disguise my face in an awkward way.

I exit the house after taking a deep breath. I go directly to the next door while staring at the ground, which is nothing more than hazy green grass. I believed my plan was straightforward and uncomplicated, yet the complexity of being a Leithe surpasses my recollection.

I was so engrossed in retrieving Snow's treasure that I failed to notice that someone was quietly approaching behind me.

A low-pitched voice called out from behind, asking, "What on earth are you doing?"

I jumped, nearly spilling a bag worth of poo onto the ground once more. At first, I mistook him for one of the teenage boys, but then I noticed that he is actually taller than me.

“Oh, shit! I’m so sorry!” On my knees, I frantically search the grass for the plastic bag that I just dropped as I sincerely apologize. I am literally blind without my glasses, as I mentioned before.

“Don’t worry about it,” he muttered as he moved closer to me, judging from how his voice sounded nearer. “What are you looking for? This plastic?”

A black bag dangling from his hand caught my attention as I turned to face him. “Sure, I suppose so. I assume it's mine, even if it's not yours.” To try to hide my embarrassment, I gave out a nervous laugh, but that just made things worse.

After a good chuckle, he gave it to me. “I'm Hunter. I just moved here yesterday," he added, reaching out to shake hands.

I grab the bag and shake his hand. “Oh, mine’s Leithe. You can call me Leithe or whatever you want to call.” I said, silently cringing within. “Scratch that. Call me Leithe. Just Leithe. Haha.” Oh, what a fantastic attempt, extrovert.

He chuckles. “Okay, Leithe.”

“So you live here?” I said, quickly changing the subject.

“Yeah. You?”

“Oh, wow. I’m right next door.” I replied as I pointed the direction of my house using my thumb. He only nodded.

“Once again, I apologize for entering your property without your permission. I recall it being empty because I had no idea someone had moved in.”

He grinned. "It’s fine. This makes sense to me. I arrived late last night so I completely get it if no one noticed me," he continued.

I nod and grin as a response. “Oookay. What’s next?”

“I gotta go tidy up some things. It just arrived this morning.” he said, breaking the silence, which I sighed in relief.

“Yeah, okay. Me too. I mean, not about the thing that arrived this morning. It’s about—I’m just gonna leave now.” I stuttered before starting to walk to my house. However, I pause right before I reach the small steps of our porch.

“Hey, Hunter!” I called. He turns to face me, his hand already on the doorknob. “Yeah?”

“Nice to meet you, and sorry that our first impression was not the best. The first word you got from your neighbour was ‘shit’.” We both laugh at the statement. “No problem, dude.”

“Aight, see you around.” We then make our way back to our homes.

As soon as I step inside, I slam the door shut. “Stupid social anxiety.”