Kami is a mother dog living on the streets. Nine years of scavenging for food scraps and seeking shelter in the dark have turned her once playful puppy into a hardened creature. Today, a day that should have been marked by a sense of accomplishment, was instead marked by profound loss.
She’d given birth to a litter of puppies just a few weeks ago, a spark of hope in the bleakness of her existence. They were her world, her reason for enduring the harsh realities of street life. Their tiny bodies, warm and soft, had filled her with a maternal love she hadn’t known existed.
But the city was a cruel mistress. The cold, the hunger, and the constant threat of danger had taken their toll. One by one, her puppies had disappeared, victims of the unforgiving urban environment. Now, on the day she should have been celebrating their survival, she was mourning their loss.
As the sun began its descent, casting long, mournful shadows, Kami wandered the streets, a ghost in a bustling world. The city’s cacophony was a deafening silence to her. She missed the playful barks, the warmth of their tiny bodies pressed against hers. Her maternal instincts, once a source of strength, were now a heavy burden.
She found a sheltered spot beneath a discarded cardboard box, a meager refuge from the elements. As she curled up, her body trembling, she thought of her puppies. They were gone, but their memory lived on, a constant ache in her heart. This was her ninth birthday, a milestone marked not by celebration but by a profound sense of loss. She was a mother, a protector, but the city had taken her children, leaving her alone and broken.
