Task 1
She called her mother again, updating her of the current situation because her mother must now come home to deal with the dead body. She had felt numb as soon as they ran into the bus. The pounding in her chest drowned out any other noise and the sickening feeling in her stomach overrode any sense that was coming back. She felt so angry at the dog that killed her beloved pet and seemed so happy about it. She just kept thinking that the fluffy happy cat couldn’t be dead. Cats were supposed to have nine lives, so why was it lying still? It felt like forever had passed in moments her mother returned home from work. “We’ll take it out to your brother on the farm and bury it,” her mother said. All she could do was to nod her head, still shocked, the soreness from all the screaming setting into her throat.
All the energy drained out of Charlotte, but she knew she would have to get ready to say goodbye soon. It did not seem fair, nor did it make sense, but there was nothing she could do to turn the clock around to make things right. Charlotte so wanted to do that, to turn the clock around. In fact, that moment played and replayed in her mind, when she opened the wire door to the backyard. She wasn’t paying attention to her cat at that moment. She wasn’t looking to see if there were any changes in its behavior today, wasn’t being careful to prevent her entering the backyard, lost in her own thoughts. And it was indeed a shame that those thoughts were about the cat itself, its simple beauty, its adorable demeanor, its affection towards Charlotte and so on. How then did Charlotte turn a blind eye towards the safety of her beloved pet while thinking how lovable it is? The guilt weighed heavily on Charlotte. It all seemed like her fault. Her mom told her not to think that way, but Charlotte couldn’t help it. Her anger towards the staffy has now turned into guilt and hatred for her own carelessness.
All through the journey to the farm, Charlotte’s thoughts went back in time to that one moment where she acted hastily. By now, she realized that the staffy, though cruel, was only displaying the natural behavior of a dog. As a human, it was Charlotte, who did not live up to her role as a genuine caretaker for her pet. As she lowered the cat into the hole her brother dug out for her, Charlotte cried softly and then she promised her dear pet that if she were ever to come back to earth, she would be there and she would take care of her in every way she deserves.
