Lydia- The Pet Communicator (Wattys13- Finalist!)

Chapter 5

Lydia- The Pet Communicator

Chapter 5

After the great party, we all decided to go home. I was tired of sitting in the wheelchair for so long, and I wanted to straighten my back and relax for a while on my own bed. I thanked Ricky and his parents for the wonderful party and hugged them goodbye before leaving.

On our way home, there was total silence in the car. No one spoke a word, and Lucky didn’t even bark. It looked like everybody was exhausted. When we got home, I saw my father wink at my mom out of the corner of my eye. It seemed they had planned else something for me. Another surprise?

“They have a surprise for you, but I won’t tell you what,” Lucky barked.

I rolled my eyes at him.

My father took my wheelchair out of the back of the car, and my mother helped me into it. Immediately after, my father whispered something in my mother’s ear, and she nodded with a grin, beginning to push my wheelchair in the direction of our backyard.

The animal shelter was in the backyard, so was the surprise related to the animals? What could it have been? I was eager to find out.

All of a sudden, I felt a soft material being wrapped around my eyes. I’d been blindfolded.

“Who did this?” I asked curiously, and heard my father chuckling from behind.

“It was your dad!” Lucky yapped. It seemed I’d be getting all my answers from these pets now, especially Lucky, since he’d be following me around everywhere like Mary’s little lamb.

“Dad, I know it was you. Mom wouldn’t do such a lousy trick.”

After a little bit, my wheelchair stopped moving, and my dad untied the cloth around my eyes.

“Surprise!” they shouted excitedly.

What a lovely surprise!

The shelter had been rebuilt. It was now bigger in size and had been marvelously painted in vivid colors. I also noticed that a new member had been added to our animal family—a brown Arabian filly, three years old and female, of course.

“How do you like your gift? We bought it for you so you could ride it,” my mother said happily.

“She’s beautiful, Mom. I love her, but she must have been expensive. You know we don’t have enough money to spend on the pets we already have, and no one else is helping us with the funds. It wasn’t necessary, really,” I said, my smile fading. I knew I shouldn’t have said it, but I was very worried.

“You spoiled their mood! They were so excited before, silly!” Lucky barked.

“Can someone please ask this dog to shut up for one second? My head is spinning,” I mumbled, giving a loud sigh.

“Lydia! It’s his nature, and don’t act like a nosy grandmother, okay?” my mom said angrily. “Leave the worrying to us. We got funds from Blue Cross while you were gone for six months.”

“Really? That’s awesome!”

“Yup,” my father replied. “Do you remember Mr. Vivian? The nurse who used to come from Blue Cross and check up on your pets often? He’s now senior nurse, and he talked the head of Blue Cross into giving us some funds for our shelter.”

“Great news! Now I’m less worried. Thank you for the horse, Mom and Dad—this is the best gift I’ve ever gotten. Love you both!”

“Yeah, he’s so much fun!” Lucky barked. “We make jokes all day.”

“Shh! Keep quiet,” I told the puppy, and my parents looked at me with surprise. I smiled back at them innocently.

“I’m happy here,” the new horse neighed. “They take good care of me and give me proper food, and I have so many new friends.”

“Yeah, she’s so cool,” the Abyssinian horse neighed after her.

“You know Lydia understands us now,” Lucky barked to the other dogs. “I don’t know about horses and cats, though.”

“You forgot about us!” the rabbits grunted quickly.

My parents were talking to me, but I paid no attention to them. “How can I hear you all at once? Please speak one at a time,” I shouted out loud.

“Hear who? It’s only the two of us talking to you, baby,” my dad said. He looked worried.

“Sorry Lydia, for confusing your mind. Guys, shut up! We need to give her some space,” Lucky barked.

“Yeah, sorry, we didn’t mean to hurt you,” the new horse apologized, followed by the cats and the rabbits. It hadn’t been their fault, though; they had no need to be sorry, since I was the one who was confused.

“It’s okay, all of you. Sorry for being rude. I’m not feeling well, I’m just tired.” I turned to my father and said, “Dad, you might think I’m crazy, but I’ve been able to understand the animals ever since I woke up from the coma. I can listen to what they think or speak,” I added, close to tears.

“There’s nothing to cry about, sweetheart. We’ll talk about that later, okay? It seems you’re tired—do you want to go inside?” I nodded, wiping away my tears.

“Goodbye, all of you. I’ll come back once I get proper sleep. Once again, I’m sorry.” I waved at all the shelter animals, and Lucky approached my side.

“I’ll be quiet, don’t worry. I just want to stay next to you—I feel safe,” Lucky barked. I looked at the puppy and nodded.

“Grace, please take him to the shelter,” my dad asked my mother. “Lydia needs some sleep.” He began to push my wheelchair towards the house.

“No, Dad, it’s fine. Let him stay with me. He promised he wouldn’t disturb me.”

“Okay, if you’re happy. Grace, you can go back to our bedroom and change clothes, maybe freshen up a little. I’ll come up after Lydia is fast asleep.” My mom nodded and bit her lower lip confusedly, but she jogged upstairs anyway.

Peter’s POV

I carried Lydia to her room in my arms and laid her on the bed. It was tough for me to see her helpless, but at least she always had a smile on her face to show that everything was fine.

In a little while, I saw her fall asleep; she was physically and mentally drained.I covered her with a blanket, kissed her forehead, and sat in the chair opposite to her so I could watch her closely. She was smiling in her sleep, and it was peaceful to see her this way.

What worried me was this: had she been telling the truth about communicating with the animals? Or did she need the help of a psychiatrist? Her medical reports and brain tests had all been normal, and besides, she’d had enough of medications! I didn’t want my daughter to suffer anymore.

I would give her the time to prove it to me, even if no one else believed her. People did claim of talking to animals, though that was mostly to get the attention of the media. Maybe my daughter was truly gifted—anything was possible if God willed it to be, and Lydia was a pure-hearted person who cared for everyone.

I wouldn’t pressure her into anything. I’d give her time. If I saw things getting out of hand, I’d take her to the psychiatrist to be cured.

Somewhere in my heart, though, I believed my daughter.

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