5 days later, Jake found himself fighting to blink back tears as the Australian landscape flew by his eyes in a hazy blur of color, warm breath steadily fogging up the cold glass window he tiredly rested his forehead upon. The familiar Queensland cityscape that he had grown up around flew through his vision in a mix of shiny buildings and glass skyscrapers for the last time in what was most likely years, the sight of the blocky construction cutting against the bright blue skyline above his head bringing back years upon years of youthful memories. It had just so happened that the half an hour drive from his house to the airport perfectly cut through the bustling downtown area of his homecity, allowing him one last chance to reminisce and visit the fond ghosts of his youthful memories before he began to start a new chapter of his life, in a place on a completely different continent across nearly seven thousand miles of deep blue ocean.
He had spent his last few days in Australia visiting and saying goodbye to all his friends, classmates, relatives, and even just people he had seen every day for the past decade of his life, bidding them one last goodbye and promising to come back and visit when he had time. He had then went down one last trip of memory lane and paid a visit to all the places that he had called home for the majority of his childhood, his schools, playgrounds, libraries, cafes, restaurants, amusement parks, and even the little pet store he had liked to visit as a young boy and found Layla at. By the time dusk had fallen over the world on the last day before his departure, the boy had felt that his soul had been plentily replenished with his past and ready to embark on a new adventure of his future, ready to mix the echos of his past with the many happy memories he would make in the future.
For while he would be leaving many things behind him, his old life, his old home, and his old youthhood, there was one most important thing that he wasn't leaving behind in Australia.
Layla rose from her spot on the car floor and quickly scrambled onto the seat, excitedly bounding over to him and giving him a series of wet licks on the side of his face, eyes shining with happiness as she eagerly gave him a little nudge and stared into his eyes. Layla had been one of the best things in Jake's life ever since he had originally adopted her as a puppy when he was younger, ever since he had laid eyes on that darling little cream border collie in the animal shelter. He had immediately fallen in love with her creme-colored fur and the little pair of milk-chocolate eyes staring up at him from her kennel, and with the gentle way she paced in a straight line at the front of her cage as she watched him with a keen interest from behind the glass.
Over the years, the two of them had grown up and matured in age together, and with that, their bond had strengthened to a point where they both had developed a strong emotional reliance to each other. On the days where Jake's mood had been in the dumps and he was under the weather, Layla refused to leave his side under any circumstance and stuck to him like chewing gum, curling up next to him on his bed for long naps and never straying more than a couple feet behind his ankles whenever he traveled around the house. Jake, too, never liked to leave Layla's side when she fell sick to doggy illnesses, always having felt quite anxious whenever he had to sit in class and try to pay attention while he knew that she was nursing a sickness back at home. He had always rushed home the second school let out and to her side as fast as he possibly could when she was sick, not having the heart to leave her alone and let her suffer alone while she was in such a state. She had been a comfortable presence in his life for such a long time, and for her to suddenly no longer be by his side and vice versa, Jake didn't know what he would do.
So, when he had first started looking at travel arrangements and booking flights to Incheon International Airport, he purposely bought a ticket on a flight that allowed pets to travel on. After some discussion with his parents, in which he had nearly prepared and presented an entire powerpoint presentation for, they had let him take Layla with him to South Korea as officially his pet and companion, with the one promise that he would send daily pictures of her back to them so they knew that she was doing well. He had promised it in a heartbeat, and had even found out that not only did his dorm allow for domestic pets and animals, that they even allowed them to run freely around the campus without a leash as long as they were trained.
