The One Nobody Else Wanted

2- You Have to Keep Him!

Inside I go. It's oddly warm and it smells funny. I hear two voices talking -
"Happy Birthday Carlia!"
"Thanks Tammi! What did you get me?"
"Open it up have a look!"
I hear rustling
"Oh my god! A Guinea Pig! Thanks so much Tammi!"
There's a pause. Oh no, I hear it coming
"It has no eyes Tammi..."
There it is. Tammi hesitates. Come on Tammi say something to make everything better. Convince Carlia that I'm not horrific.
"Oh... well is there anything wrong with that?"
"I suppose not"
That's a lie.
I wish everyone around me would just stop saying lies.
I can always tell when someone's lying because I pay close attention to the exact way they're saying their words because I can't see them it's like my hearing is heightened I pick up on small things. You can't get anything past me.
But do you know what annoys me the most?
When people say something just to be polite.
"I've always wanted this"
"Wow, that's interesting"
"Mmm, great food I love it!"
I know secretly that Carlia wants nothing to do with me and wants me gone at the first available opportunity. Tammi stayed for a bit longer then left. The what I assume is Carlia's Mum came downstairs and Carlia said to her-
"Mum! Look! It has no eyes Mum! I don't want it! Get rid of it!"
The phrases I've heard so many times in my life before. Someone knock some sense into this girl. There was a brief silence whilst Carlia's Mum tried to think of something to say. I thought-
"Oh no I can tell she's not very bright and is probably just going to tell her to shut up. She can't think of a proper reason to want me"
But then she remedied my sorrow by explaining everything to her in a way I couldn't put better myself-
"Darling, I know you might not like it but I'm afraid you have to keep it. Think for a minute, just imagine that you're in this Guinea Pig's situation. You're a poor helpless little creature that is helpless. It can't find its way around and never knows what's happening. And remember no other children will choose him, he'd forever be in the pet shop, unloved and not cared for, not wanted in the world, if you get rid of it, it will have a horrible life always lost and confused and I know you can't fall in love with him immediately, it'll take time but you'll grow to love it someday I'm sure."

This was the first sign of hope I have ever experienced in my life. Suddenly, I realised that I can live a good life. This was the turnaround for me. To stop being my dingy, emotional self and actually see that the world isn't as unfair as I first envisioned it to be.

"Do you understand? It's important to remember he's a living animal! For example when I had you I wouldn't just get rid of you because you didn't meet my standards, you can't do that. The fact he has no eyes isn't affecting his ability to do things, you're just being shallow"
I could tell that Carlia was still reluctant to accept but at least she wasn't utterly disgusted anymore.
"I know it looks weird but you'll get used to it"
At this point I should probably explain exactly what I look like as "has no eyes" is really up to interpretation and can definitely cause some confusion. First, I need to clarify that I wasn't born like this. Although it did happen a day after I was born, I hardly remember much but I can recall that I was running around incredibly fast and didn't notice the sharp part of wire fence sticking out in the corner and I ran straight into it managing to stab myself in both eyes as well as in several areas on my face. The scars on my face really weren't that bad and I've been told unless you come really close you can hardly see them but my eyes however... They were irreparable. It was very graphic what happened and it involved a lot of blood so I won't mention it. It was agonisingly painful and I still shiver with disgust thinking about it. The day after that, my eyes both fell out due to the extreme pressure they were on. Over the next few months, the skin grew back over it slightly and it became so much less bloody. But you can still see now that there are two small holes where my eyes should be. So I suppose I can understand when someone is creeped out when they look at me however it's astounding that so many people are. Carlia came over to me again and said-
"I'll try and love you, I'm sorry for judging a book by its cover, I'm sure you're not as bad as I thought"
That really touched me. I knew that she could pull through. I'm glad they changed from the cherry-picking routine at the pet shop. This way instead of letting kids get what they want- It's teaching them a crucial lesson about accepting graciously what you're given. I was sick and tired of every single time an eager child came in being either completely ignored or pointed out how "disgusting and horrible" I look. What if someone did that to you? You wouldn't be happy would you?
...
...
3 hours now. I've been sat here for 3 hours now completely ignored. When is she going to put me in my proper cage?
Never mind, she's probably doing something important. It's not all bad though it's given me an opportunity to sniff around and get used to my surroundings. Whenever I explore a new place I go slowly so I don't walk into something. I scout out the edge then walk around the perimeter a few times to get a good feel for my new location. People don't realise that me having no eyes is no trouble at all except for the constant criticism of my "revolting face". Finding food? I can sniff around for it! Drinking water? I can just feel for it with my nose. It also helps that my whiskers are very very long so I never get stuck in things. I have a feeling I'm going to get along fine here.
...
I can smell something.
Could it be?
Another Guinea pig in the house?!
I hear Carlia coming downstairs, she's talking on the phone.
"Sorry I couldn't call you earlier I was writing something, anyway I've thought of a name for my New Guinea Pig!"
Here we go, this is the testing of this young child's imagination-
"Toffee! Because he's so sweet and he's toffee-coloured!"

Toffee!
...
I like that name