The Melody Of Our Heartbeats

The Damaged Shoe

The sky was a myriad of colours. The swirls of oranges, pinks and purples were slowly being engulfed by the velvety black. The twilight enhanced the beauty of the countryside as the last rays of the sun kissed the farmlands.

Normally, Gina would have spared a minute to marvel the magnificence of the sunset. She would've been walking through the vast farmlands along with Sadie. However, the evening witnessed a very much troubled Gina walking through a narrow countryside trail, clutching a damaged shoe.

"Sadie! Sadie!" her hoarse voice pierced through the otherwise quiet locale as her eyes searched for a black canine.

It was getting dark. Gina had to hurry.

"Sadie!" she called out, her voice getting weaker each time. She felt exhausted. Her whole body was protesting against her for mercilessly walking for hours. But the gnawing guilt in her chest kept her walking.

She remembered how indignant she was earlier that morning when she saw Sadie biting and scratching her brand new shoe.

Blinded by anger, Gina had snatched the shoe from Sadie. She had bought it from her two years of savings, and the thought had made her even more furious.

Gina's grip on the shoe tightened instinctively as she recalled how she had hit Sadie with the damaged shoe. Sadie had yelped and cried as if pleading to stop. But Gina didn't.

"Gina, that's enough! She's still a puppy!" Her mother's voice had snapped her out of it.  But by then, the border collie was nowhere to be seen.

"Sadie, where are you?" It was getting darker, and the concern in her heart was growing. One look at the damaged shoe and her heart was filled with self-loathing. She desperately wanted to see Sadie. She wanted to hug her and apologize.

"Don't worry, she'll come back after a while." Gina remembered her mother's words. It was normal for Sadie to go out when she was scolded and return after a while. But this time, she didn't come back, even past noon. That was when Gina set out to find her. The blaring daylight didn't bother her. Her mind was occupied by Sadie's face.

But even after hours of searching, the six-month-old pup was nowhere to be seen. Gina felt exhausted. She felt weak. It was only minutes before she would be enveloped in complete darkness.

Before she turned back, she caught a glimpse of something black at the far end of the farmland - at the edge of the woods. Her heart leapt with joy.

Sadie!

She knew it was her. Huffing and panting, Gina ran as fast as she could. Her legs were aching, her heart was throbbing, but she couldn't care less.

"Sadie!" she called out loud. The dog didn't move. Gina's smile slowly waned as she stopped dead on her tracks. Specks of red littered the grass like rubies.

Gina's vision became blurry. Her stomach grew cold.

There lay her Sadie, with a peaceful face, neck adorned with gashes of some wild animal's claws.

A strained whimper escaped her parted lips before teardrops fell on the grass one by one, along with a damaged shoe.