Reflect // Van McCann

18. Company

*Van's POV*

I've been here over two years and am just finding out you can own pets in paradise. Sounds silly but before you judge me—it's extremely rare as they're fucking expensive.

Having been dead for eight years, I'm used to not seeing pets around. I was in the park when I saw my first pet in years. At first I wasn't sure what I was looking at. I was zoning out when I noticed a pair of beady eyes looking right at me. It was resting on the grass, tongue out. A mop of hair. Whatever it was was eyeing the burrito I was eating. Is this some divine creature that only exists in paradise?

I made eye contact with whatever it was and took a bite of my burrito, taunting it. A piece of meat fell out of my burrito and everything happened in slow motion. As the meat fell, the creature got up and starting bolting towards me. Fuck! I stood up and quickly climbed on top of the bench, scared that the creature would attack me.

"Fucking hell! Get your own food!" I shouted. The owner ran up to me and tried to restrain the creature which lunged at my burrito.

"I'm so sorry! She's completely harmless!" the lady apologized.

"The fuck is that thing?" I asked. The lady looked at me as if I was crazy.

"That's Princess...my dog," the lady responded. As soon as it clicked, I turned red in embarrassment. Of course it's a dog. What else would it be?

"Oh," I said, laughing nervously, "I thought it was a mythical creature that only exists in paradise." At my words, the lady burst out laughing.

"You thought she was a mythical creature?" the lady asked in between laughs. "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard! I honestly thought you were afraid of dogs!" I laughed along with her.

"No, I love dogs! I owned a Yorkshire Terrier growing up when I was still alive. Cats on the other hand are another story. They absolutely hate my guts."

The lady laughed. "I'm not a cat person either." She lifted her dog into her arms and I felt the sudden need to hold one.

"Um...can I hold your dog?" I asked hesitantly. It's been years since I've held a dog and I missed it dearly.

"Only on one condition," the lady said, adjusting the dog in her arms. "If you share your burrito with her, that is."

I found myself grinning and I offered the little bit of burrito I had left to her dog. I waved the burrito in front of the dog. Close enough to smell but far enough that the dog couldn't reach it. The dog squirmed and she handed her to me. I hugged the dog close to my body and watched as she licked my burrito and I found myself smiling.

"She's adorable," I told her. I let her eat the burrito and she licked my fingers after. I scratched behind the dog's ears, holding her like a baby. "You can own pets here?" I asked the lady.

"Yeah but it's extremely rare. There aren't that many and they're expensive," the lady explained.

"Expensive? Like how much?" I questioned.

"Princess cost me $5,000."

I almost dropped her dog in shock. "What? Is she a purebred?"

"No, she's a mutt. Purebreds are almost $10,000 here! I don't know why they're so expensive but I think it's because there's a limited amount here. It took me several years to save the money to buy one. Not only is she expensive but her food and medications are as well since it's not common to own a pet."

"Do they only have dogs here?"

"No, they've got cats, fish, birds, and so on."

"Where did you buy your dog?"