𝒲𝒽𝑜 𝐿𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈, 𝒲𝒽𝑜 𝒟𝒾𝑒𝓈, 𝒲𝒽𝑜 𝒯𝑒𝓁𝓁𝓈 𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒮𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎

★★★

Miguel Percy Carriedo was a young Filipino who used to live in his home country, the Philippines, until his family moved to the United States Of America. Living in the States wasn't really as how everyone would expect it to be. Everybody out of the country brags about what people call 'The American Dream', and how being in America is life-changing. It turns out that America isn't really like the heavenly place unlike how most people claim it to be, but it was still a beautiful country nonetheless.

Early life in America was pretty rough, especially being a child who suffered from some mental problems. Most notably, Miguel suffered from anxiety. The boy grew up fearsome of those around him and he often had panic attacks and breakdowns. Being simple immigrants in the big city of New York, his parents weren't able to be there for him as much as they wanted to. The hustle and bustle of everyday life was quite hectic, especially if you're in Washington Heights, Manhattan.

Miguel's parents didn't hire a babysitter since they were a bit weary of the people around. They didn't want to just hire random people just because they have some good reviews around the community. They took Miguel to therapy every weekend, and the best thing the therapist suggested was to get Miguel a support dog.

The parents agreed to it, and with some paper signing and other discussions with the therapist and such, Miguel was given a Golden Retriever. In the United States, this kind of dog has always reigned supreme in these fields. It's also said that dogs of this breed are the best for therapy work. They named him, Lemon.

At first, Miguel didn't really like Lemon. The boy grew up to try and resent his mental problems. He forced himself to forget about it all, and tried to live normally like the other kids in his new school. But his anxiety always creeps up on him and overthrows his rather tough demeanour. Even so, hope always lingers around. And Lemon was that hope.

Miguel's parents told that it was best for him to accept Lemon. Trying to make out that you're okay than just accepting it and recovering from there. Even if Miguel didn't like Lemon, the hatred was never reciprocated. No matter what, Lemon was always there for him. Miguel called it annoying when Lemon always approached him and tried to play with him. But to Lemon, it was his special strategy to try and deprive Miguel off of those that stress him out.

One day, Miguel came home from school, being at his worst. Children at his school often bullied him for being different. He was dark-skinned, short, and wasn't like the others. Being indifferent made his mental state worse. And this time, the children at his school pulled on his strings and ticked him off to his limit. He came home, crying. His parents weren't around because they were still at their work shifts. Miguel was left with nobody but Lemon.

As the boy closed the door after entering inside the abode, he sank to his knees as the bitter tears from his bloodshot eyes trickled down continuously. Luckily, Lemon was actually already waiting for him there. The dog came to the rescue in time of his need. Lemon did all he could to grasp onto Miguel's attention. "...What do you even want from me?" Miguel uttered as he bit his lip. Lemon tried to stand up on his own and placed his two front paws on top of Miguel's knees to keep him in balance. After doing so, he placed a paw onto Miguel's cheek to try and stop him from crying, and whimpered along to show his show his sympathy towards the boy's grief.

He was flabbergasted.

Lemon was the only one who was there. At that moment, Lemon was the only one who was able to comfort him. He let his legs spread, arms open, and scooped up Lemon for a gingerly yet caressing hug. The latter certainly enjoyed the embrace and marveled in it.

And from that day on, Miguel has never been the same. Lemon became everything to him. He looked forward to every day because he knows that Lemon would be around – and he was. Lemon was the one he always hanged out with. Even if things go bad in school, it doesn't matter much to him anymore, because he knows that at the end of the day, Lemon would be there for him.