dog

i remember brandy. he's probably the biggest dog i've ever buried. we found him by the garage frothing blood in his mouth. he was poisoned, father opined. we tried to make him drink some sugared water but his tongue's too stiff to even lick the wet sponge we offered. his eyes were closed. all of his body is stiff. but he's still alive. we can tell by the faint movement of his chest. don't move him anymore, father said, let him be. we left him for a while.

when i returned he was dead already. his legs were outstretched. small red ants have already found their way inside his gaping mouth. i thought i saw a hint of tears in his eyes. looking at him it is just now i realized how long his body was. although he was a local breed, he was a lot bigger than the others. i held his front legs by my left hand and his hind legs by my right. i had to drag him out to the front yard. he was a lot heavier now that he's dead.

i patiently dug a large hole in our front yard about five feet long and 3 feet wide. i tried very hard to make the hole deep enough to accommodate his stiff body. but i only was able to reach about 2 feet deep into the earth when my spade had hit hard adobe floor. i can't make the hole any deeper.

i hauled his body into the hole. the length and width were sufficient but the depth was not. i tried to position his body but his stiffened legs just kept on jutting out. there's just one way to fit him into the grave. using the spade, i broke all four of his legs to be able to bend them. i heard the bones crack but i know there'll be no pain for brandy anymore. i said sorry, as i covered him with earth. death is real. i know the body i buried is not the real brandy. i firmly believe there is another immaterial part of him that has transcended physical death and will journey back to its Creator/Source. brandy is not different from us.