She was a simple little girl in India who had gotten a pet goat. Or at least thought at the time it was her pet. She remained attached to that goat, petting it, feeding it, intently watching it poop - she had developed a close bond to her goat.....till it was served with palak paneer and curried lentils (they told her it was chicken) .
Before the deception was revealed, her and her family boarded a plane to start a new life in Canada. The dismay of her lost pet goat was eclipsed by the excitement of adopting a new pet goat among the many roaming free in Canada (she did not read the brochure).
Life in Canada was fast paced, new house, new school...new "no-friends" - she needed her pet goat. With the lack of goats in Canadian pet shops, she settled for a rabbit.
That rabbit, which she lovingly named Kitty (she was still learning English at that time) would be fed nuts, fruits, vegetables and she amazed on how its poop looked so much like her pet goats poop, just smaller pellets . Anyways, Kitty had to be given away because it did not fit in its cage anymore (possibly due to its excessive feeding) and her parents felt it needed to live amongst its own.
Kitty was handed over to their Italian gardener. Apparently he said he had a rabbit sanctuary. He even asked her to join him watch rabbits "doing it" ...she kept herself, her brother and all the neighborhood kids far away from him - she can only hope her dear pet rabbit was eaten...
Then she found a lost dog and again developed a close bond with her pet. One day her dog somehow ate her plate of spicy chicken vindaloo and it was never the same after that. The poor dog developed an acute case of irritable bowel syndrome and had to be put to sleep (its poop definitely did not look anything like tiny dry pellets).
That little girl grew up to be content with solitude - she learned that life will find ways to screw you ....one way or another.
Bonds will be made and bonds will broken along the way, but in the end we are left to deal with our own shit. So better to cherish those special connections that nurture our magical side - such that when we find ourselves alone, with nothing but our own skin for comfort - there is no emptiness, just fullfilling memories that make us love the skin we've lived in.
...that little girl will always have her pet goat.
