The Boy

I don't remember his name. He was the oldest of the human kids in my family and would sometimes take pity on me and bring me a bowl of food. I thought of him a lot after the incident with the rabbit. Of all the family members, I was fond of him the most. Not just because he fed me but because he seemed to hold a lot of love in his heart. 

When I was still a member of this pack, living in the home with them, I noticed he took care of everyone.  As a pup I saw him as alpha. I knew he was younger than the the man but he watched over the children more closely than the man. When the baby would cry, he'd tell the woman that he'd tend to it. The man, on the other hand, did not do much with the family. In fact, he caused more chaos and rattled the pack. 

There was a time when the man came home and I smelled something very wrong with him. There was something very aggressive about him and I laid under the dining table to steer clear of him. I watched as the woman tended to him very quickly, bringing him water and taking his shoes off. The boy played with the baby on the floor. The man sat on the couch and was speaking very loudly at them all. He had a growl in his throat and his words were very ... lazy, I suppose. I watched as he spoke angrily particularly to the boy. The baby began to fuss. I guessed it was getting upset. I certainly was. The man then did something that made me shake. 

He threw a couch pillow at the boy, who caught it but the movement caused the baby to cry a shrill scream. The woman hurried over and took the baby. The man laughed. The boy, however, stood and said something to the man.  And this made him very angry. It was a very sad and fearful day for me. But it didn't appear fearful for the boy. Although he was physically hurt this day, I sensed strength in him. I looked up to him. 

I thought of this incident and it was suddenly clear to me why he was very upset when he caught me eating the rabbit. He didn't see me as his Andy. He saw me as the man.