I loved Choco!
Sweet and adorable and foofy. The most perfectly amazing and loveable pet I have ever had. He had been part of our family for three years, given to me by our neighbours who were relocating abroad. He had been only six months old and oh how it broke their heart to part with him, but they couldn't take him with them.
They knew I loved dogs so much, especially Choco because I always played with him, that was how I inherited him. But I usually can't talk much about him without choking with emotions. For four years of my life, I had this one amazing friend—Choco
He was a sandy-brown mutt who loved chocolates, hence that name, he had clever eyes and a tail that never seemed to stop wagging, he was more than a pet, he was a friend, a guard, and sometimes, my secret keeper. Choco knew the rhythm of our home, he knew when the kettle hissed, he knew when the school bus honked, he knew when Dad would come back home and then sit by the gate waiting, he danced when Mama danced to her radio while cooking, he was very energetic and playful. Infact he was such a delight, he was my hero.
So when Choco started acting strangely one Sunday afternoon, I knew something was wrong.
We had come back from church and I was seated at the dining table, struggling through my mathematics homework, when I heard him growl —it was low but deep. At first, I thought it was a lizard or maybe one of those little reptiles that he often chased for sport, but when the bark became more incessant and sharper, I decided that it was different from his playful growl. It was not routine, it was urgent.
I peered through the window and saw him circling the backyard like he was trying to sniff out something, something invisible. First he sniffed at the flower pots, then trotted to the fence, growling again as he did so. He then sat down stiffly, staring hard at the kitchen window.
By this time, I had become very curious.
“Choco?” I called out to him through the back door but he didn’t respond.
I stepped outside, barefoot. Careful not to make any noise, I tiptoed, but trust Choco, he turned to watch me tiptoe towards him, he already sensed someone was coming. When he didn’t wag his tail, my heart skipped. Something was definitely up.
He stood up and walked briskly to the rose bush just beneath the kitchen window. It was my mother's pride, she had spent months nurturing them, but Choco didn’t care. He started pawing the soil beneath it, barking louder and louder as he did.
“Stop that, Choco, stop it!” I hissed, worried mother would come out with her cane, so I tried to stop him but he wasn't paying attention, he just kept on digging.
That was when I smelled a rat.
But just immediately, I sighted it —a thick black nylon, weird, something that didn’t belong in a flower garden. I knelt beside him and pushed the leaves aside, and there, half-buried in the soil, was a small black nylon bag.
"What could this be, Choco?" I asked but he answered with a whimper.
With trembling hands, I dug it out. It was tied tightly, but I could see shapes through the plastic. I quickly ran inside and called mother.
She opened the bag and screamed. Inside were her gold earrings, Papa’s wristwatch, my older brother’s smartwatch, and mother's mobile phone, the one she just replaced after “losing” it two days before. Mama’s hands trembled as she held those things, one after the other. All the items we thought had gone missing mysteriously in the past week.
“What in heaven’s name is this?” she asked.
Choco barked again, pacing around us.
And then it clicked.
The househelp, Mariam. She had been our househelp for about a year and nothing had ever gone missing during that period, so we never suspected her. But how else would those things have ended up there?
Father came home and was furious, he called the househelp to the living room, and when she saw the black nylon bag, her face crumbled, she sank to her knees, begging and sobbing.
“I wasn’t going to steal them! I just... I didn’t know what came over me…”
We all looked on in shock at this show of shame.
"Eunice, I never thought you could do this." Mother spoke sadly, she was as shocked as everyone else.
"I'm so sorry ma, it won't happen again, I swear." She was hysterical by now because she knew her job was on the line.
But the damage was done.
Father sent her away that very evening, after calling her aunt who had recommended her to us.
For the first time, mother who didn't have a 'thing' for dogs was impressed that she even hugged Choco tightly and told him, “You really are one very smart dog."
That night, Choco had a royal dinner so to speak, with lots of chocolate bars, courtesy of mother, and he wagged his tail again gratefully, as he relaxed with his meal.
From that day forward, Choco became a little more than a dog in our home. He was our hero, he was family, he was one of a kind and I really do miss him.
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Thank you for reading.
