An intense urge

Perhaps, I shouldn’t have picked up such a large tumbler of iced coke at the Mc Donald’s drive through just before entering farm country. But with the harsh sunlight pouring in through my windshield, it was too tempting to resist.

Even with the AC blasting out cool air, it wasn’t long before I had finished the drink. All of it, including every last cold drop of melted ice.

And now, two hours later, it was sloshing around inside me. I could feel it. Ouch, my stomach hurt. I took off my seat belt to relieve some of the pressure, but I needed to go and soon. Unfortunately, there was no sign of a rest stop in sight. In fact, nothing existed except acres and acres of monotonous wheat fields as far as the eye could see.

Nature was calling, yet, I could see no nature. Just tedious manmade fields of grain, to feed the mundane masses. Okay, so perhaps I was pontificating to distract myself. I had to, for I felt like my bladder was going to burst.

That’s when I saw a giant and probably ancient oak tree in the middle of a wheat field. It looked so out of place. Nature is calling, I thought to myself and giggled. I must answer its call. I pulled over and made a dash for it. It was a good hundred meters from the road and running through the tall grass wasn’t easy, but I barely noticed. I emerged in a circular clearing spanning a four foot radius around the sturdy tree.

Relief and a fright

Thankfully, it was deserted. I went around the oak to the side facing away from the road, pulled down my pants and squatted to relieve myself. But it took a while to get going. Evolution has made it so much easier for men in these situations, I mused, enviously. Finally, done after what seemed like eons, I felt ten pounds lighter and a whole lot happier. I zipped up and was about to leave, when I heard voices.

Startled, I listened carefully. “I miss him too Honey, but I think we did the right thing,” said a deep manly voice. I looked around and saw a young couple on the field, approaching the tree from a distance. If I tried to return to my car, I knew I’d be spotted. I wasn’t in the mood to answer any embarrassing questions. So I climbed up the tree and made my way up to one of the higher branches. I sat there satisfied that the branch was not just sturdy, but also densely leafy, so I was well hidden from anyone on the field. Comfortable on my perch, I decided to wait for the young couple to pass.

Their conversation became more audible as they approached. “I still can’t believe we did it. I mean he trusted us.” The woman sounded agitated.

“It’s because he trusted us that we had to do what we did. He was in pain Elana, and I couldn’t bear to watch him suffer. Ronald did not deserve that!” The man asserted.

“But he deserved to live. We didn’t even consider some of the treatment options.” The women voiced her guilt.

“Morphine was the only treatment we could afford,” was the hard hearted response.

I grimaced. I wasn’t sure how I felt about euthanasia, but I knew it wasn’t legal. I didn’t want to hear anymore of this conversation. If I did, wouldn’t I have to report it? Who was Ronald anyway? What was wrong with him? How much pain was he really in? Why didn’t they try every possible treatment option? So what if it was expensive? Could you really put a price on a human life?

“I wish I knew that he wanted it. I wish I did not feel like I had betrayed him.” The woman lamented.

I began to feel alarmed. Perhaps this wasn’t euthanasia at all. Perhaps the couple was trying to justify murder. My blood ran cold.

“We did know what he wanted, Elana. It’s true he couldn’t speak, but we could see the pain in his eyes. I have never seen Ronald look so miserable.”

“True, but was it our pain we were ending, or his?” Elana asked as they reached the shade of the tree.

So, Ronaldo couldn’t speak. Then he couldn’t have even expressed a desire to die. These two had murdered him on speculation. I would have to report it. I felt nauseated.

“Elana, why do you torture yourself so? The deed is done. Now let’s dig a nice grave, so he can rest in peace under his favorite tree. He loved coming here, remember?” The man placed his shoulder bag down against the trunk of the tree, and began to dig with his spade.

I froze. So they were going be under the tree for who knows how long, digging a grave. My grave, I thought glibly. Earlier, I was merely avoiding embarrassment, but now, given what I had heard, I absolutely could not risk being discovered. Too terrified to move a muscle, and too freaked out pay attention to the ongoing conversation, I missed some of it.

“He had a nice full life, didn’t he?” Elana looked up at the man, as she too began to dig with her spade.

“He did,” the man calmly assured her. “Seventeen years is a very long time.”

Revolted

Seventeen years! That’s just a kid. I had assumed they were discussing a terminally ill octogenarian. Shocked, I almost fell out of the tree, but I managed to cling on and right myself. Perhaps, I made a noise, because the couple looked up, but I was well hidden by the leaves, and they probably assumed it was the wind or a bird. Fortunately, they seemed too preoccupied with their task to investigate.

What was this couple playing at? A seventeen year old mute kid! Were they just fed up of looking after him? Was Elana his mother? Is that why she was so conflicted? Maybe, this guy was his step father. Maybe, he had brainwashed Elana to let him kill her son. I felt utterly nauseated.

“Dominic, thank you for taking care of it. I couldn’t bear to do it myself.” Elana sobbed.

I wanted to scream.

A twist in the tail

Dominic put his arm around Elana to comfort her, a tender gesture of which I would not have thought him capable. Puzzled, I wondered what the kid was thinking when Dominic administered the lethal doze. Did he even know what Dominic was about to do?

“Elana, Ronaldo loved us, and we him. But he had been miserable for a while. You remember how much he was struggling to breathe, how little he would eat, how sad his eyes were when he put his paw on your knee and looked up at you like he was pleading for mercy? Do you remember how weak his bark had become? The vet told us the his heart condition would get painful at the end. He told us, we would have to be strong for Ronaldo’s sake.”

Wait now. What!! Back up. Ronaldo was a dog! Good heavens! Why would someone name their dog Ronaldo?

“Look what I have here.” Dominic took out a soccer ball from his shoulder bag. “Remember this?”

“Oh yeah, his first soccer ball. He was so excited by it, and so great at playing too. That’s why you named him Ronaldo,” Elana laughed. “I always thought it was a silly name for a dog, but it stuck.” She shrugged.

Thank you. It is a stupid name for a dog. Besides, I had had enough of this silly drama. Exasperated, and therefore indifferent to the consequences, I jumped out of the tree and sprinted towards my car. The couple was too startled to react. By the time they started shouting, I was already unlocking my car. I wasn’t going to stop. No way.

Life's like that

As I cruised down the lonely highway, I burst out laughing. It had been such a bizarre day. From trespassing to euthanasia, to cold blooded murder of a child, I had let my imagination run amok. Perhaps, it was because of my own guilty conscience, that I had crime on my brain.

But then I thought again about what Dominic had said. “The vet told us the his heart condition would get painful at the end. He told us, we would have to be strong for Ronaldo’s sake,” had been his exact words. He considered the act to be merciful.

Yet such acts of mercy are denied to human beings by human laws. Where is the sense in that? I mean, sure, euthanasia can be a slippery slope, but surely human beings too deserve the compassion animals are shown, don’t they?

Then my thoughts wandered to Ronaldo. It was his favorite tree, Dominic had said. We all know what dogs like trees for. Perhaps, I too had paid my respects to Ronaldo. I smiled. Goodness, this really had been a strange day!