You asked me if I would love you till we grew old together. I replied "no". You gave me a funny look as if to tell me 'I don't understand'. I chuckled and kissed your cheek gently and said "I will love you for an eternity after that. I will love you from the stars and back. I will always be there. And I will always be by your side... holding your paw in mine. Giving it a gentle squeeze to remind you that I'm always here for you. So that when that time comes, when we can finally live and be free, we can walk along the beach, or wherever we are, paw in paw with the knowledge that the only fur for us is padding along right beside us." Then you made my heart skip a beat and flutter. You smiled at me. That's all I needed. I smiled back and looked into your beautiful eyes and whispered softly, "I love you, my Tiger." You ruffled my fur and whispered back, "I love you too. You're my Husky." With your paw caressing my cheek softly I let out a soft sigh and leaned against you. Just having you near is enough to still the turbulence and stress I have within. You're my anti-everything. You make life worth living. I turned and hugged you and promised I would never ever, even for a million bucks, let you go...

Then I woke up suddenly as the bus hit a pothole. I raised my head and sleepily looked out the window at the Iowa farmland passing me by. The rows of browned crops rolling over the gentle hills. The clouds passing lazily overhead and the sun shining down brightly onto my fur. Strange though, I still felt as cold as stone without you near to warm me up. I felt sore, my left arm was dead from me resting on it, and my right paw holding onto my backpack in the adjacent seat. I stretched briefly and slumped back down in my seat, my thoughts tracing back to this past week of events. My high was definitely hanging out with my Tiger. Having him visit me in my habitat in the north and then tagging along with him to his habitat, where I met the fam and friends, regardless of how awkward it was, I enjoyed myself. I loved every moment we shared together. I know I'm not very good at expressing my emotions in person but I want you to know that I love you so much and that this past week was one of the best weeks I've ever had. I'm just really sad that it had to end so soon... This isn't goodbye. Only goodnight. And in the morning, I'll wake up and find you laying next to me. I'll lean over and kiss your forehead gently and as you slowly open your eyes I'll whisper to you, "Morning, my love."

I love you .

...

Sorry for that. This photo just makes me think of my bus ride back from Kansas City, Missouri, where I spent half my spring break with my Tiger. We were walking around the Plaza, main street if you will, just kind of window shopping taking photos. This one really caught my eye. I quickly aimed and shot it. I only took one photo of this couple and this is how it turned out. I hope you like the simplicity of it. I do.

~ Zero