One Thousand Chapters. · 7:04am January 5th
wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze
hoo boy.
Oh, look at me... you've got me tearing up again. ◈ Forget about coffee buy me a cup noodle.
wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze
hoo boy.
And to Cody,
I know you weren't ever afraid of fireworks, even as a puppy.
I hope the view is nice up there.
Something something Opaline something.
I wrote a new story.
It isn't much, and it's more just an expansion of a What If chapter that I've added some more lore and detail to.
But it's at least a semblance of what I had planned for Christmas.
As always, thank you for reading.
Normally I'd say something witty here, but I don't think I will this time around.
I guess I'll go ahead and start with the biggest thing on my mind for this year: my dog, Cody, passed away from a heart attack. I still habitually glance at his bed, expecting to find him sleeping quietly whenever I walk past it.
Chapter 1 is a direct follow-up to the first and last chapters of the original What If.
Will post on January 5th, on the 8th anniversary of What If's publishing.
It's a little... unconventional, to say the least--a callback all the way to the very first chapter of the story. The true first chapter, not the information chapter... transitioning into a heartfelt letter that I've poured my all into.
I was intending for this to be a happy chapter. Something that could have the story go out with a bang. Something big and grand, maybe even with those 1,000 MS-Paint drawings for 1,000 chapters to go with it.
It's okay now.
You can close your eyes.
You're safe now.
No more pain.
No more pinpricks and needles to deliver cold shots of insulin, day after day.
No more half-blindly running into chairs.
No more needing to stay still and calm, unable to even play with the toys you once threw around.
Last night, you came to me in a dream, watching me silently as I relived your final moments, easing out your final gasps on the carpet upstairs.
And you were okay then.
Early this morning, shortly after eating and receiving his insulin shot along with some newly-prescribed heart medication, my dog, Cody, passed away in my arms from what appears to have been a heart attack. I was able to revive him for a final few seconds with CPR, and felt him give his last breaths before going still.
The vet told us that he still had almost a year to live once the medicine started taking effect. But I guess we were either too late, or his body decided to give out anyway.