A girl named Ralph

Hey, do you remember me?

I’m still waiting for you, like you promised.

“Friends ‘till the very end”, you said.

-

«Thud»

The car door closed.

It was a sunny afternoon that day.

The day we first met.

A small boy climbed down the car and came running to where I was.

He didn’t notice me at first, his eyes were glued to the glass in front of me.

Why didn’t he notice me if I was right in front of him?

The reason was simple: I was hidden under my siblings. It was cold, so I simply cuddled with them.

“Ah!”

A high-pitched voice caught my attention.

That’s when I noticed the small boy.

-

I lifted my head and unborrowed it from my sibling’s nest.

The light hurt my eyes, so I quickly closed them.

“Look mom! So tiny!” - The boy’s eyes sparkled.

“Can I please have one? You promised!” - He quickly turned around and asked his mom.

“Alright, alright…” -The woman sighed. She didn’t look keen on keeping her promise.

“Really? Yay! Thank you so much, mommy!” -The boy jumped in joy and hugged his mother’s waist.

Back then, I didn’t thought much of it. It was an everyday thing for me.

-

“fgdh! jhgjhf…hjkhkd…”

I heard some voices in the distance.

I was very sleepy and tired, I barely paid any attention.

The chatter, the loud noises, the people that walked by everyday. It was just a normal usual day for me.

«Clank»

The loud noise startled me and made me open my eyes.

«Shriiiiiieeeeek»

A very high-pitched noise made me jump.

I hated it, so I glared back where the sound had came from.

“…Which one?” - A tired clerk sighed.

He looked bored. Maybe his job was boring, maybe he was only having a bad day.

The small boy looked around eargerly. His smile annoyed me.

Suddenly, his eyes fell upon me.

It was just for a moment, but his eyes seemed to sparkle even more for a brief second.

Swiftly, the boy, without any warning, lifted me up.

“This one!” - the boy said aloud.

I got angry since I had been disturbed from my sleep, so I bit him as hard as I could.

“Yeow-!”

“Oh my god, it bit you? Quick, put that thing away!”

“It’s fine, mommy. It barely hurt.” - said the boy while a small tear came down from one of his eyes.

“I said. To. Put it. Down.” 

I didn’t like the woman’s tone.

“No! It’s fine, I just startled it” - The boy then, petted my head softly. 

“There, there, you are a good boy”. His caresses made me sleepy again, so I closed my eyes and cuddled in his arms.

“Sigh…suit yourself.” - The woman was just tired of this situation.

“Then… I’ll have this one, please!” - The boy said with a wide smile.

-

«Shhhhrrreeee»

The car loud braking woke me up. Without realizing, I had fallen sleep.

“We are home now, Ralph!” - The boy looked at me and grinned.

“Ralph? What a weird name.” - I thought.

-

“Raaaaalllllpppphhh”

“Oveerrr heeerrreeeeeee!”

The boy called me from afar.

Frankly, back then I hated his voice. It was loud, high-pitched, and always came by suddenly. It always ringed in my ears for a long time. That’s why, I hated it.

«Tap, tap, tap»

Before I had time to react, the boy had come running to me.

“Look, Ralph! It’s a ball!”

So?

“Let’s play!” - the boy grinned at me.

I was surprised, it looked like he had heard my thoughts.

The boy then, threw the small ball far away.

“Let’s go, Ralph!”

-

“Look, Ralph. I made you a sweater today!” - As usual his voice ringed in my ears.

I looked up and saw a badly switched piece of cloth.

It seemed like he had simply just cut up some tablecloth and some curtains and sew them together with some thick wool thread.

“Hey!”

His mother yelled at him.

“Whoops! Gotta run!”

-

“Hey there, Ralph” - a husky voice greeted me.

“Why, hello there, brother”- I thought to myself while I licked his face.

“Pftfgh. You dick, not the mouth.” - the teenager spitted some hairs away while making a sour face.

“Heh…That’s what you get for sleeping in.” - I climbed down the bed in a good mood.

“Argh…Ralph, not again.” - said the teenager while throwing away his bed covers.

I turned around confused.

I’m surprised I’m the one who did something bad and not you.

“Look!” - he shoved the covers to my face.

“Your period, goddamn.”

Oh.

“This shit is hard to clean up… Mom’s gonna bite me in the ass”.

Welp, sorry, bro. I swear I didn’t notice.

-

“Raaaaallppppphhhhhh” - The teenager grumbled.

Today, I was bored, so I had walked inside my brother’s room.

“Your paws are dirtying my homework! Arghhh.”

Brother lifted me up and put me outside the room.

“Sigh… Now I have to redo it all…”

Not my fault you like to do your homework while laying on the ground, buddy.

-

Today, as usual, my brother was busy.

Lately, all he does is sitting down while looking at a white box over his desk.

Is it that fun?

He looks deep in thought.

I lifted my head up and tried to look closely at whatever he was looking at.

It was just the same white box with a black glass thing.

"A black glass?" - I tilted my head.

No idea, maybe that black glass is fun.

-

Today, as usual, I heard screams from the living room. It was just mom yelling at the phone.

I was already used to it, so I simply yawned and ignored it.

Suddenly, mom banged the door open.

“I had enough! Let’s go!” - the woman screamed while crying in anger.

“Huh?” - the teenager turned around and took a single earphone off.

“Are you even listening?!” - Mom, as usual, yelled her words into the room.

“Yeah…Tell me” - the boy sighed calmly.

“We are moving away… Pack your things.” - She said quietly. Seems like she had somehow calmed herself down.

“…K.” - As usual, brother didn’t complain much and just did as he was told.

I wonder what happened?

-

«Shhhhrrreeee»

The car loud braking woke me up. Without realizing, I had fallen sleep.

“…” - The boy looked at me while looking dazed.

What’s wrong? It’s not like you.

My big brother hugged me tight.

He didn’t say anything.

-

Today, its sunny. It’s a beautiful day.

This house has a big garden, unlike the one I used to live before.

“It’s such a nice day today. Perfect to play and run, don’t you think?”

Who am I talking to?

There is nobody but me here.

-

«Yawnnnnnn»

Oh, I was loud today.

Well, it can’t be helped. I’m so bored lately.

The grass smells great, there are birds chirping around, the food isn’t that great but there is a lot more than I can eat.

It’s not that bad, to be honest.

Yeah.

It’s not that bad.

-

Today, a lone big leaf woke me up.

It had fallen from its tree and hit me hard on the face.

Angrily, I bit the orange leaf and chewed it away.

Man… I hate when leaves suddenly fall.

-

Nothing to do again…

Wish I could play a bit with you…

-

Today, the food was terrible. It even made my teeth hurt.

I miss the food mom gave me.

She just gave me whatever she cooked for lunch. Seems special food was too expensive for her to buy.

These tiny balls taste like dirt compared to her cooking.

-

As usual, I woke up late.

There is nothing much to do.

There isn’t even a single toy to play with.

I try to entertain myself exploring what it has already been explored since long ago.

Because there is no motivation to wake up early, lately I just sleep in.

Wish there would be something to do.

-

“The time? It’s around 3pm” - I heard someone say.

3pm?

That’s the time big brother comes home.

I walked to the main door and sat down.

How long was it?

I don’t know, but I haven’t seen my big brother in a long time.

I know time flows different for people, maybe that’s why it feels so long.

Maybe it hasn’t been that long.

With those thoughts in mind, I laid down in front of the door.

-

Before I realized, it had become dark.

I noticed because I had a hard time seeing.

It was almost time to go home.

Yes.

Let’s go home, once again.

It’s very cold today.

Maybe mom will turn on the heater tonight.

I always liked laying down next to it. It was very warm.

It’s very quiet tonight.

I miss your loud annoying voice.

…

What was your name, again?

For some reason, I can’t remember it…

Are you still mad at me?

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bite you back then…

To be honest, I always had trouble keeping up with you.

My annoying, big brother.

I really liked you.

Let’s play again once more.

I love your stupid games despite how troublesome they are.

It’s getting late…

Are you here?

Where are you?

Somehow… I’m a bit tired tonight.

It must be the cold.

Hey, do you remember me?

I’m still waiting for you, like you promised.

“Friends ‘till the very end”, you said.

Call me by my name, once more.

“Ralph.”

That’s my most precious gift.