Sun shone through the blinds, brightening up the dimly lit room, giving the cold dark room a sense of warmth. Tiny birds chirping on the branch of trees outside the window, even continuously tapping the window with its beak, as though trying to wake the girl who has fallen into a world of fantasies and picturesque dreams.

 

She squinted her eyes shut, not wanting to leave her whimsical land. She then felt the edge of her bed dipped, she slowly opened her eyes and was greeted with her favourite creature in the world, none other than Leo. 

 

Leo meant the world to her. She softly smiled as her eyes were welcomed with a pleasant sight, that is her cat. She could not help but coo at her cat, she extended her hand and reached out to pet Leo. Soft and smooth fur met her small hand, gently caressing and ruffling her cat. She felt content with her life as it is, except for the fact that she needed to wake up in an instant for work. 

 

A tired sigh escaped from her lips. Without a second thought, she lazily woke up and strode towards the bathroom. She despised waking up early in the morning, even though she had been waking up at this particular hour every day for years. I would never get used to this, she internally thought.

 

Morning cold and chill ran down her spine, she shivered at the coldness, as though someone had smeared an ice cube all over her back. It was not even winter, yet she was feeling cold, as she was very sensitive to cold. She chuckled, as she was reminded of a funny event in the past when she was only 10 years old.

 

......

 

She stepped out of her apartment and was met with people busily walking to and fro. They seemed to be workers, for they were carrying boxes of household items and furniture. She curiously watched them, and it seemed that someone was moving into the empty apartment next to hers. It was no longer an empty apartment then, considering the apartment was now occupied. 

 

She looked around the busy working people, hoping to see the new occupant. However, the said occupant was nowhere to be seen. Thus, her curiosity had led her to initiate a conversation with one of the workers. 

 

"Morning, I can't help but wonder who's moving into this apartment?", she asked politely, with a smile.

 

"Oh, I know nothing much about her, all I know is that she moved here because she was promoted to a new job here."

 

She thanked the middle-aged man. She should not have expected much information from the man, as he was just a worker doing his job. She sighed. She was then hit with a wave of pleasure and excitement as she realized that she would have a new neighbour.

 

Oh, I will have a new neighbour.

 

The mere thought of having a new neighbour made her heart leapt with excitement and anticipation. She had always found living in the city rather lonely and quiet, even though the city was a crowded and busy place. Her 15th-floor apartment was very quiet and eerily silent, be it in the day or at night, as though not a single soul lived there. 

 

As she was driving to her workplace, she recalled back to the previous conversation she had with the worker. Only then she realized, her new neighbour was a girl or a woman. She could not help but get even more curious about her new neighbour.  

 

She was very passionate about her job, she loved doing her job, never once she complained about her wonderful job. She worked as a veterinarian and has her own veterinary clinic. She enjoyed taking good care of the animals, feeding them, bathing them, treating them with great care. Her assistants adored and admired her commitment and dedication to her duties as a vet. 

 

People loved to work with her, for she was a very kind-hearted and empathetic person. Besides, she was also someone with amiable qualities which had made it easier for people to work with her, and this virtue of hers had attracted many customers.

 

The doorbell rang, indicating a customer had entered the store. She stopped writing her reports and raised her head from the paperwork to greet the new customer who had just come in. She smiled at the customer and was greeted with a blank expression on the customer's face. She looked tired, she thought.

"Welcome to Wonderpet Clinic, I'm Doctor Wendy, how may I help you today?", she welcomed the customer.

 

"Do you offer pet sitting service here? I'm not able to take care of my dog here", she pointed at her dog, "because I'm busy with work and my shift ends late".

 

"Yes, we do."

 

"What time do you close your clinic? I'm afraid I won't make it in time due to my busy schedule."

 

"We closed at six in the evening, what time does your shift end?"

 

"My schedule is not fixed, it changes depends on the situation of the day, but most of the time my work ends at 5:30."

 

"That's good then, you'll have extra 30 minutes to pick up your dog from our clinic."

 

"What's the name of your dog?"

 

"His name is Terry."

 

Wendy glanced at the Golden Retriever dog which she found really adorable, and wrote down its name on one of the reports on her desk then passed it to the woman. The woman wrote down her personal information on the report and left her phone number.

 

Wendy mouthed thank you to the woman and gave her a warming smile. The women did not utter a word, she just gave Wendy a weak smile and left in a hurry.

 

She didn't even say thank you, she could have at least said goodbye to Terry. Wendy pouted as she watched the woman left her clinic.

 

......

 

Wendy slightly jumped when she heard a sudden loud sound coming from her phone. Her phone continued to ring non-stop. She furrowed her brows as she stared at the incoming call displayed on her phone screen. She then picked up her phone and answered the call.

 

"Hello, is this Doctor Wendy from Wonderpet Clinic?"

 

"Yes, this is Wendy speaking."

 

"I'm Irene, Terry's owner, I'm calling to inform you that I might be a bit late picking Terry up because I have to run some errands. Is that okay with you?"

 

"It's okay Irene, I'll take care of Terry until you come to pick him up."

 

"Okay."

 

She opened to say something but only to be met with a loud beep. She heard nothing on the other end of the call, she realized that Irene had ended the call abruptly. 

 

"Gosh is she that busy that she ended the call so fast?", Wendy muttered to herself.

 

"Who's so busy that they end the call so fast?", asked one of her assistants, Joy.

 

"You know, the new customer who came in this morning, whose dog is Terry."

 

"Ah, that lady with the miserable face?"

 

"Yup that one, the miserable-looking one."

 

Wendy huffed as she talked about the new customer, whose name was Irene with her best friend.

......

She glanced at the clock on the wall of her office, it showed 5:45 P.M. She sighed in relief as her shift was finally coming to an end. After a long day of working endlessly, she could finally go home and rest. Although she enjoyed working as a vet, sometimes it got tiring for her and wore her out by the end of the day. She was after all a mere human being. She could not help but feel frustrated by her new customer who was late to pick up her dog.

 

She anxiously fidgeted with her car keys, constantly bouncing her leg, as she waited impatiently for the miserable-looking lady whom she dreaded to see. She then heard the door opened, she quickly snapped out of her train of meaningless thoughts and whipped her head towards the person entering the room.

 

She sighed as it was not the person she had been waiting all day long, the said person was none other than Joy. Joy had come into her office to bid her goodbye. "I'm leaving now, see you tomorrow Wendy," she bid.

 

Wendy waved her friend goodbye and watched her friend left the clinic. She looked back at the clock one more time and this time it showed 6:05 P.M. She ran her hand through her hair as she sighed tiredly. She then wandered around her clinic and checked on the animals that needed to stay the night at the clinic for intensive treatment.

 

All the animals were sleeping soundly in their respective units. Wendy felt a sense of pride and satisfaction as she had done a spectacular job at taking care of these poor animals. Her heart thrummed with joy and delight in her chest and she felt a smile creeping its way onto her face. 

 

The sound of the doorbell ringing reached her ears and she perked up at the sound, she turned around hoping to see the expected woman at the counter. There she stood, at the counter, waiting to pick up her dog.

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