Solitude

A Solitary Day

A lot changes in a month.

From day to day, not a lot changes, or at least we don't see the change. We don't notice the temperature dropping from day to day, or how the wind blows more harshly, nipping and biting at the skin. We don't notice how more and more leaves fall down until suddenly the trees are bare, like skeletons, lonely and leafless, void of any colour. We don't notice the darkening sky from day to day, how the clouds create a dark grey velvet blanket across the sky, eliminating all traces of sunlight. We don't notice the sun setting earlier and earlier until it feels like we hardly have any day time left, or how the rain increases and almost every day is the same with the dark and wet days that keep everyone miserable.

We don't notice that every day. We compare the months and how everything has changed from early October to early November.

Rainy days are my favourite. The pitter patter of melodious rain drops plummeting against the ground calm the constant anxiety that has permanently made camp within my bones. Petrichor inhabits my senses, the fresh and musky aroma of the rain hitting the soil helps me relax, reminding me of order.

It doesn't bother me when the droplets kiss my ivory skin, creating a route over the bumps and crevices on my face. It doesn't bother me how my water proof coat slides the droplet on to my skin, increasing the numbing of my fingertips and nose. It doesn't bother me when my feet sink deep in to the reflecting mirrors that the precious, perfectly formed raindrops create, and how my foot ruins the image, creating small tsunamis across the pathway.

The rain leaves serenity and ataraxy as it falls.

Rain was a weather than many disliked, because it was cold, wet, dreary, dull. I loved the rain. I loved how Autumn transformed in to winter. I loved rainy days. I loved how people stayed in doors on rainy days.

The canal was clear. Dead leaves lay squashed all along the path, some floating in the rippling canal. Only the raindrops hitting the water, sending ripples across the surface, and the heavy downpour pounding against the concrete and trees and bushes and grass. No talking. No laughter. No anxiety.

Loki walked a few steps in front of me, like usual, shaking his fur out every few metres and Zeus jumped in all the puddles like a little kid, yapping excitedly.

Every day I walked Zeus, I taught him small little commands and encouraged him to listen. He was still learning but he was improving slowly. He now listened when I called his name and sprinted over when I summoned him. He sat in front of me waiting for me to put his lead on and he knew what the word no was.

Loki's and Zeus' relationship was improving but Loki was still protective of me since Zeus jumped on me, which he had done many times in the past month, all of them resulting in me falling down. It hurt but it was how Zeus showed his excitement so I didn't want to discourage him from doing that. It wasn't his fault I was weak and tiny and couldn't handle his height or strength. I'm sure if he did it to Alex, he would be fine.

"Zeus do not drink from the canal." I call out to him. He glances at me, his head tilting slightly. "If you fall in then you swim home." I shrug and carry on walking.

Zeus listens, running forward. A proud smile lifts my lips. He was learning. He was wild, incredibly playful and disobedient but it was just because he had never been under a firm hand.

From what I had figured out, Alex worked a lot. When he picked up Zeus, it was more often than not that he was on his phone, either typing away or shouting at someone.

The dog walker seemed like just that, a dog walker; they weren't someone who trained him or cared for him enough to put him on a stricter leash. Or maybe they were scared of Alex... who knows.

Before I left the apartment, I put a series to towels and blankets along the floor and sofa so when we arrived we wouldn't get mud, puddles and dirt everywhere. However, I didn't anticipate that both Loki and Zeus were going to jump in puddles on the field.

I gave Loki a bath first since it would be easier, using the overhead shower head to wash him off and shampoo him. After Loki ran to his bed in my room, I dealt with Zeus.

"You have to jump in the bath Zeus. Jump." I used my hands to gesture in to the bath. After a few more tries, he finally understood and jumped in to the cream tub, knocking the shampoo off the side.

My bath was large, I could lie down in it and there would still be space between the wall and my toes. However, with Zeus in it, it was tiny. It didn't look so much like a bath, it looked more like a toy; a dolls bathtub.

One thing was clear: Zeus did not like baths.

He shook his fur out, spraying me with water, growled at me and nearly bit my arm off, and when I washed his underbelly, he hit my hand with his muzzle, sending the gushing water on to me.

It took a while, but I finished bathing him and as soon as I turned the water off, he jumped out the tub and sprinted in to the living room.

I stared down at myself in disdain. I was soaking, I was more wet than when I finished walking them in the rain.

A knock echoed through the apartment and I groaned, trudging to the door with water drenched clothes.

"Um... what happened to you?" Alex stared down at me in disgust.

"Zeus does not like baths." I laughed lightly. "He was very muddy from our walk."

Alex's dog bounds over, jumping at him him excitedly. Unlike me, Alex doesn't even move when Zeus connects his paws with his chest and Alex is a taller than his stood up dog.

He nodded in understanding. He attached the lead to Zeus' collar after he jumped down, sitting in front of him. "What have you been doing to him?"

Panic spreads through me. Did I hurt him? "What do you mean?"

"He listens more now. He sits in front of me when I grab the lead instead of jumping up at me and running around like a headless chicken." His eyebrows furrow.

My lips part in understanding and a small laugh escapes them. "I've been training him. He's getting there... slowly. He knows what the word 'no' means now."

"Yea... I noticed that." Alex strokes behind Zeus' ears. "Thanks again for having him. My dog walker quit, she needs to stay home to look after her family. I'll find one soon and then yo-"

"No!" I yell. Alex stops, staring at me wide eyed. I clear my throat. "I mean you don't have to. I'll look after him."

His face contorts. "That's not really fair for you."

"I like having him here. If it ever gets too much then I'll tell you. Deal?" I hold my hand out for him to shake.

He stares down at my hand for a few seconds before his palm connects with mine in a slow shake. "Deal."