It was a dark and cold night. The rain fell, like tears from the sky, driving away the wandering souls in the vicinity, who sought shelter from it. Lightning illuminated the sky, as if the heavens were breaking apart for moments. I was wandering through the streets of the city, in an area with no pavement, just dirt. I was visiting the city of Iquitos, to reminisce about old times, but I just started walking, aimlessly. I had no one to visit either, since I... I didn’t really know anyone who lived here. For that reason, I walked and walked until I reached where I was now. It was a somewhat remote area, but I wasn’t afraid. Why would I be? But... That doesn’t matter.

Now I was standing in front of a small house, but it seemed to have a somewhat large backyard, with a variety of trees, surrounded by large, faded white fences. Its roof, already noticeably rusty, showed the centuries it seemed to have endured. The blue of its façade was already somewhat faded, neglected. It even had scars from torn posters and graffiti marks. It was as if it could remember, or rather, as if it was telling a story of what had happened to it. I stood still, not to observe the deplorable state of that house, but... For what was behind its already ancient wooden door. In that house lived an elderly man.

He lived alone. He had been divorced for a little over a decade due to... Certain problems. And at that moment, he was even having financial problems due to the debts he had, and because of his addiction to alcohol. But... I didn’t focus only on him. Rather, on the other creature that lived there: a dog, perhaps around twelve years old. His name was Puricho. His presence caught my attention because... He was in a deplorable state.

I noticed this and quickly proceeded to enter that house. “Hmmm... At least it has a ceiling.” I thought as I walked through the hallway towards the garden. When I got there, I could see him more clearly: he was malnourished, he seemed not to have eaten for a couple of days even. He had several wounds, and I noticed an unhealed wound on his neck as well, this was because he had fought the other day with a dog bigger than him, and he had barely managed to escape. The rain was beginning to stop. At that moment, Puricho was resting. He was under a pile of wood, planks, and other stacked things, but they provided some cover.

Suddenly, Puricho noticed my presence, and he started barking at me.

“Agh!” I could hear the old man groan.

He was watching TV. Since the rain was now easing, he could clearly hear Puricho barking at me. It was annoying to him. He looked for his flashlight, went out to the garden to see why he was barking so much, and at what. He thought someone had broken in, but... When he shone the flashlight, he found no one but Puricho, who was barking at nothing.

“Ugh! Shut up, stupid dog!” Now that it was raining much less than before, the man approached Puricho and kicked him so that the dog would shut up, and he did, he fell silent.

Puricho whimpered in pain.

It was painful for me to witness that, but... I couldn’t do anything. I was just a... Spectator.

After kicking him, the man left. I approached the dog and sat down next to him.

“Sorry...” That was the only thing I said to him. We both remained silent for a long time.

“You can leave, right? So... Why do you let that man treat you like that?”

“But he is my owner.” Puricho replied to me, still whimpering. “I love him. I know he hurts me, and I understand. Sometimes I do bad things, and that’s why. Despite that, I still remember the man who took me in with his wife. I remember those years with so much fondness. They fed me well, bathed me, gave me gifts. Everything changed when the lady left, and he became mean... But I know deep down, he loves me, he loves me very much. I can’t leave him. My time is coming, and I don’t want to leave him alone...”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“That... Is quite sad, honestly.” I replied to him. “The person you knew no longer exists. Your loyalty is... Admirable, and your love is pure, I know... But love is also knowing when to let go. You can’t change his behavior. I know it’s not easy to accept that, and even less so for someone like you, but it’s the truth.”

He looked at me and lowered his head. He seemed sad.

“You don’t deserve what he does to you. No matter how much it affected him, acting like that is not what he should do. And as for you, you need to learn to love yourself. You deserve to live happily and safely, and enjoy the time you have left. You deserve a home where you are treated well.” I stood up and added: “It’s time for you to find a new home, one where you are truly loved.”

Puricho didn’t respond to me. He just looked at me, but... In his gaze, I noticed a spark. He had made a decision he hadn’t had before.

The rain had completely stopped, and so, I spent the night with him. We didn’t say a single word to each other.

The dawn arrived, and like the artist it is, painted the sky in tones of pink and gold, marking the beginning of a new day. Puricho’s owner opened the street door so he could go out, and he did, as always. But... Puricho was leaving never to return.

I accompanied him.

We walked for several hours through the streets of the city. The houses, the buildings... It was like a sea of vibrant colors. People were going about their daily activities, and the mototaxis were buzzing through the streets like insects.

It was a great harmonious hustle. But... Puricho seemed exhausted and weak, but he kept going.

He was determined, it seemed.

He had understood that living as he had lived until now wasn’t good, and it caused him pain and suffering, which he didn’t deserve. Then, when we reached a corner with a traffic light, Puricho couldn’t go any further and fell to the ground. He lay down. He whimpered. I watched him. I couldn’t do anything more for him.

Due to the situation, a young man, who was passing by, saw him and hurried over to see him.

“Oh, God! What happened to you, buddy?” the young man said. “Come here.” Without thinking twice, he picked him up. He didn’t care that Puricho was smelly, or dirty, or wounded. He did it, ignoring all of that.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be better soon.” he said, smiling. Puricho felt something he hadn’t felt in years. He had felt affection, compassion.

The young man, whose name was Adrian, got into a mototaxi and took him to a veterinarian. Once there, they treated him and fed him, and the young man paid for everything. Adrian stayed with him throughout the entire recovery process. A couple of days passed, and Puricho left the veterinarian with Adrian. He was much better now.

As they were leaving, Adrian said to him:

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything bad happen to you from now on.” he said, while patting his head. “Ah, but... You need a name. Hmm... Now you’ll be Max, how about that?”

Puricho, who was now called Max, wagged his tail happily in agreement. And they left. Puricho, who was now called Max, had finally found a better family, who would treat him well for the rest of his life.

Knowing Adrian and his family, that was to be expected.

As they rode away in a mototaxi, Max turned to look at me, and I waved goodbye to him with my right hand. As for his previous owner, he was waiting for Puricho to return, but... He never would. He had squandered the love his dog offered him with that cruel treatment, with his indifference. He missed him, but there was nothing he could do now. He didn’t value him, and now he was gone. The same thing had happened with his ex-wife. Puricho’s absence now served as a reminder that all actions have consequences, whether good or bad. Perhaps he would learn something from this to become a better person, or perhaps not. That no longer concerned me.

And now, maybe what I did will have consequences, as I shouldn’t intervene in these things, but... I don’t care. I helped someone, and that’s what matters.

There are those who claim that good and evil don’t exist, that they are just ways in which human beings face the world, to gain personal benefit in one way or another, depending on how they grew up or the situations they’ve lived through. But no, I know that good exists, and that humanity, despite all the conflicts it generates, despite all its problems, will one day achieve it: to do good simply because it’s the right thing to do. That’s what I hope for, that’s my conviction.