I was not a big fan of petting animals. In fact, I’m the opposite of that. I played the game of Tom and Jerry whenever I encounter my friends’ pets. But seeing how friends and teachers aww-ing and screaming at online piglet photos, I decided to give it a try.
I biked out of my house to the petting zoo with a jar of hope, expecting myself to have a life-changing experience. When I got to the place, I already have seen many young adults carrying their kids on one hand, recording the videos of the piglets on the others. People seemed to take more interest in this than the presidential debate.
Seeing how crowded the place was, I left and waited until the place was empty so I could selfishly enjoy all the piglets by myself. At 6 PM when everyone was having dinner, I slid into the petting zoo and was given a small portion of bread to feed the pigs for an hour. From the moment my sneaker and the floor kissed, I caught the skinny pink piglets’ attention. They surrounded my legs like a couple of ants trying carrying pieces of breadcrumbs. I flicked tiny pieces of bread into their mouths. After 1 after 2 after 3 after 4, they still waited like they weren’t even satisfied yet. Before I continued to spoil the pigs, I wanted to hold them in my arms to warm my heart.
Though, I didn’t know how to do that. Seeing how the staff effortlessly picked up the piglets without them screaming, I became jealous and wanted to copy them doing it. However, things weren’t very smooth at first. I moved around the zoo and tried to pick up the adorable tiny piglets like a kid picking up his lego blocks. Failed miserably, I was stumped, then one of the female staffs instructed to me sit on the couch in the opposite side of the room and used my bread to let them come to me.
It worked like magic.
As soon as I sat down, I got a couple of piglets surrounding me like food to many hungry predators. I fed them one by one, and I was lead to believe I was building a great relationship with them. Why? Because what happened next made my day. They jumped in my arm waiting to be cuddled and loved. I held 2-3 of them at a time, watching how comfortable they got on my chest delivered a warm feeling to my heart. I felt like a Dad, a parent who matters to them and has a purpose.
I thought my heart melted for the first time.
After spending some quality with my “children”, I checked the clock and realized it was almost time for me to leave.
Time passed by so fast when you are with who you love. I have this urge to come to this petting zoo every week to make them feel all the love. I said goodbye to the piglets, but I know this is not a permanent goodbye, but a break for an exciting future that’s on the way.
“Goodbyes are not forever. Goodbyes are not the end. They simply mean I’ll miss you, until we meet again!”
Recently, I’ve thought a lot about my next journey and saying goodbye to the people around me. Some might say I’ve gotten quite depressed about it. I never wanted to say goodbye to anyone who gifts me beautiful memories and completes me. But this is the way life works. We say hi and goodbye to people. No one’s here forever, but their memories live on in our hearts. Eventually, we will go on our separate way. But the most fascinating thing about life is, it surprises you when least expected. So to the people I love so dearly,
“I love you and I’m sorry I’ll lose you. But don’t be sad because this is not the end, just us going on our journeys until we meet again in life.”
