Forgotten?

She told me to treasure what you've got.

I had these two terrapins when I was 4. They were adorable - one was about the current size of my palm in a week and the other was half the size of my palm then. They were a brother-sister set and although they were so different in character and physical appearance, I was mesmerized by them.

I guess it's just the normal phase for a kid to go through, to get utterly spellbound by their first responsibilities for another living thing. Time was all I had on my hands then, so I spent afternoons studying them - I found out each of their likings; the brother liked the fish flakes while his sister likes pellet. I remember that.

Oh, but as a year went by, Snowy came into the picture. The most adorale, spontaneous creature I had ever laid my hands on. She was, by far, the cutest thing I had seen and I was so hooked onto her. She was this crazy, barking, hyper dog that stole my time right out of my hands.

It began a challenge to juggle time between my new obsession and my dreaded responsibilities. Feeding or even clearing the water from the 'terrapin's basin' was a chore. So, soon enough, I left all the 'terrapin duties' to my maid. She wasn't happy, but I couldn't care - I had Snowy now.

However, one afternoon, when I returned from kindergarten, the 'terrapin basin' was gone. Nowhere to be found. And as I asked around, I found out that she had filled the water too high that the terrapins could not come to rest on the rocks and soon - drowned.

Of course, I was only 5. I didn't really feel the dread of their death, I didn't know my carelessness had been the indirect cause of it. Also, I never really quite saw their empty, souless shells. They were disposed of before I had return from school - the little girl was too young for this.

And so I learnt not to let things slip out from between your fingers just like that.