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    Willow
    Willow
    Willow
    Ebook141 pages1 hour

    Willow

    By Hana

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A girl afraid of heartbreak, a boy in need of comfort, and a four-legged cupid named Willow. As Willow enters their lives, she redefines their understanding of love, showing them that true love goes beyond people. This is their sweet story of love, healing, and finding happiness.

    HAZEL MATTHEWS
    She is passionate and kind, with a heart of gold, but life hasn't been easy on her. After losing her job and her boyfriend to her best friend, Hazel's walk home takes a surprising turn when she hears soft whimpers from an alley. Little does she know, this encounter will change everything—and might just lead her to the love she truly deserves.

    HARU CHEN
    The classic heartthrob with the warmth of a green forest—your charming neighborhood boy. A hopeless romantic who is always there for others, but when it comes to his own heart, who will be there for him?

    With love,
    Hazel Mathews Chen

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZorba Books
    Release dateDec 7, 2024
    ISBN9789358966466
    Willow

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      Book preview

      Willow - Hana

      Prologue

      W hat do you mean by soulmates? I asked her that day—the day when I caught her kissing my boyfriend of two years.

      Tell me, Why the hell were we soulmates? My eyes start burning from the tears.

      Hazel, I can explain. –

      Save it, You’re not worth it Lizzy. Not anymore. I started to walk away.

      My life was just so damn down the drain. I cannot help it anymore. The same day, I lost my job, and my boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend who used to call us soulmates.

      I walked home. It was raining that evening, and I stopped by the convenience store to get a few cans of beer. I planned to lay back on the couch that night and watch a movie or write a new story. My heart felt empty. I was sentimental and it hurt too much but I would let them win if I chose to cry.

      I was working hard to afford a life, A future for me and him, A happy life with Lizzy as my best friend. I pulled apart the friendship charm she gave and threw it away, trying to show her that I was over it, but I silently picked it up and kept it in my bag, unable to part with it.

      On my way home I heard a whimper. It was too shrill for it to come from a person or a child. I walked into the dark alleyway with my torchlight on.

      That day, that moment and that second changed my life in a way I never thought would happen.

      True love can also mean something else. Mankind framed it as love between two people and they never had the IQ to think further than that. I found true love that day, from a four-legged creature that would change my life forever.

      She helped me find the meaning of life and showed me that life was not black and white.

      So here is my story.

      To my favorite little girl Willow, I will love you forever and always.

      Chapter 1

      Girl in the Alley

      Iwalked into the alleyway that night after hearing the whimpers. I turned on my phone’s flashlight and moved on. I could hear the water dripping from the rusty pipes and I got a foul smell. I walked further and I saw a few older male dogs picking on an injured female. My eyes paused at the scene and without thinking I started throwing stones aiming it away from the dogs to scare them with the sound. They moved away and I was able to get closer. I walked near her, tip-toeing every step to not scare her. I squatted down in front of her, and I lifted her head with my palm. Her entire body was filled with bite marks and injuries sustained from people throwing stones at her. She looked right into my eyes and let out a painful whimper. I could not help but shed a tear looking at her state.

      Oh, you poor thing. I said to her with a crack in my throat as I stroked her. I saw the light in her eyes fading away. She could not be saved, and she knew that way before I realized it. She gathered all her strength and got up. She limped towards a cardboard box and put her head inside. As she turned around, I saw a tiny blob in a brown and white shade. She limped her way to me and put the puppy on my lap.

      What are you doing darling? I asked her, but she just continued. She licked her little child and sat in front of me. She was in too much pain, but she bore it. A paw landed on my lap where she had put the puppy, she touched my nose with hers. She laid down in pain, and she gave her little one a final lick as she crossed the rainbow bridge.

      I cried without control. The little one was only a month old and had not weaned from its mother yet. I spread a pink cotton hanky inside my bag, and I placed the sleeping beauty in it. I covered the mother dog with a cloth and started walking home.

      It was a cold night. It started snowing. I brought the puppy inside and kept it next to the heater. My train of thought was focused on the puppy. I took the little puppy out of the handbag and placed her on my bed. The little one was so cold to the touch that I did not know what to do. I cleaned her up with warm water and a dry cloth and I called my neighbor who was the owner of a dog.

      Hello? A sleepy voice echoes in my ears.

      Mrs. Misty, I need help from you. It’s a puppy. I ask her with a crack in my voice.

      Oh my! I’m on my way. Tell me the details once I get there. She replied with an excited voice.

      It took her only two minutes to show up at my doorstep with her glasses and a bun on her hair. Her name was Misty Chen, and she lived with her dog and her son. She was a homely woman, and her son was around my age. He ran along with his mom, and it was so evident when I saw his face. Messy bed hair, mismatched socks, loose basketball shorts that were too big for the twig of a waist, and his oversized gray full hand. Misty was a neighbor who would take care of me in the absence of my parents. She would drop of side dishes and drink mixes so that I would not get hungry.

      I moved into this house a year back when I was at the peak of my career.

      Dear, what happened? She asked me while fixing her glasses.

      I took her to the bedroom and her son followed her.

      I picked her up from her mother who had passed away. She looks like she is still under the weaning period, and I do not know how to feed her. I tell her with a hint of worry in my voice.

      She took a look at the puppy, and she rushed back to her house leaving her son behind.

      Do you have a blanket that is thick and very small for her size? His eyes lock into mine.

      I have a very thick hanky, what if I layer them? Will that work? I ask him to rummage around my drawer searching for the Hanky I got from my late mother.

      Yeah, it will do. He takes the hanky and layers them in a crisscross manner.

      Pick her up and place her on this. Wrap her around using the hanky. He orders me with his polished and deep voice. I never knew that he would sound like that.

      I do as he orders, and I hold the little one in my palm. She lets out a small smile and her inner ears turn pink. She starts suckling on my pinky.

      I guess she likes you a lot. I hear his words end with a bright and pleasant chuckle. I could not help but blush at him.

      I’m Hazel Mathews, you are? I ask him with a faint smile on my face,

      It’s Haru, Haru Chen. Nice to meet you, Hazel. He reaches out to my hands and shakes them. His hands were as soft as the puppy’s.

      Misty returned with a formula bottle and an ink dropper. She rushed to the kitchen and mixed it with water and brought it to me.

      That little one trusts you. You should do it. She handed me the ink dropper with her beautiful smile.

      I pick up the ink dropper and place it near her pink lips. I inserted the dropper into her little mouth gently and I started squeezing the dropper. Her little paws grabbed the dropper, and she started suckling on it.

      Are you going to keep her? Misty asked me with her palm on my shoulder.

      I replied to her back with a small teardrop on the side of my eye. Her mother entrusted me with her child, I will keep her and raise her.

      I will help you, and so will Haru. She replies with her angelic voice and Haru’s smile makes it better.

      They left for the night, The little blob fell asleep, and I was ready to fall asleep too. Although I lost my job today, I had worked hard to raise my savings and now I was living in my own house with financial security. I kept thinking about what the mother dog had done right before she died. I place the puppy by my pillow. She was still wrapped up in her Hanky and was asleep. I turned the lights off and tucked myself into my blanket.

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