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The time of a dream

You spun around one too many times before finding the right position to lie down.

After a few minutes, you’d finally relax, stretching out before exhaling with a deep sigh.

Then I’d fall asleep, lulled by your heavy breathing.

Tonight, I fall asleep, letting my thoughts escape to you:

“Come Choco, join me and let’s go for a walk together, just the time of a dream.”

THE meeting

One morning in January… after long weeks spent in a cage following your abandonment, you found yourself at home… YOUR home.

We had to get to know each other, understand each other and trust each other. It took me many months to convince you that you would be safe, loved and protected… until your last breath.

A few hikes later, we had become inseparable.

J.R. Ackerley said:

“The dog has only one purpose in life: to offer his heart.”

I gave you a home and you gave me your heart. Thank you, Choco!

Choco takes the Parisian subway

To you, Choco, for all the times you’ve taken the tube, patiently ducked under a seat, kindly removed your paw when a passenger’s foot nearly crushed it, stood when you were dying to lie down… to all the escalators you’ve always refused to use and all the stairs we’ve climbed up and down countless times.

The Carousel

Loedi and Choco took advantage of this beautiful autumn day to go for a walk in the Parc de Bercy.

Loedi marvelled at the trees whose foliage was slowly turning orange-yellow. She collected several dead leaves of different shapes and colours and found a bench where she sat down to draw them.

Choco, tired of waiting, was easily distracted by everything around him:

“What is that smell at the foot of the lamp post? And on that tree? Here’s another unknown smell… if I smelled a little closer… could it be a doggy friend around? Oh! A butterfly! Where is it going? I’ll follow it… Here… it’s shiny, what is it? A biscuit paper! Oh… there’s even a piece left… delicious! I lost sight of the butterfly… I better keep sniffing… maybe I’ll find another biscuit… Wow, a ball! I love balls! It’s plastic… a little hard to catch but I’m holding it well! Well, who is the champion ? It’s Choco !!! Who is this child running towards me ? Oh… that must be his ball… I’d better let him have it before I get into trouble. I’m hungry… Maybe Loedi has something greedy to share…”

But Choco found the bench empty, with no one there!

“Where is Loedi? Let’s not panic… my truffle… let’s see where her scent leads me… there she turned right… focus Choco… You are on a mission to find Loedi… ”

With his truffle glued to the ground, Choco followed Loedi’s trail step by step to a magnificent Carousel at the edge of the park. The music of the carousel created a magical atmosphere. The wooden horses, but also the rabbit and the elephant, whirled around and the bright colours brightened up both the young and the old. But Choco still couldn’t see Loedi.

“Loedi where are you?”

The merry-go-round went round and round before he spotted Loedi waving at him from the carriage!

“Loedi! I want a ride too!

“- Chocooooo! Join me! We’ll go for a ride together and then we’ll go for a waffle!”

Choco was not told twice…

Seeds

“- Look at Choco! Visitors marvel at the seeds in our meadows. Does nature have to be locked up in a museum for man to become aware of its beauty?

– Apparently Loedi… “sigh”.

– These are the same people who walk past parks, gardens, flower boxes and other plant installations every day without even a glance. And if I stop to admire a flower or the veins of a leaf, they look at me sideways as if I were abnormal.

You have to know how to look at nature in its natural state. Even in the city, it is omnipresent if you take the trouble to pay attention to your surroundings.

– But Loedi, maybe they don’t know how to see and wonder anymore.

– How sad! Could the exhibition be a bridge between their lost childlike soul and nature? An ephemeral bridge…

– Perhaps… “Sigh”.

 

A perforated spandrel for a breathtaking view

– Loedi why come to the Centre Pompidou since neither you nor I really like modern art?

Choco only received a big smile in reply, and then Loedi dashed up the escalators. One floor… two then three… four… five…..six!

On the sixth floor, Loedi crossed the gallery without stopping to look at the many paintings and sculptures. Choco trotted behind her and together they arrived at a huge terrace.

There, loudspeakers were placed along the railing and broadcasting … how can I put it? Sound? Noise? Certainly not music.

– Loedi what are we doing here? This sound installation is bursting my eardrums!

– I agree Choco but that’s not why I brought you here. Let’s ignore the noise and get closer to the edge…. There, you see?

– Wow, the Eiffel Tower! And over there the Arche de La Défense! And oh, there’s Montmartre!

– Yes! And down there is Saint-Eustache. And if you look over there, you’ll also see the Hôtel de Ville and Notre-Dame.

– It’s beautiful Loedi!

– Come on Choco, let’s go back inside now.

– Wait wait wait…. I’d like to keep enjoying it a little longer, it’s the most beautiful view of Paris I know!

– Hahahaha! You see Choco, you managed to forget the noise

 

The nightmare

We were cornered on all sides:

Huge snakes with sharp fangs were climbing higher and higher, and seemed to grow in number.

All around us, an ocean of blood that stretched to infinity left us helpless, without a shadow of escape… without a shadow of hope.

Then I saw them: huge skeletal creatures, like dinosaurs of yesteryear, hurtling towards us! The sound of their clashing bones was frightening and the size of their gaping jaws made my blood run cold.

My barking became a death howl and then a yelp, I saw us lost and backed away from the edge, defeated.

“Fight Choco! Fight back! Fight! Come on! Get up Choco! Fight!”

Loedi screamed as she swung her sword endlessly. The slightest bit of tongue, fang or flesh… she didn’t hesitate and her blade cut.

The wounded animal would retreat while she faced another… but it kept coming back to attack.

I regained my courage and stood up. We may not win, but we won’t give them the pleasure of an easy victory, we will fight to the end, like heroes!

And who knows… if the Gods are with us… we will win!

“Choco! Choco… get up Choco!”

I opened my eyes…

The last tourists had left the room, the museum was about to close and Loedi had just finished his drawing. It was just a nightmare… a horrible nightmare…