SaraJaine

"It was hard. On all of us, when Jainey died. But especially for Sara. Oh Sara, she was only six! They were inseparable. In fact, you couldn't call one without the other. So, we called them SaraJaine. 'SARAJAINE!' I'd say" the young woman covered her mouth to prevent from bursting into tears. She wiped a few stray drops away with the back of her hand.

She let out a long sigh, and continued, "Well, Jainey would always bark and chase cars, and well that's how Jainey died. Got run over." the woman's voice cracked, and she paused, regaining composure. "Sara also fell over the moment it happened. I assumed it was shock. Now, we took them both to the hospital, because we are lucky enough to have one with a link to a veterinary unit,"

"Well, Sara got better in half an hour, but Jainey was still struggling like a fish out of water. She'd been hurt pretty bad. Now, I don't know, but I think Jainey saw Sara go down before she went unconscious. I do believe the only thing that kept Jainey alive was the need to save Sara, and vice versa. They saved each other. Almost. Once Sara went into the emergency room to see Jainey, she patted her head and spoke to her softly.

Before they started to open Jainey up, Sara whispered through her tears, 'Don't leave me.' and then all through out the surgery, there they were, SaraJaine, holding hands and paws. When I had to separate SaraJaine, Sara went into hysterics. She absolutely did not want to be separated from the dog. Finally, I ordered her to let go. She knew I was serious. The moment she let go, Jainey flat-lined. She didn't go into hysterics, but zombie-like, Sara asked, 'Mommy, what's that mean?' All I could do was hold her and cry."

The pained expression on her face grew stronger as the rain began to fall. "The rain is good for my tomatoes," she said as if in a different situation. She shook her head, and resumed her story, "Jainey was dead, or so I thought at that moment, and without Jainey, SaraJaine was dead also. I explained this to my daughter, still in the hospital. She understood immediately, and cried and cried in my arms from 8:00 to 9:00. That's all could do, count the minutes as she cried. Her heart had broken into a million pieces. I couldn't cry. I whispered to Sara, my eyes fixed at the clock until at 9:15, I realized that Sara was very still. I thought she was asleep from exhaustion.

My mind couldn't comprehend two deaths in one day. Too painful. Meanwhile, doctors had been able to use the paddles to bring Jainey back to life for a while, but when I took Sara's pulse at 9:17, Sara was dead, and the doctors told my that Jainey died at the exact same moment. It was like out of some old movie. I dropped to my knees, and screamed 'NO!' " the woman paused, as if frozen in time, then a tear rolled down her cheek and she continued, "There in the coffin, laid SaraJaine. Sara had bruises in the exact same places where Jainey was hurt. The docs couldn't explain it; she was dead after they formed. But I knew what it was. SaraJaine, one heart, one soul."

The woman got up, and went to the plot where SaraJaine was buried. She laid down a flower and a doggy biscuit, in offering to the one who peacefully watched her from the heavens. The woman looked up, as if she could once again see the one she lost. SaraJaine reached out to try to comfort the woman, but she cried and cried. The woman looked at the tombstone. "SaraJaine, born April 18th, 1995, died March 15th, 1999, she lives in our hearts. One heart, one soul, SaraJaine."