LITMIR.BIZ

      “How in the world did this little dog fall in the water?” Rodrigo wondered, looking down on it. But then he added, this time out loud: “Oh—it’s a girl dog.”

      The little dog looked up gratefully at the three friends as Miguel cuddled her in his arms.

      It was love at first sight.

      “I’m going to keep her,” Miguel said, “and I’ll call her Yin. That’s the name of the female energy in tai-chi. . . and since she’s a she. . . ,” Miguel explained to his friends.

      And that was how Yin got the name Yin.

      Little by little, Yin got used to her new life with Miguel. She would go with him to the newspaper to turn in his articles and later she’d curl up at his feet while he was writing. On weekends they would go out rowing with Miguel’s friends and Yin became an excellent swimmer. The two of them were inseparable. Yin also went with Miguel on long walks, and she felt very important when she protected the house when Miguel dozed off watching television in the living room. They had been together for almost six years when one day Yin’s world began to change.

      Miguel came home different, somehow. He looked worried and talked on the phone all the time. The two of them almost never played together any more, and Yin watched Miguel going in and out with all sorts of packages. He was getting ready for a trip. The newspaper was sending him off to work in another country. He was going to Chile for a year. And since he couldn’t take Yin with him, he decided to talk to Sofía.

      “Sofía, could you take care of Yin till I get back?” he asked. “It’ll just be for a few months, until I find an apartment. Then I’ll come back and get her,” he promised.

      “Sure,” Sofía said. “You know Rodrigo and I love animals. Yin will be just fine with us, don’t worry.”

      Much sooner than any of them would have wanted, the day came when Miguel was supposed to leave for Chile. It was early Saturday morning. Miguel put Yin in his car, packed her food, her dishes, and her bed in a big box, and drove over to meet Rodrigo. There, on the edge of the ocean, they drank one last cup of coffee together. Miguel’s flight left at six that evening.

      Sofía and Rodrigo tried everything they could to keep Yin from missing her owner too much. They took her out rowing in the boat, they made special meals for her, and they let her sleep with them in their bed. But it was all in vain—after all those activities, Yin would go sit by the front door to wait.

      “I’m worried,” Sofía told Rodrigo. “Yin spends hours and hours by that door waiting for Miguel to come back. . . ”

      “I don’t know what else we can do,” Rodrigo said. “Our friend hasn’t been able to find an apartment yet.”