There was a golden retriever named Leo. Leo was a cheerful dog, full of life and always wagging his tail in excitement. His humans used to adore him, taking him on long walks and playing fetch in the park. But as time passed, Leo noticed that they began paying less and less attention to him. They were always busy, caught up in their lives, and Leo started feeling invisible.
One rainy day, Leo woke up with a little spark of hope—it was his birthday. He thought maybe today would be different. Maybe today, his humans would remember. He imagined they’d surprise him with a special treat or take him on a fun adventure. But instead, the house was silent. No one greeted him. No one noticed.
As the hours ticked by, Leo’s heart sank. He sat on the couch, wearing a new raincoat his humans had bought for him weeks ago, but even that didn’t lift his spirits. The raincoat was bright blue, covered in little yellow ducks, and he looked adorable in it, yet no one even bothered to say, “Happy Birthday, Leo.”
Feeling both sad and angry, Leo climbed onto the windowsill and stared out at the gloomy, rainy day. He watched as people hurried by, completely oblivious to his pain. He felt abandoned, and a quiet fury began to grow inside him. How could they forget? How could the world just move on, leaving him behind?
As the day dragged on, Leo’s anger simmered. He was angry at his humans for forgetting. He was angry at the world for being so busy that no one had time to care about him anymore. His tail, which had once wagged with excitement, hung limp behind him. His once-bright eyes were clouded with disappointment.
“I’m not invisible,” Leo thought. “I matter too.”
But as much as he tried to hold on to that thought, the loneliness gnawed at him. He couldn’t understand why the world had turned its back on him. Was he no longer cute enough? No longer fun enough? Leo growled softly to himself, feeling a mix of sadness and frustration.
As night fell, Leo curled up on the couch, wrapping himself tightly in his duck-covered raincoat. His humans still hadn’t said a word to him. They were preoccupied with their phones, with work, with everything but him.
Tears welled up in Leo’s eyes, but he blinked them away. “I don’t care,” he muttered to himself, though deep down, he cared more than anything. He wanted someone to notice, someone to care. But it seemed like the world had forgotten about him, and the weight of that loneliness was unbearable.
As Leo closed his eyes, he made a quiet vow to himself: “Next year, if no one remembers again, I’ll leave. I’ll run far away, where the world can’t ignore me anymore.”
And with that final thought, Leo fell asleep, alone in his bright raincoat, angry at the world for breaking his heart.
