Armand

Armand Lombardo was born to be who he is. His father, Cossimo, had dreamed him into life. A son to continue the empire he had built all his life. When he was born, it was the only legacy he needed to preserve his dynasty.
Cossimo took his wife, Veronica, to the doctor and neutralized her. He didn’t want his wife to bear any more children. He wanted her to keep her figure and took care of Armand to the best of her human ability and make him the son he had envisioned him to be.
Armand was his father’s obsession. Everything he did, everything he said, everything that concerned him was his top priority. Veronica couldn’t do anything right when it comes to Armand. In his father’s eyes, Armand deserved only the best of what the world can offer and he needed to be the man his father ever dreamed himself to be.
When he was 5 years old, his mother bought him a puppy he had always asked for since he was 3. Armand was so happy, he craved to have a friend to play with in the big mansion he grew up in. He was home-schooled with a tutor because Cossimo wanted him to learn Latin from a very early age.
The puppy was a dream come true for the lonely little boy. He played with him all the time, he let him sit on his lap when he’s being tutored 5 hours a day, everyday. He let it sleep with him on his bed, eat with him, even slept on the floor when he bathed. They were always together.
Cossimo was so busy with his business he didn’t even realize it until two months later. “What the hell were you thinking? You want my boy to go soft and clingy?” He confronted his wife.
“What are you talking about Cossimo? It’s just a harmless little puppy, he needed a friend … it’s making him very happy, he’s a boy, every boy needs to have his own puppy.”
“He’ll grow weak … I don’t want my son to be weak … that thing will be his weakness, he will cling to it like a sappy little baby, you want your son to turn into a sissy?”
Veronica laughed, she rubbed her husband’s back, “A puppy will not turn your little prince into a sissy … don’t be silly, Cossimo, you had 5 puppies when you were his age.”
He fell silent. Even after all those years, Veronica still didn’t understand, he didn’t want Armand to be like him, he wanted him to be more. He firmly believed, if he was brought up in a tougher environment, he would’ve done a lot better in life.
Four months later, the puppy had grown into half of his adult size and their bond was thicker by the day. Cossimo watched his son play in the backyard with his favorite puppy, Gonzo, and stepped out to the veranda to meet them.
He sat on the porch looking at the puppy running around the lawn catching Frisbee off his son’s hand. When the Frisbee landed on him, the dog ran toward him with a wagging tail. He patted it on the head.
“Come here, son, sit with me for awhile,” he called out to Armand.
The boy came over and sat next to him. He threw the Frisbee and let the dog run after it.
“He’s a wonderful puppy, I see you love him very much.”
The boy started to rant about how much fun he had with his dog everyday.
Cossimo laughed, “Yeah … a dog can teach you a lot of things can’t they?”
The boy nodded with a smile.
“They can teach you how to love unconditionally, because they love you unconditionally … no matter what you do, they will always love you.”
Gonzo came back with the Frisbee and Cossimo threw it even further. “They teach you about loyalty, a lot of humans don’t appreciate the loyalty of a dog … they should learn from it.”
He gazed far following the dog’s movement and took a deep breath, “I see you have this bond with him already, you’re inseparable?”
“He’s my friend, dad, I always want to have him around.”
Cossimo chuckled, “You’re so young, Armand, you need to learn how not to be attached to something so tightly, it can hurt you.”
The boy looked puzzled, “What do you mean?”
“Well … Gonzo’s not gonna be here forever … that’s one thing you should learn early on, if you get too attached to him, it will be harder for you to accept it when he’s gone.”
“Gone where? Where would he go?”
He tousled his son’s hair. “I think Gonzo needs to teach you a very hard lesson today, Armand … you need to learn how to be tough, you’ll never survive in our world if you’re not strong enough to let go what you love most.”
Armand was too young to comprehend what his father was trying to explain. Gonzo came back with the Frisbee again. Cossimo patted him on the head, “Isn’t that right, Gonzo? You’ve been an angel to my son’s life … you need to be his teacher now … do you want to kiss him, Armand?”
Gonzo rubbed his body on Armand’s leg, he hugged the dog and kissed him. The dog licked his face with his tail wagging violently. Cossimo threw the Frisbee again, further away this time. Gonzo sprinted to run after it.
Cossimo took a gun from the back of his pants, “What you need to learn to be a man is that life is unfair, Armand, never expect it to be other than that.” He aimed the gun at the running dog.
“What are you doing?”
“Letting Gonzo teach you the most valuable lesson he can teach you.” He pulled the trigger. The dog whimpered and fell to the ground.
Armand’s wail was the hardest thing he had to hear, but big lessons don’t come easy. He had to learn it the hard way. He ran as fast as he could to his dog. Cossimo followed behind him.
“No … what did you do? Daddy? What did you do?” he cried.
Cossimo walked over to them, “He will understand, Armand, that’s what his nature is … he loves you no matter what … and you need to learn how to let him go at the time you love him most, because you don’t need him, it’s just an illusion.”
“We need to get him to the doctor … please help him, Gonzo …” the boy cried.
Gonzo was shot at his leg, he was bleeding profusely on the grassy lawn. He was whimpering in pain.
Cossimo took a deep breath, “Don’t let him suffer, Armand, if we bring him to the doctor, he might not make it, he will bleed in pain … we have to put him out of his misery, and he will go to heaven … heaven is a much nicer place than here.” He raised his gun again and pointed to the dog’s head. “Stay back, son.”
The boy didn’t understand what was going on in his little mind, when his father pulled the trigger once again and blew off his precious friend’s head into pieces. He screamed hysterically.
“I hope you will remember this day, Armand, you have learned a very valuable lesson … and you have Gonzo to thank for it,” he kissed his son’s head. “Don’t let his life go in vain.” He walked away and left his son crying over his dead dog’s body. He will learn how to grieve too, he thought. Armand was only a few weeks shy of his 6th birthday.