The Lost Codger

My owner took me to the airport this morning. He got up very early indeed. He said to me that we were going to meet my new owner, who happens to be a lady. I was really excited about this, and so was my owner. If you ask me, I think we’re meeting his girlfriend. I’ve never seen him this happy for a long time. That kind of made me happy too.

At the airport however, he received some awful news. It seemed that my new owner was being held by the people there. Her passport, mobile phone and other belongings were taken from her. All they left her with was just her purse. This made my owner very upset. He couldn’t understand why the people there wouldn’t let her in straight away.

I waited and waited at the arrival halls with him until eventually his mobile phone rang; it was the people who was holding my new owner in custody. My owner wasn’t happy with what they told him. He found the whole thing ridiculous and completely unnecessary. Furthermore, he’s now very concerned about my new owner’s well-being.

She was allowed to call from a public phone from where she was being held. She sounded very very upset on the phone and just wanted to go home. She even had to pay to make the phone call. It doesn’t seem like she was being looked after properly. She’s very tired from the trip, feeling very cold and hungry. They’ve only given her a sandwich to eat. It just broke my owner’s heart to hear that.

My owner then made several calls to the Malaysian High Commission to see if they could help. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to offer any help. It seemed that since the recent raids of two brothels in London and Birmingham, the police have been keeping a close eye on young visitors from Malaysia.

Later that afternoon, my owner received another phone call. They have decided that my new owner was to be sent home that night, and once a decision has been made, it would be final. I don’t know how long we were at the airport. But my owner was not about to give up that easily. He made several more calls until his mobile phone battery ran out. Fortunately, the nice girl at the nearby phone store allowed him to charge his battery there.

Once his battery was half-charged, he went to make further phone calls. He even made a plea to the airport people asking if we could see my new owner just for a while. They simply said no. He even asked if he could just pass some food over to her, and maybe pass me to her as well. They simply refused him.

By this time, it was already dark. My owner seemed tired and exhausted. He hasn’t eaten all day.

He received a call from her, for one last time, before she had to get on the plane home. His eyes were red. His voice was croaky. He kept on saying how he really wanted to meet her and spend time with her, and how sorry he was that things had happened this way. He wished they would have just let him see her, even if it was just for two minutes. She had travelled all this way and they even denied a simple request like that.

I never got to meet my new owner.

And now, my owner and I are back on the tube again.

It’s raining heavily outside.

My owner has been very quiet.

His face looks very sad.

Tears are falling down his cheeks.

I can understand what he must be going through…

* Narrated by Larry The Lion