Kate was a tiny yellow puppy with soft, fluffy fur and the sweetest little face. Her eyes were round and gentle, always filled with trust. Whenever someone called her name, her little tail would wag as if that single sound was enough to make her whole world brighter.
She was still very young. Too young to understand anger. Too innocent to know that not every person would be kind.
That afternoon, Kate was playing near the staircase railing. She moved around with her tiny paws, sniffing the air and looking down at the road below. The warm light touched her golden fur, making her look like a small ball of sunshine in a quiet corner of the house.
She was not barking. She was not causing trouble. She was only playing.
Then, a man walked toward her.
Kate turned around and looked up at him. For a moment, she wagged her tail, thinking he might pick her up, gently stroke her head, or call her a good girl.
But kindness never came.
Without warning, the man lifted his foot and kicked her small body hard. Kate had no time to run, no time to cry, no time to understand why. Her tiny body was thrown from the staircase, past the railing, and down toward the cold, hard road below.
The fall was terrifying.
A weak cry escaped her as she hit the ground. Her fluffy yellow fur, once soft and clean, was now covered in dust and stained with blood. Her small body trembled. She tried to move, but the pain was too much.
Kate blinked slowly.
She tried to lift her head.
Just once.
Her eyes looked around as if she was searching for someone to help her. Someone who would run to her. Someone who would hold her gently and tell her she was safe now.
But the street felt silent and cruel.
Her little paws twitched against the ground. Her breathing became weak. The tail that once wagged happily now lay still behind her.
Kate tried again to raise her head, but she could not.
She did not understand what she had done wrong. She did not understand why the person she trusted had hurt her. All she knew was fear, pain, and the fading hope that someone would notice her before it was too late.
Then, her tiny body stopped moving.
The little yellow puppy lay motionless on the road, her golden fur stained with blood, her eyes half-open as if still asking the world one heartbreaking question:
What did I do wrong?
