Chiisaki Mono – Make A Wish — Remembering Bruno

I still remember the day he passed away.. it was the 11th day of his stay with us, June 25th, 2004. He had been sick for the last few days. The doctor was supposed to arrive on the previous day, but didn’t. Maybe it was destiny. Maybe it our fate to have his company only for those 11 days, have an experience of being a dog owner, that started the chain ahead of the 4 more dogs who’ve been a part of our lives, the 5th one being with us currently by God’s grace. Maybe he was an Angel, who came to warn us of another loss in our family right after he left us; my Grandfather’s.

After much tantrums and arguments, my little brother’s wish of owning his own pup was fulfilled on 14th June, 2004 when my mom got him a German Shepherd pup. Our family has always been a keen lover of dogs, but we know with the same comes responsibility. Petting a street dog is much different than owning your own. But anyhow, it was an awesome experience with Bruno. Around maybe a month old being his age, he used to mostly stay hidden under the bed all day. I don’t remember much now that more than 5 years have already passed.

“He’s no more”.. I awoke to my mom’s words. Yes, it was the 11th day. It was truly heart-breaking to have lost your very first bond with an animal, that had gradually grown over the past few days. It was a completely different feeling as I guess I haven’t had the same level of emotions ever on any other deaths that I might have seen in front of me. I wanted to cry.. I wanted to let out those feelings.

Back then, “Chiisaki Mono” by Asuca Hayashi, had released for Pocket Monsters movie 6 Ending theme. It was a perfectly touching song to let you into that kind of state. The depiction of the song in the movie was for a similar event: Max losing his new-found friend, Jirachi, after being in the bond for 6 nights. The song starts slow.. with lyrics that go (translated): “I was just quietly watching.. The face of the small one sleeping…”. Within a minute into the song, comes the part that totally uplifts your emotions.. with the lyrics that go “koe ga kikoeru, yuku beki michi yubisashite iru.. (I can hear the voices.. They point to the road which I must go..)”.

The song might make some feel happy, joyful.. or some sad and touched. Depends on how you blend into the immense feelings given by Asuca Hayashi as well as the instrumental music. This was the ONLY Ending song in a Pocket Monsters movie that had the Japanese partially retained even in the English version. So you can imagine Asuca Hayashi plays a major part in giving proper justice to this song. I avoid casually listening to this song because it was played for Bruno, and hence it always reminds me the time. But it’s fine to remember lost ones who never return back, isn’t it?

Original Japanese with English subtitles: