26 Years of Quiet Love: Farewell to My Beloved Baby
Forever my Big Baby Introduction: The Gentle Shadow On April 19, 2000, a tiny terrapin quietly crawled into my life and changed it forever. I bought her from a little neighborhood shop at my local market, the kind that sold ornamental fish, pet food, and basic aquarium supplies (the shop has long gone) . Back then, I actually brought home two or three baby terrapins. Being so young and not knowing much about pet care, the others sadly didn't survive very long. I still remember the tears I cried back then (not as much as this time) , gently burying one in a small hole I dug downstairs at our HDB block. Completely unaware at the time that digging there wasn't permitted! But through it all, one strong, resilient little soul stayed with me: my Big Baby (my parents called her Gui Gui (乌龟的龟) . In those early days, we really had no idea how to properly raise a terrapin. We simply learned as we went. I started with a small, basic tank, changing her water every single day and feeding h...