Pets can mean a lot to a person — especially when there is some sentimental value attached to them. They are not “just animals” and can be crucial to one’s life. Losing them can be as heartbreaking and terrifying as losing one’s sibling or best friend.
An Unfortunate Reality
Unfortunately, many people do not understand this yet. This story involves a mother, her son and stepdaughter, and her stepdaughter’s parrot, the proverbial bird set free. So grab a seat for this tragic tale.
Noah and Jen
This woman, whom we’ll call Monica, has a 16-year-old stepdaughter, Jen, and an 8-year-old son, Noah. She has been in Jen’s life since she was eight and has been a mother figure, as her mother died not long before she came into the picture.
She loves her as a daughter. However, one event may have thrown the relationship she worked to build under the bridge.
Scarlet
Jen had this beautiful macaw since she was nine — and when you’ve lived with a pet that long, they practically become a sibling or child to you. The macaw’s name was Scarlet.
Jen was not the only one who loved the macaw; Noah did, too. But he could never spend time with Scarlet because Jen would not let him. Talk about ill-fated love. He’d always beg Jen to pet her, but she refused.
Monica never minded this because she knows parrots can be nasty often — as someone who’s been to the zoo recently, I agree. However, this made Noah sad. She tried to convince him it was no big deal. Still, it bothered him.
Noah’s (Maybe First) Heartbreak
About a month ago, Noah tried to pet Scarlet, but Jenny said no and told him Scarlet didn’t like him. It broke the young boy’s heart, and he broke into tears.
Monica took him to the room and told him Jenny didn’t mean it. She thought he was better off not touching something that could be nasty toward him.
A Rare Opportunity
The next day, Noah had an appointment that led to him coming home earlier than Jen. Monica was watching TV in her room, so she did not know what would happen next.
Jen’s room door automatically locks, but this one day, she forgot to close it. You know how they say opportunity comes one? Noah was not about to let this one slide. His dream of playing with Scarlet was finally in front of him.
However, that dream was short-lived. Little did he know tragedy was about to follow. Not long after Jen got home, Monica heard screaming. She ran over to Jen’s room and met an empty cage, Jen yelling, and Noah crying, “I’m sorry.”
The One That Got Away
She asked Jen what happened, but Jen just ran outside. So, she asked Noah, who told her. He opened the cage to play with Scarlet, but she wouldn’t let him touch her. She flew out of the cage and into the foyer with open windows. Scarlet flew away.
Monica explained to Noah that what he did was terrible. She says, “You hurt Jen, and you should’ve gotten me when things got out of hand.” There were lots of tears, but he had a heartfelt apology.
Monica did not punish him because she and her husband thought he was “too young to be punished.” Instead, they decided Noah would make it up to her with some “handmade gifts.”
Strained Relationships
Like Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez, Jen, and Noah don’t talk anymore. Their relationship has been tense since the incident, but she did not know the full extent until one faithful day.
She was in the kitchen, and when Jen entered, Noah asked her if she had moved the remote anywhere. She said no, and that she would not help him find it, cursing at him.
This made Monica mad, and she told Noah to go to his room so she could talk to Jen. She told Jen she was not supposed to talk to family that way, and Jen dropped a bombshell. She said to her that Noah wasn’t her family anymore.
Some More Drama
Monica told her that was ridiculous; Noah was still her brother. “Not in my book,” she replied. She added that as soon as she moved out, she’d never talk to him again. Monica replied that she understood she was upset, but “her pet can be replaced at a pet store, but Noah cannot.”
That set Jen off like a bomb. She has since locked herself in her room, and there’s been insufferable silence between them. Monica doesn’t think she said something wrong but is unsure after all this time. So here is how the internet responded.
Noah May Grow With No Boundaries
Folks are losing their minds over this story, but one thing most people can’t get over is that Monica considers Noah “too young to be punished” at eight.
“This kid is going to grow up with no boundaries, thinking the world owes him everything,” one says.
Handmade Gifts? Come On!
“A child’s handmade gifts can be great for a parent or grandparent, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that it won’t have a positive effect on a 16-year-old girl whose pet of half her life just got lost due to her family’s negligence,” another contributor says.
Monica is living in a dream world and needs to wake up — some art will not make up for her beloved Scarlet.
In the End
To them, Jen lost a pet. But to Jen, she lost her close, probably best, friend. She’s lost one that has been with her through some of the most challenging years of her life, with the grief of losing her mother.
Is she being too mean, or are her anger and tantrums justified? What would you do if you were Monica? And how does one remedy such a situation?
This thread inspired this post.