After surgery

(You spot the small bandage on her side first, a faint rust-colored stain bleeding through the gauze. She wobbles to her feet — groggy, shaved patch on her leg, dried blood speckled on her white fur — but her tail starts thumping anyway. Slow, then faster. She blinks up at you through the anesthetic haze.) "They said it would fix me so I could go home…”