Where is “I kheaw”?

I now live with my mother and my grandmother only in our home sweet home. My mother has always gone to work and my grandmother has always been the one I spend time with the most. My grandmother and I always do activities together such as eating, watching TV, playing cards, exercising (yoga) and, my favorite one, chatting. My grandmother loves and enjoys telling people stories so much so I ask her to tell me some stories sometimes and here is one of those I fancy the most;
“Take the best care of yourself,” were words my grandmother got from her father every time she was about go out.
“Good night and sweet dreams, sweetheart,” were also words full of love and care she got from her father every night but not anymore since he died just after she got married.
When my grandmother first got pregnant, besides her husband who had always been there to take care of her, there was the little dog coming to sleep in front of my granny’s house every day, too. At first, my gramps didn’t give that dog anything but it never went away so my granny decided to look after it. She fed him and named it, “I Kheaw”, according to its pretty green skin which is “Kheaw” in Thai.
Everyday, I Kheaw acted like the guard of the house. When members in the family came home, he was glad, he licked and played with them but if anybody outside the family visited the house, he barked and set himself like he was ready to attack anytime.
Soon, he became the part of the family and then one day, my grandmother gave birth to my aunt. Everyone was so excited and gratified. So was I Kheaw. “He craned through the front door in order to see the newborn,” my granny said, but the baby was mostly in the cradle so he couldn’t see clearly. After my granny felt better and stronger, she held the baby and walked to I Kheaw. She bent down on her knees, “Come, look closely, Kheaw. Isn’t your sister cute?” He barked softly once and walked away. My granny thought he would have gone to play with other dogs in that village so she went back to her bed and rested.
Next morning, both my grandmother and my grandfather couldn’t find I Kheaw anywhere. They were curious where he was but they thought he must have had fun with his little friends somewhere and he didn’t want to come back home yet so they let it go. Days after days, he still never arrived home. My grandmother and grandfather started to be worried. They went out to look for it but never found, “Guess he has been gone for real now,” said grandfather. They walked back home…disappointed.
When her relatives came to see the baby, my granny told them about I Kheaw and one of them said, “He could be someone more than just a dog, don’t you think?”
That sentenced made my granny think. It could be her beloved father who loved her so much. He might want to check the baby out and how her family is doing like he always cared and took care of her via those sweet words and other deeds.
Superficially, you might not get it much but if considering it a little more, you will see something in this strange but touching story. Believe me, those who are already gone are still here, somewhere, protecting, watching and taking care of us. There could be “life after death” as well, who knows?