2008... The year where number '2' first appeared in front of my age... My birthday that year fell on Sunday... I did not wish for anything... Just after church, my mother & I went to the market to buy food... As we were passing by a pet shop next to the market, I halt & looked closely at few small little hamsters ready to be taken away by people who would like to own them... "I've never have hamster under my care before, why don't I have 1," thoughtfully watching them moving in adorable manner... My mother asked me if I want it for my birthday & I, without hesitation immediately answered yes... I was really happy... I brought it home & showed it to my young cousins living next door... They watched the hamster eagerly & attentively... I didn't put much efffort in finding the hamster's name... First, I was told that its gender is female.. Second, i was learning Japanese that time at school... Third, she is white, so I gave her the name Shirou which means white... Fourth, I want her to be a princess as she was so precious to me, so I added Hime to her name which means princess... That's how Shirou Hime got her name...

Picture taken on my 20th birthday, her first day with me...
I stayed in school's dormitory that year... I only went back home on weekends... For almost 1 semester, I brought Hime travelling to & fro with me in my own car to my school... I climbed up to level 4 of the building along with Hime in her cage... It was a routine back then... Everytime, when I was bored or tired of studying, I would sit in front her, watching her eating or playing the wheel... Everyday, before going to class, I would make sure her food and drink were adequate.. I brought her once to Japanese class for presentation... Like my cousins, my classmates also wanted to have a look at her, so they gathered around watching Hime...

After that semester, I had never brought her to school again... Afraid of the stingy smell that usually appeared after 3 to 4 days might disturbed my roomates & life getting busier than before... So, I left her at home, letting the other members of my family taking care of her... I only saw her when I was at home...

2009.. She was bigger than 1 year ago... My brother & I bought a new cage for her at Foh Sang, Luyang... It was actually unplanned... I just thought the cage is more comfortable to the bigger Hime..

Picture taken on my 21st birthday, 1 year had passed
2010.. Her health status was not good lately... Sometimes she sounded chocked... Earlier this year, my brother sent me a message, saying Hime couldn't breathe properly... They suspected something might have blocked her air passage... I was very far from home as I was at Sandakan doing my practical... The messase came few days prior to my examination day... I was so worried I could not pay full concentration to what I was studying... My brother called me few hours later, telling me not to worry anymore... She was fine... He told me the choatic moment occured at home when they tought Hime was about to die... Even now, it was still a laugh...
But today, though there was no such situation, no more laugh can be made... Hime is really gone at a point nothing can be done anymore... My parents told me they saw her looking sick & unwell before leaving to work this morning.. I only realized that she was not breathing & moving or making an inch in the afternoon... My younger brother was with me... We just watched her dead body silently... He left to his work, leaving me no choice but to bury Hime alone...























For the rest of my life, I will always remember, I once had a friend named Shirou Hime....
My love will always be with you...