The Kawarau is a river in New Zealand popular with whitewater kayakers. Whitewater kayaking is the sport my friend Petra loves so much. Her white German Shepherd is also named Kawarau.
Kawarau loves Petra at least as much as Petra loves white water. As far as I know, Kawarau is the only white German Shepherd who has even been gently and lovingly transported across the water by his owner on the deck of a whitewater kayak. There was more fluffy white fur to see than kayak. A wonderful sight. The last time I visited Petra, wild child Petra was very attached to her garden and her house. This has affected her holidays for some time now – and now also our get-togethers. Kawarau has grown old now, and her white fur now rises up and down and down and up from her little blanket with slow, calm breaths. Kawarau sleeps a lot these days. As a veterinarian, Petra is very careful about her diet and mostly follows a vegan diet. That doesn't make it any easier for me to entertain, as I don't want to always invite myself over at her expense. In contrast to wild Petra, I love the tranquility of nature in my kayak, the vastness of the sea... Paddling for hours has almost a meditative quality for me – it's where I recover from the hustle and bustle of office life, where, as a secretary, I'm constantly interacting with people and then quickly visit our canteen at lunch. Despite our differences, Petra always saw more in me than anyone else. I've since left the kayak club. My friendship with Petra has endured. As someone who doesn't cook, I'm all the more excited to find a restaurant serving organic and vegan food for our meeting – just 10 km from her garden. With Kawarau and her cozy blanket in my bag, I invite her there. "Petra, I ordered a local organic hamburger," I realize only later... Is that disgusting for you? Should I change that?" "Of course not," says Petra. "Kawarau eats meat too. And I made my decision for myself." I have to admit that I actually really like the restaurant, which I would never have gone to without Petra, and the food is really delicious. Two weeks later, I'm sitting in Lübeck again in an organic vegetarian restaurant, this time with my husband on our way on vacation. A few hours earlier, I received the news that I had been expecting and yet dreaded so much. Kawarau has fallen asleep for the last time. Petra's world suddenly has great freedom again. Freedom for many new kayaking adventures on the rivers of the world. A freedom that, in my eyes, without Kawarau, feels like a huge emptiness. And I'm not there. The ferry is booked. "Please enjoy your vacation, Sabine," Petra writes to me. "I'm happy when you're happy..." But my thoughts keep wandering back to Petra. "Love is not about binding someone, but about giving them the freedom to want to stay," sums up how I feel for the person who has unconditionally walked and paddled with Kawarau through all of life's situations, who accepts me with all my weaknesses as I am - without being demanding - and yet still makes me a better person because she is who she is.
