My guardian was not a person at first, it was a dog.
We called him Bingo. He was not even our dog, he was a street dog that just decided our compound was his house. My father tried to chase him at first, but Bingo would go and come back. Later we just left him.
Bingo knew everybody in the compound. If you live there, he will wag his tail. If you are a stranger, he will stand at the gate and bark until someone comes out to check. At night, he doesn't sleep. He moves from one corner to another, checking.
One night, I came back late from night class, around 11pm. The street was dark and there were two guys following me. I started walking fast. I was very scared. When I reached our gate, Bingo jumped out and started barking very loud at those guys. The guys ran away. I quickly entered and locked the gate.
That night I sat with Bingo outside and I was just rubbing his head. I said thank you.
People say guardian must be human, but I don't agree. Sometimes your guardian has four legs and can't even speak your language, but he understands when you are in danger.
Bingo died last year, but till today, any time I enter our compound at night, I still look at the corner where he used to sleep.
That corner is still his.
image source: chatgpt