Richard Parker stared at me, his eyes yearning to be free of this confinement on the life boat and to run wild in the unknown jungle. I sighed. There was no way for me to keep him here. It was time to say goodbye.
Richard Parker rose on his hind legs slowly and made his way to my side of the life boat. I tensed with fear, not sure if he was going to attack. But he didn't.
He nuzzled his large head into my side. With my extreme weakness, i was knocked over. My head hit the prow of the boat. There was complete stinging pain in my temple, but it did not matter.
A lonely tear rolled down my pasty cheek.I lifted my shaky hand and scratched under his chin. He purred. Another tear.

The tiger left when I pulled my hand away. He jumped onto the golden sand and bounded towards the unexplored forest. The tears came rolling down my face to join the others. He did not look back. That was what weakened me even more.
My eyes were cloudy with tears. He turned back. I could tell, even if he was far away, I could tell. Filled with so much emotion, I laughed, like I had never laughed before. The laugh died down, into a smile though.
Goodbye, my Bengal tiger.