A girl called Ella had begged for a hamster for nearly a year. She promised everything — she'd feed it, clean it out, hold it gently, do it all herself. Her parents finally said yes, on the strength of those promises. For the first month she was devoted. Then the novelty wore thin. The cage started getting cleaned less often. Her mum noticed the food bowl empty one morning and quietly filled it. Then it happened again. Bit by bit, the jobs Ella swore she'd do were drifting onto someone else's list. Nobody's shouted. But Ella can feel the unspoken question in the house: she fought so hard for this little life — is she actually looking after it?