Wagstaff city, a small town near the beach that has its own lake as well, a tranquil place full of nice people and a ton of curiosities to discover. These are the reasons why I abandoned my old life on the gloomy big town I grew on, my past is shady even for myself, so I prefer to just forget about it. All I had in my mind was that a new life was ahead of me, a new life I have been craving ever since the everyday became a torture and my existence just an empty void no dream nor experience could fill, I guess that is what people call adulthood. Upon discovering the existence of Wagstaff city, through a conversation with a co-worker, something inside me clicked, it was like a call, a battle horn in the distance calling for arms, a calling I was eager to tend to.
So it happened, I sold my old apartment and spent all my savings in getting a modest house in this calm place. As soon as the moving truck left me alone with my last boxes in front of this tiny one-bedroom home I felt as if a weight had abandoned my chest, it wasn’t relief, I would rather describe it as a sensation of following the right path. Unpacking wasn’t the most complicated part, as I didn’t have many belongings besides my furniture and clothes, so it only took me a few hours until the essential was set. Eventually, I found myself in an empty home, alone and with no idea what to do next, a very familiar feeling I was already used to, then it struck me.
“For fucks sake” I said out loudly to let out my frustration.
I had forgotten about the gift my co-worker gave me to hand over to his family. ‘Hey, I gave you the idea, so you owe me a little favor too…’ unfortunately I never learned how to say ‘No’ and now I am stuck with this box that I refuse to open as I fear whatever is inside might be broken already, since I couldn’t care less about it. But I made a promise and I do not want my reputation in this new place to be stained with the words “Thief” all over my face just as I am touching soil, and you know what they say: Bad gas travels fast in small towns.
Reluctantly I checked the time on my old wristwatch, just 2 hours after noon, money is short and I have no idea when I will be getting a decent job in this place, small towns aren’t known to be a land of opportunity after all. The damned place is about six miles away from my house and my best transport in my two feet, so, I guess I must start walking if I want to be back on time to make lunch, or dinner…
I hate walking, I always remember once my legs feel like they are about to fall off, luckily my coworker’s sister, cousin or whatever, I don’t really care, didn’t insisted on that cup of tea after the first time. Still, it wouldn’t had been bad to have a drink after walking non-stop for six miles, and then making the way back again. I swore to myself that if I ever encountered that bastard again I would chase him in a car until he pays me back all the wasted energy and time.
Anyone that has walked for miles nonstop knows that at some point every step hurts like walking over fiery coal, my feet burned as if I was walking barefoot on hell itself while having two mammoths chained to my ankles. I craved a rest with my very soul, and the nearby park looked like a nice place for a break, especially under the shadows of those trees away from any nearby playground, so it didn’t took long until I was sitting on the base of a big oak, eventually sitting became lying, grass never felt so comfortable before, and I guess my hoodie, despite being damp on sweat, feels a lot like a blanket, strange, is that snoring I hear?.
My eyes opened wide as soon as I realized where I was, I could swear I was tugged in my bed at my old apartment until the sound of nearby cars woke me up completely, the orange hue of the sunset dimly lit the landscape all around me, certainly it would be dark in no less than a few minutes.
“For fucks sake” I said once again, I guess this phrase summarizes my life in more than one way.
Walking all the way back home was already bad enough but walking on the night just made it worse. I heard Wagstaff was a tranquil place, but life has taught me to never let my guard down the hard way. So here I am, walking alone as the sky gets darker and darker and a gut feeling tells me that in any moment a low lifer will pop out of the corner ready to take my belongings, and probably my life too, I held my keys firmly in my hand, as an improvised weapon, I looked carefully everywhere as I walked, ready to punch any weird looking fucker in the face.
“Hi there! Are you lost?”
I heard a woman’s voice behind me, my first reaction was to turn around, raising my fist, but I was surprised to see that there was no one behind me.
“Woah there buddy, calm down, sorry if I scared you”
There was the voice again, it came from, the floor? I looked down and there was this dog, a chubby blonde dog with brown ears. I remained silent for a few seconds, just looking at her.
“Did…Did you said anything?” I said stuttering, much to my shame.
“Yes! I’m Martha, you are new here, aren’t you?”
It certainly wasn’t my best first day in town, but little did I know that it was enough for my brain to have total meltdown, I guess my confusion was quite evident since Martha pointed it out almost immediately.
“Oh right, I always forget that talking dogs aren’t an everyday thing, sorry for startling you further”
“Further?” I inquired
“Well, I could smell you were scared, that’s why I came here, are you lost?”
So it is true that animals can smell fear. Anyways, imaginations or not, somehow, I felt like I could trust her, still, I didn’t feel like losing too much time as the night was getting closer and I just wanted to lay on my bed.
“It smells like rain” She mentioned
“I’m okay, my home isn’t too far away from here, it’s just that I lost track of time” I said as a conversation killer, expecting her to get the message, but her tail wagging said otherwise.
“Then I will walk back home with you! If that makes you feel better” She said giving me an enthusiastic smile, I’m not going to lie, her smile was really cute, and her company didn’t really bothered me at all, but darkness had already taken over and if she accompanied me home she would have to walk back all by herself.
“Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself alone” Expecting her to drop her offer and walk home I turned around, but her voice, in a little more authoritative tone, stopped me on my steps.
“Hey, don’t be so mean. Let’s go, I will keep my mouth shut if that makes you feel better”
I had forgotten how much dogs worry about humans, and that they can be as stubborn as a mule. To be honest, the idea of having non-human company on my way back made me feel way better, and if this was nothing but a scheme of my tired brain then there was no harm in letting this dog walk me home to keep me calm.
As promised she didn’t said a word the entire time, we just walked in the silence of the night, just broken by the sound of crickets and cars passing by, I looked at her from time to time, maybe trying to find out if she was an illusion after all or not, she noticed it and simply gave me a tender smile back, I looked away flustered, to which I could hear her giggling silently. Our little interaction got interrupted by some unexpected drops falling from the sky, hitting the asphalt with fury, luckily, we weren’t far away from my house and ran all the way there, we were damp, but at least not under the rain anymore. I took my keys out to open the door and she finally broke the silence.
“Uhm, could I come in?” She said shyly, probably expecting me to tell her off.
Maybe that was why she looked so happy when I stepped aside to let her in.
“Just wait in the entrance, I will get you a towel” I didn’t even walk three steps when I heard her shaking, there goes my clean entrance, but for some reason I wasn’t mad.
I got two towels to dry myself and her off, she explored my place with her eyes, with a curious gaze.
“Sorry for the, uh, mess. I just moved in today and I haven’t unpacked yet”
“Oh that’s no problem, I was just wondering if you have a phone” Her voice tone was sincere. This was a weird experience for me, as this is the first time a dog asks for my phone.
“There is one in the kitchen wall, let me get it for you” I said as I showed her the way
I unhanged the phone from its stand and left it on the floor for her to use.
“Thank you” she said softly as she started typing on it with her paws. As for myself, I began making dinner, but to be honest I just wanted to hear who she was talking to. I could hear her saying she was in my home and that rain got her, she told the person she was talking to not to worry about her and that she would be back once the rain was over. I made myself some instant ramen, but then I realized that she was probably hungry too, after all she is most likely missing dinner thanks to me.
Luckily, the neighbors had gave me some food earlier as I was just moving my things in. People here are actually nice after all. So I took out a worcestershire chicken a kind lady from across the street gave me and heated it in the microwave. Martha was still on the phone, she was now talking about me, specifically explaining how she got stuck in my place. ‘Great’ I thought for myself.
I placed the food on my small square table, luckily these are usually sold with two chairs so there was a place for Martha as well. Speaking of her, she was just done talking and hanged the phone with her paw very naturally, I will not get used to watch a dog using a phone so casually.
“Would you like something to eat?” I said as means to get her attention on the table, she hadn’t looked at the food yet but her drooly mouth made me realize that she already had a good sniff of it.
“Well of course!” She said eagerly. Then she just stood there, looking at me expectantly.
“Uhm, wouldn’t you…like to take a seat?” I pointed at the chair in front of me, the one with the plate with a steamy worcestershire chicken awaiting in it.
“You mean, like, on the table?” Her voice denoted strangeness, maybe some insecurity in it.
“Would you rather eat on the floor?” I said while reaching for her food, I have never had a talking dog as a guest, so I didn’t knew if putting her plate on the floor would be an offense or basic manners to her.
“Oh no it’s okay, I can eat on the table if you want” She said as she climbed the chair with some difficulty, not giving me enough time to argue against it, she then noticed the entire chicken in front of her “Is this all for me!?” She was clearly excited.
“All yours” I answered, not even the coldest person would be able to say no to a face like hers, with such a heartwarming smile.
She lost no time digging in the bird, devouring it to the very bones, and even some of the bones themselves. As for me, I enjoyed my meal in silence, just contemplating the canine eagerly gulping down her meal, at least now I knew she wasn’t a product of my imagination. That aside, I recognize that her company really suited me well, she has a charm on her that instantly brightened my day even after it had such a terrible start.
The night went by, and the rain outside didn’t seem to stop any time soon. I was already on my pajama, after dining Martha spent her time looking outside the window, probably waiting for the rain to fade away so she could make her way home.
“Would you like a blanket?” I asked, I thought that she would like to have a nap in the meanwhile.
“I’m okay!” She said on her usual happy voice, although I could distinguish concern hidden behind it “I will just wait until the rain passes and then head home”
“Well then, if you need anything I will be on bed on that room over there” I pointed her to my bedroom on the back, she didn’t answer and simply turned her gaze back to the window.
‘She must be worried about her family’ I thought, then I wondered ‘What kind of family does a talking dog has? Does she live with other talking dogs? Does she have a family of her own? She is wearing a collar, so maybe she has an owner. Or maybe she does it just to abide to the law. Laws weren’t made taking talking dogs in consideration after all’ I was lost in my thoughts while looking at my phone when the sound of thunder brough me back to reality. It seems that instead of fading away the rain had decided to turn into a storm, a second thunder struck quite nearby, making the floor tremble a little, then all of sudden I felt a weight falling on my stomach hurting my innards.
“What the…” I said achingly, still out of air.
“I-I’m sorry…it’s just…” Another thunder struck, Martha yelped in fear and instantly digged under the blankets and nuzzled herself on my side, I could feel her shaking.
“Are you okay?” I inquired, concerned.
“I’m so sorry, I will get off the bed” she said with a scared tone in her voice, her eyes wide open. Suddenly thunder struck again, now closer than before. Martha now squealed with her voice and pressed herself even closer to my side “M-maybe I can stay here for a while? Please”
I didn’t said anything, I simply wrapped my arms around her and held her close to me, at first she looked confused but once I had her in my grasp her expression relaxed, the sky roared again, she trembled a bit, but with just some gentle strokes on her side she calmed down just as quickly. The storm went by for a while, I held her the entire time, petting and talking to her nicely whenever thunder struck, eventually it stopped and I could hear the rain had now turned into a brisk, maybe light enough for her to walk home safely. I lifted the blanket and peeked inside.
“Hey girl, the rain stopped, maybe you can…”
It is hard to describe the scene under the blanket, she was just there, deep asleep, her calm expression and the way she had her paw over my chest in a sort of hug was just too sweet of a view to look away, she grunted softly and wriggled to get closer to me. I have heard before about people saying how they could feel their heart exploding out of love, often when they see something cute, well, I can say my heart exploded ten times in that instant. I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene, I caressed her face softly which made her nuzzle against me, making my heart explode ten times tenfold.
I checked the time on my phone, it was 11:00pm already, it was too late to let her walk out just like that, wasn’t it? Also, waking up such a cute creature while she is sleeping so comfortably shouldn’t be less than a deadly sin. So I just accepted the situation, there wasn’t much to do after all I guess, I got comfortable on the bed and embraced her with one arm, her warm body against mine in this cold temperature, with the sounds of rain over my roof made me feel something I thought I had forgotten about, happiness, I felt happiness again after a long time of living everyday without big changes in my mood, and also for the first time in a while, I fell asleep with a smile all over my face.
I woke up to the morning sunlight seeping through my blinds directly onto my bed, it was early in the morning but somehow, I already felt refreshed, still my bed felt too cozy to get up, especially with the company I had still by my side. Her back against my chest felt warm and cozy, I rolled over so I could grasp her, rubbing her cute light-colored belly, she stretched her legs and grunted softly, still deep in her sleep. I caressed her chubby body all over, her yellow fur was soft and smooth, and the morning light shining through it made it look like a landscape of gold grass, a silk soft and warm field of golden strands.
“So beautiful” I said unconsciously, the words simply escaped my mouth in the softest voice I could make.
“Well, aren’t you quite the charmer?”
She startled me enough to make me take my hand off her, Martha rolled over herself until we were facing each other, her muzzle so close to my face I could feel the warm air coming out of her nose over my lips, as she looked at me with those sleepy dark brown eyes of hers.
“I-I’m sorry” That’s the best I could think about in that instant, Martha giggled and raised on her four legs while still on the bed, stretching right in front of me.
“It’s…Okay” She said, pausing between stretches “I actually…Love morning tummy rubs, especially in cold days” She sat on the bed next to me, her tail wagging, and her charming smile all over her face, it warmed my heart more that the sunlight on my bed “I think I should get going, I want to get home before breakfast. Helen must be dead worried about me”
“Who is Helen?” I asked as we both got off the bed.
“Oh, she is my owner, and my best friend as well! We are almost like sisters…Except she isn’t a dog” She giggled as she said that “You should pass by our house someday, it isn’t too far away from here, I think the Lorraines might like you”
Martha looked very excited with the idea, contrary to me.
“I’m…not good dealing with people” I said sincerely, Martha’s tail stopped wagging, I was afraid I might have offended her somehow, but the moment it raised again so did my mood.
“Then maybe I can introduce you to Skits, he is a dog” she said still as excited
“Eh, we will see about that eventually…” I said as I opened the door, ready to let my night guest go, much to my heart’s sorrow.
“Don’t think too much about it, I swear he is a friendly goofball, well, see ya! Smell you later” And just with that energy she set off to the streets, walking away joyfully.
I looked at her go, walking onto the distance until she took a turn downstreet and disappeared from my view. I stood there for another minute still, maybe hoping she would come back at any moment, even though I knew that wouldn’t happen. I closed the door behind me, then I realized, I was alone again in the house, but it was weird, this time the feeling was different, it wasn’t one of solitude and abandonment, I can’t really explain it but somehow being alone didn’t felt so lonely anymore. This morning, I think I might drink some hot chocolate instead of coffee.
