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Best Friend |
| Written by Wesley Freeman | |
| Wednesday, 21 November 2007 | |
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Share it:      The sun warmed the boy as it shone down and speckled the path with its rays. There was a cool breeze and the boy watched how the trees shimmered with movement. Branches released their leaves in a continuous shower. The puppy barked at his feet for attention. It panted as it looked up at him with large brown eyes. The boy smiled and reached down to pet the dog, but it darted away playfully. He reached for it again, but it circled around him, avoiding his touch. It barked and tugged on his pant leg, wagging its tail. Only a few weeks ago had this puppy entered his life. His mother had recently divorced, and they both had moved to a new town for her job. She decided that he needed a companion to keep him company when she wasn’t at home. Together they had gone to the pound, where there was a whole litter of puppies. He remembered how they were all tumbling over each other in the pen and how this particular dog had begged to come home with him. That day the puppy became a new member of the family. Ever since then he had spent every possible moment with the dog, and it followed him like a shadow. The boy picked up a stick, which the puppy seized it with its teeth, trying to tug it away. The boy laughed as he wrestled the puppy onto the ground. He rolled onto his back and sat the puppy on his chest, where it licked him a couple of times before nipping playfully at his nose. The boy endured the onslaught for a few moments, before he was forced to get up and escape the intensity of the puppy’s energy. He began to walk again as the pup ran back and forth, never moving farther away than a few feet before spinning around and leaping back to him. The boy giggled at these antics, thinking of how silly it was to run is such a disorderly fashion. He began to imitate the dog, darting here and there. The dog barked happily, chasing him and then being chased. They made their way down the path while birds sang softly in the distance. Abruptly the puppy stopped. It stood perfectly still with ears perked. So abrupt was this motion that the boy stopped and followed the dog’s gaze. He saw a dark shape in the distance moving slowly in the shadows of the trees. The shape was large, but slowly took form. It was a big dog, which was staring at them intently. The puppy moved closer to the boy and he instinctively picked it up. With a start the big dog broke into a run towards them. The boy was surprised at this, and didn’t quite know what to do. He stood there watching, holding his puppy close as it squirmed uneasily in his arms. He could feel its little heart beating rapidly against his chest. The big dog ran faster and faster. The boy watched as it raced by the nearby foliage. He was, stupefied with indecision, not knowing whether to run, hide or fight. He noticed the muscular build of the big dog’s body and its wide, menacing mouth. The face was cruel and the teeth were vicious. The big dog was very close, and the boy closed his eyes as if to hide himself from whatever would happen next. With a sudden jolt he was on the ground. His head smacked against the dirt path and he felt himself gasping for air as it was winded from him. The puppy tumbled onto the ground, and in a fit of panic scrambled away. But the jaws of the big dog were faster. In a moment they had the puppy dangling between them, frozen with terror. Time seemed to be running in slow motion. The boy watched as the big dog shook its head, and with a violent snap broke the small frame of the puppy. Where there had been a quivering, ridged form only a second earlier, now hung a limp body. The boy stared in horror as the big dog opened its jaws and let the lifeless form fall to the ground. He tried to move, but the air had not yet returned to his lungs. He felt as if he were paralyzed, unable to move or scream. He gasped for air, demanded it, and finally it came to him. Groping to his feet, with his head pounding, he turned to face his enemy. He stumbled towards the big dog, but it jumped out of his way and ran down the path. Too quick for him, the boy watched as it rounded the bend and went out of sight. Still wheezing he looked down at the puppy. He touched it. It was warm, but there was no life there. The eyes had already glazed over and were staring blankly. The boy felt a burning in his gut, an uncontrollable anger that wheeled up inside of him. He wanted to attack, to fight, but then his vision blurred and the tears came, thick and wet, pouring down his face. With them came weakness, and his whole body felt tired and limp. He slouched to the ground and picked up the body of the puppy. His friend was gone. It seemed unfair that the puppy’s life had been so short. He wanted to protest, but to whom could he complain? His small frame began to spasm with sobs as he huddled there, absorbed in the loss. His heart had been broken. He no longer believed anything in life was certain. Not the care of a mother and father, and not the companionship of a friend. When his crying had subsided, the boy slowly got up. Still holding the puppy, he began the journey home. The wind blew and the leaves fell until the shadows grew long and the sun hid itself behind the trees.
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