Dagger

-02-

I remember the day I was born vividly. It was sunny, and I didn't cry when the world first saw me. I was asleep. The doctors thought something was wrong. I just slept, day in and day out. However, I was awake on that day.

That one, fateful, life-changing day.

"Doctor, doctor, come quick! Look at the astonishment we've created! We've discovered how to fuse canine and human blood without them both going rampant on each other! It's right here in this test tube, isn't that great?" He suddenly slipped on a nearby electrical cord, having the vial slip out of his hands and into the wrong ones.

Mine, undoubtedly.

I clutched the vial and guzzled it down. The other doctor shrieked and smacked the tube out of my hand, having the glass shatter against the wall. The mother turned with me in her arms, shielding me from the danger of the glass. I started to hiccup, which soon passed as the doctor helped the one who slipped up from the ground.

"Um, miss? I think you should stay for a bit longer, maybe even a couple of more days... the contents of that vial could have catastrophic conclusions." He forewarned, shifting his glasses nervously. She nodded, holding me close.

"I don't care if he turns into a four-legged beast or has five eyes. As long as he's my child, then I will love him, no matter what." She said. The doctors let out a small 'awwww' before leaving the room. The mother sighed, looking over to her left, where the chairs sat. All three were empty.

"I wish your father was here... I wonder where he is... that son of a..." She muttered to herself, shedding a lone tear. I licked it off of her face, making her giggle and pat my head.

The longer we stayed in the hospital, the more 'dog-like' I became. I sprouted a little dog tail, with two ears to match. Although freaking out the doctors, my mother kept her promise. She still loved me, no matter what. We left the hospital a few weeks later, and from there we went home.

And our relationship began to grow.

I slept a lot, and played in the backyard. My mother made it clear on how to treat to me, whether it be a dog or a human. Soon, she achieved a mix of both. While I ran in the grass on both hands and legs, I had to eat at the dinner table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sooner or later, she enrolled me into school. We had to hide my ears and tail, claiming it was for "medical reasons". It was rather convincing, as my mom put it in words that swooned the principal of the school. I sometimes got bullied, and one of my classmates almost nabbed the hat. Too bad I bit him, right in the hand. He was crying for days.

Anyway, at the end of the third grade, my mom noticed that I had been coming home with outstanding grades, therefore skipping me to the fifth grade. I continued to move up through school with minimal incidents.

But then, things turned for the worse.

I came home from school one day to have my mother lying on the ground, withering in pain. She was also sweating a ton. I ran to my neighbor's house, who then proceeded to call the police. I sat on my doorstep, hoping and praying that she would be alright. For what felt like the first time in years, I cried, and it felt like my untouchable world was falling to pieces.

-~-

There I sat, in one of those three chairs, doing the same as I did on the doorstep. I watched my mom carefully, who was asleep, yet breathing. She stirred, then turned to face me.

"Honey... come here..." She moaned. I obeyed and approached her. I reached for my hat, swiftly swiping it off to reveal my two big, fluffy dog ears.

"Your ears... point them downwards... and tuck your tail in your pants." She smiled, watching me do what she asked.

"There," she smiled. "Now you look like a human. However, I want you to be yourself. Mankind might treat you like a human, but I know inside of you-" She took a pause to cough.

"There's a romping dog, waiting to burst out of you." I smiled, hugging her arm that hung over the side of the bed.

"Mommy... are you going... to leave me forever?" I stammered. It started out as a giggle, then turned into a mighty roar of a laugh.

"Oh, heavens no. I'm just a little sick, that's all."

A doctor knocked on the door before entering, scribbling something on a clipboard. I stared at him and began to growl lowly. My mother put her frail hand on my head, signalling me to calm down.

"It seems that she has the flu, but it's the weirdest thing that we've seen in awhile. It's not infectious, but it was strong enough to land you in the hospital. The doctor looked at me harshly. I did the same, sticking my tongue at him. My mother slapped me in the back of the head, her attitude suddenly turning angry.

"It is not nice to stick your tongue out at people. He's here to help me." The doctor cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses.

"You'll have to remain here for a couple more days to run some diagnostics. But you'll be in the best of care, I promise. Would you like someone to take your son home?" He asked her. She nodded, looking at me. I nodded back, glancing at the ground.

"I'll find some people." The doctor said, rushing out of the room. My mother still had her eyes on me.

"Honey, look at me." she said. I shook my head.

"Look. At. Me." I kept my head pointed at the ground.

"I want you to look at me, right now." I finally did, silent tears streaming down my face. My mother sighed, pulling me up onto her lap. She looked up at the fluorescent lights that decorated the ceiling. Hope began to fill in her eyes, just as tears filled mine.

"I am not going to die in here. I love you, no matter what. You hear me?" My mother stumbled through her words, beginning to tear up herself. I leaned down to hug her with all of my strength, sobbing heavily. She stroked my head softly, looking back up at the ceiling. A policeman entered the room, staring at us with no emotion. She pushed me off of her so she could look at me.

It was weird, because it felt like the last time it was.

"Now, there are some leftovers in the fridge. If you run out, go to Ms. Johnson's and politely ask for some. I'm sure she will help you if you need anything. I love you, OK? Don't forget it." She said as the policeman took my hand and dragged me out of the room.

"No matter what..." I whispered as the policeman closed the door.