My Case Files: A Collection of Mystery & Crime Short Stories

HORROR SPECIAL #2: 30/09

Shuni is a rescue dog. I've always wanted to support and care for an unprivileged dog. But Shuni, you wouldn't even expect a dog this majestic to be homeless. However, not even a year ago, nobody wanted this grey coated dog near their homes.

When I first saw him I thought he was extraordinary, tall and lean; but also frail and afraid, so I thought he must've been someone's missing dog. It turns out he was previously owned by an abusive old lady, whom was accused of witchcraft and even of cursing the dog before her death.

A curse, my neighborhood claims. 30th September. This was what they reckoned having found Shuni with '30109' or rather, '30/09' carved on his skin after finding the dog abandoned.

Despite people's opposition, I still took the dog home with me and named him Shuni. It's one thing to treat the dog with indifference, but a completely other thing to abuse it. They refused to treat Shuni like an actual living being. They wouldn't even let him sleep anywhere within eyeshot. He deserved better, during and before the abandonment. I don't regret for a second giving Shuni a chance at a loving home.

I've heard people's theories regarding the 'curse'. They say the dog will savagely eat me in my sleep; others say the witch left part of her soul in Shuni; while the rest say he'll die a torturous death. But Shuni wouldn't do any of that, would he?

It's now 11:30pm on the 29th of September. It's pretty late so I prepared for bed. Shuni's already settled in his own bed. I looked at him through the frame of my bedroom door. As my vision adjusted to the the darkness I observed his outline. I just couldn't bring myself to sleep.

Then it happened. Somehow, I felt no shock as I watched his paws spread and his toes elongate. He now stood on his hind legs. His long, pendent ears extended and split into what looked like strands. A tear rolled down my cheek as his howl turned to a shriek. There she stood.