Free

Short story

Time seemed to go by so slow.. I was staring down at the casket, my partners casket. The sound of the rain was just a background noise, the sound of rounds being fired off didn't even make me flinch.. I didn't even move.. The rain drops blended in with the tears that dribbled down my face. I wasn't the only one sad today.. The sky mourned my partners loss. My partner, he's gone.. His family said they couldn't take me in.. It just brought back too many memories of the one they loved, the one they lost. Instead, I was sent to a foster home for military dogs. They were kind to me.. But it wasn't the same. My owner was someone that I'd die for, but I failed him. When the bombs went off, I knew it was over. The day at the service, I could sense everyone's sadness. I saw the tears that ran down the cheeks of the men in uniform, hiding their eyes with their caps low, but I saw. I sat their watching my owners casket lowering into the earthy soil. I wish I could've smelt that bomb below our feet but I was too distracted listening to the rubbish fall from the tops of the large limestone walls.. It left me wounded and him, dead. They awarded me with a medal.. I don't know what for and I didn't care.. My owner got more though, the men I knew from the army base took their fists and beat in their pins into the wood of his casket. The people put me in a foster home. I didn't mind although they had an annoying small rat dog that would not be quiet.. Always yapping away about breathing techniques or whatever but I didn't care. Having a chihuahua as a therapy dog seemed bizarre to me. I often secluded myself to the back porch. The nice lady tried to bring me inside but I just didn't feel up to it. I knew my owner was gone but I couldn't help the feeling that any second he could come around that corner and bring me home. Seconds became days, days became weeks, weeks became months. He wasn't coming back. I finally found the courage in me to take a walk in the backyard.. But that's when I noticed the weirdest thing. I saw something white. It looked like a dog but it was much bigger. It saw me and it didn't seem to frighten me and I didn't seem to frighten it. For some reason, I wanted to follow it.. So I did. The fence was easy to scale especially with the training I've received years ago. Once I was on the other side, I didn't look back. I followed it through the trees, my legs took me far, and so did my determination. A small gasp escaped from me and there I fell, tumbling... far far far... until I hit the bottom. I let out a huff and stood myself up. Once I regained my composure, the place- it was beautiful. So much land to roam, the creek running through the large open valley before me. This is where I'm meant to be. There was no going back.. I was free.