Different Sides of the Fence

Romeo

I walk down the street at night. My human didn't care I was gone because they knew I'd come back. I head to my mates house and start barking outside the door, waiting for her to come out. A few moments later, a beautiful golden retriever pushed through the slightly open door. This is my mate, Rosa. Something's off, I can feel it. Rosa looks shifty and nervous and why do I smell doberman?

"Rosa? Is everything okay in there?" I can see on her face by the light of a street lamp as she gets even more nervous.

"Yes, everything's fine!" She replies quickly. I pad up the steps that lead to the open door. "Wait-!" Rosa calls out just as I enter into the main room. In the middle of the room, I see a male doberman licking the fur on his chest. I could tell he was waiting for Rosa's return.

"Oh, I see..." I had quickly put all the pieces together in my mind and knew exactly what was going on. After a silent moment, I turn around and leave, walking down the street. How could I have been so stupid? Rosa has been getting even more dodgy and distant these past few weeks. I should have seen this coming.

"Trouble in paradise?" A female's voice asks. I quickly look around. I hadn't heard anyone or picked up a scent. Now that I think about it, I still can't smell her. I'm alone.

"Who are you? Where are you?" I call into the darkness. At first I get no response except for the soft breeze.

"For now, let's just say I'm a friend." She replies, her voice cutting through the silence like a knife.

"Have you been following me? Why?" I ask the voice. I continue looking around to get a glimpse of fur, a pair of eyes maybe, but it appears as though I'm still alone.

"I was just passing by and just so happened to see you having trouble with your mate." She answers casually. Her voice came at me from somewhere else. Whoever's there sure knows how to not be seen or detected at all.

"You could say that..." I don't know what I'm getting myself into. Somehow her presence makes me feel like I can trust her. She's probably a stray dog or something like that. There's a lot of strays around this area.

"You wanna talk about it?" Her voice softens from the playful tone.

"Her name was Rosa, we've known each other since we were pups." I suddenly find myself telling this stray all about Rosa and our relationship. She was silent the whole time and I wouldn't be surprised if she had left while I was rambling. It did feel good though to talk about how I was feeling, even if I was talking to myself. After my rant, the only sound I can hear is the quiet night air. Of course she left, who in their right mind would listen to a stranger's rant about his dead love life?

"Best advice I can give is just move on, do something to forget about her. If she chooses not to stay loyal, that's her deal. You're worth more than that." Her voice made me jump at first. I didn't think she'd stay for the whole rant.

"Thanks..." I murmur to her.

"Anytime," her voice is back to its normal playful tone. "In any case, it's getting late, you should go home."

"Yeah your right-" then an idea hits me. Maybe I could use her to show Rosa I'm perfectly fine without her. "Walk with me?" I ask the stray.

"Sure I guess," she responds. I start walking to my humans house. Though her paw steps were completely silent, her presence told me she was following me. We had been talking the whole way home. I was trying to get her to trust me more but it ended up being the other way around. I'd trust her with my life at this point. Although, it was hard to tell what she thought of me. She maintained the same playful tone the entire time and I'm not sure if she's like that with everyone or just me.

"If you want, you can come inside. My humans won't mind." I offer. There's a moment of silence. Shock maybe?

"No thanks," her voice sounds more stiff than before.

"I never introduced myself, have I? My name is Romeo, and you are?" No one answers. "Hello?" I peer around in the darkness only to be met with more silence. Maybe she left. I take another look around before heading through the dog door to be met by my Human rubbing my head. My human always treated me nicely, other humans call him Carl.

I lean into the pets on my way to my bed. I circle around a few times before resting my head on my paws and letting my eyes drift shut.

I'm surrounds by fog and the gentle  night air. "Hello? Where am I?" I call into the darkness. At first I'm met by silence until another voice calls back.

"Where do you think? This is your dream." A familiar playful voice rings out. Her voice sounds like a thousand bells ring at different times to form coherent words. I run through the darkness to see if I can find her.

"Where are you?" I call out.

"I'll give you a hint." Not a moment later, a puddle splashes barely a few paw steps behind me. I quickly turn, but there's nothing, no sign of the stray. The only proof of her being here was the shallow water rippling back and forth.

"Why won't you let me see you?" I walk forward slightly, my paw landing in the puddle. I can feel the cool water seeping through my fur.

"Because I don't know where you stand." She replies.

"Where I stand? What are you talking about? I know you can see me." I say as I tilt my head.

"Not physically, just what your opinions  are on a certain matter."

"What matter?" I ask, even more intrigued now.

"What's your opinion about-" suddenly the fog grows thicker and drowns out any noise. I look around frantically when my eyes meet a pair of glowing yellow eyes.