her.

“

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to tell you a story about a wonderful dog, whose name I’ve not spoken nor heard in four very long years.”

“Who’s that?” Trixie asked.

Jenna smiled. “His name was Balto.”

She paused.

“Gosh, it feels good to speak that name.”

She looked down at Trixie.

“I’ve not heard his name in almost five years.”

“Balto?” Trixie asked. “I’ve never heard that name before. Who is he?”

Jenna nodded. “I know child. He was your grandfather and my mate, my one love. We were together for almost seventeen years.”

“Wow.” Trixie said. “That’s a long time.”

Jenna nodded. “That’s what happens when you find the right dog my dear.” She sighed. “Sadly, it doesn’t happen much anymore. The days of one life, one love are all but gone.”

A faint glimmer of the brightness that Jenna’s eyes had once exuded shined in her eyes. “…but in a few the idea still flourishes, and those relationships will stretch the very bonds of death himself.”

“So how’d you meet him?” Trixie asked.

Jenna smiled.

“It was race day, and I was trying to get to the awards stand before they were given out.

I was walking down the alleyway by the old general store and hotel… they burned down in ’38, so you would know the area as the gas station on Mainstreet… but there used to be an old metal fence across the alley, from one building to another. I tried to go under the fence, and got stuck. The red bandanna I was wearing around my neck got stuck and I couldn’t get it off.”

She smiled.

“I pulled and pulled, but I just couldn’t get it off the metal. I guess it made quite a racket, because Balto was attracted to the sound, seeking to help. I didn’t even know he was there.

He stepped on something on the roof above and tripped, rolling down the roof and crashing into a dumpster below.”

Jenna looked at Trixie.

“I was scared. I mean, I had only arrived in Nome about a week prior to that, and I didn’t know many of the other dogs in the town. Then your grandfather stuck his head out of the dumpster.”

She sighed.

“There was something in his eyes that told me I was safe with him, but I didn’t know him at the time, so I was a little wary. He helped me and I got free of the fence.”

Jenna smiled, remembering.

“We talked for a while, and then went our separate ways. Later I learned from my friends that he was a wolf/dog, half wolf, half dog. They said he was dangerous, and that I should stay away from him… and I believed them.”

She sighed.

“If there’s one thing I wish I could do over again it’s… well, one day I was sitting with my new friends, and Balto walked by. They all started picking on him like they did all the time, and he was hardly fazed by it anymore. I noticed that they were all looking at me, see, I hadn’t said a word. I thought I might lose my new friends if I didn’t, so… I joined in…

I don’t remember exactly what I said, but it was something stupid… and hurtful.”

Jenna sighed.

He looked up at me then.

Tears filled Jenna’s graying eyes, the memory still just as traumatic as the actual event over twenty one years ago.

“The look he gave me then cut me to the heart, it was a mix of utter disbelief and the deepest betrayal I’ve ever seen. He just hung his head and walked away.

The others noticed the reaction as well, and they cheered me on, trying to make me feel good for making Balto feel so bad.”

She sighed.

“…but all the freindship and popularity couldn’t salve the pain that filled my heart because of what I’d done.

People, individuals are the most important, not your standing and popularity with the dogs of the town. Always remember that…”

She stopped.

“So, did you ever get to talk to him about it?” Trixie asked.

Jenna nodded. “Yes, but not for a while, you see, I got together with another dog, Drake, and that’s another name I haven’t heard in a long time now.”

She looked at Trixie.

“He died a long time ago. Way before you were born. He was Keeper of the Law before your father.”

She smiled.

“He was very nice, and he was cute too.”

She sighed.

“…but I was soon to find out that that’s not always what matters.”

“What do you mean?” Trixie asked. “What happened?”

“Well, earlier, when I first got into town, my new friends tried to hook me up with a sled dog named Steele.”

Here, Trixie interjected.

“Who’s Steele?” Trixie asked.

A look of disgust came over her grandmother’s face.

“He was the most popluar dog in Nome at one time. Steele was a monster of a dog, who for some reason, was also the most popular dog in Nome at that time. He was the fastest dog in the area, and held almost every racing title for the last few years. Needless to say, we didn’t get along, and I ended the relationship just before I got with Drake.

“Now, back to the story,” Jenna said. ”Steele showed up one day and he wanted what I had refused him when we were together, and he didn’t care how he went about it.”

Jenna looked at

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Next page