for the next.  And that, someday, we’ll all be together forever.”

Belle looked at Kodi with wonderment, and then up again at the lights in the sky.  “Wooooow!”

Togo looked up too and, with a sigh, started off towards the town.  He turned back towards them momentarily.  “Good night you three.  Sleep well.”  And with that, he continued on into town towards his master’s home.

“Goodnight” they each replied.  Dingo and Belle headed back into town as well, and Kodi set off for the boiler room, hoping to catch up with his team members.

CHAPTER 2

Later, in the pre-dawn hours of the morning, Togo was wracked in the throes of a restless sleep.  He tossed and turned, and kicked his legs.  As his subconscious weaved its way through a dream state, Togo heard a voice call to him.  It was a beautiful voice…ethereal and soft, like the sound of a breeze whispering through pine trees.  He became calm.  “Togo…” the voice called.  And then, his dreams carried him back in time. 

Togo was back in his harness, at the front of the team he led during the Serum Run.  He was standing on a rocking and swaying ice floe, which had broken off and drifted away from the rest of the ice covering the waters of Norton Sound.  All around them, a terrible blizzard howled and blew, and the members of the team had a tough time keeping to their paws.  Behind them, the sled, upon which their musher, Leonhard Seppala, stood, slid back and forth across the pitching, icy floe. 

Seppala leaned hard on the brake, trying to keep the team steady.  The situation seemed pretty desperate…the sea surging around them and the floe pitching and swaying, threatening to dump them into the icy waters.  And the blizzard winds howled around them, pelting them with snow and salty spray.  Then came a change of fortune.  The winds had shifted, and the floe was now drifting back towards the remaining pack ice!  Within minutes, it was drifting closer to the ice.

Seppala called to Togo, shouting over the howling winds.  “Jump, Togo!  Jump boy!  You can make it!”

Fritz, Togo’s co-leader and half-brother, turned to Togo with a befuddled look on his face, shouting “Is he nuts?!”  That’s gotta be five feet!”

Togo momentarily assessed the situation, and then turned back to Fritz, and shouted “Maybe!  But can you think of a better way out of this?  It doesn’t look like we’re gonna get any closer to the ice!”

There was a snap of the lead, and Seppala called again “Come on, boy!  You can do it!  Jump!”

Togo looked back out at the ice, now a short distance away, and at the roiling water, and then hunkered down to make his jump.  Launching himself into the air, he sailed towards the approaching ice, and then felt a sharp tug as the lead went taut.  Togo was yanked back, and landed hard on the edge of the ice, his back legs dangling in the frigid water. 

“Togo!  Are you alright?!”  Fritz yelled from the floe, watching him with great concern.

“Y-yes, I’m fine.”  Togo started to paw at the ice, trying to climb up.  He had noticed, however, that the lead had snapped off of his harness, which was now floating a few feet away, in the turbulent water.  As the rest of the team watched, Togo dove in and swam over to the lead.  The water was icy cold, and felt like a vise against his chest.  Gasping for air, he grabbed hold of the lead, turned, and starting paddling back to the ice.

“Togo!”  Fritz shouted.  “Hurry up, the gap is closing!”

Togo put his forelegs up on the ice, and turned back to see the floe rapidly closing in on him.  With seconds left, he began struggling to climb up.  Then a surge of water, from the approach of the floe, dumped him unceremoniously up onto the ice onto his belly.  As he struggled to regain his footing, the lead strap still in his mouth, he looked up to find a large, beautiful white wolf standing before him.  Caught completely off-guard, he dropped the lead, and looked into her eyes.  Then, everything around them seemed to slow to a crawl.  Even the howl of the blizzard softened to a whisper.

Togo looked into her mysterious eyes, and wondered why he was seeing her.  He didn’t remember any of this from the Serum Run.  “Wh…who are you?”

“A guide” she replied.  Her voice…it was the same he had initially heard.  Ethereal…beautiful. 

Togo looked back at the team.  He could see Fritz yelling something…and Seppala also.  But he could not hear them.  And they seemed locked in slow motion.  Turning back to the white wolf, he asked “What do you want?”

The wolf turned her muzzle upward and howled.  It was powerful…more so than any other Togo had ever heard in all his years. 

Instantly, he found himself standing in a field of tall grass and wildflowers of many colors…swaying in a gentle, warm breeze.  Meandering through the middle of the field was a small babbling brook, filled with crystal clear water.  In the distance, beyond the brook, were great gray mountains, capped with snow.  Closer by was a great forest of trees.  The sky was a brilliant blue, dotted and brushed with pure white clouds, which yet did not conceal the purest, most golden sunlight he’d ever witnessed.  Over the brook, some short distance away from them, spanned a golden footbridge, which cast off a rainbow prism of light when the sunlight played across it.  Near the bridge was a huge oak tree, casting a welcoming shade under its great boughs.

In the field, many dogs romped, played and laughed.  To Togo’s great surprise, there were also wolves, foxes and other wild dogs mingled in the fray.  Along the stream, some bent down to drink.  Still others rested under the shade of the great oak tree.  It was a magical, peaceful scene.  And it felt very inviting to Togo.

He then noticed that, from behind them, came a human, walking in the direction of the bridge.  As the human approached, one dog, which had been resting under the oak tree, rose enthusiastically to greet him.  The human spotted the dog, and then they both ran to greet each other.  As they met, the human knelt down to embrace the dog, and the dog kissed the human happily on the face.  Then, to Togo’s surprise, they seemed to converse together, and understand each other!  After a moment of this, the human stood and, together with the dog, walked over the bridge and disappeared into the forest.

Togo turned to the wolf, who was standing beside him.  “What does this all mean?  Why are you showing me this?”

The wolf looked into his eyes.  “The circle of life is nearly complete, Togo.”

He was confused by her response.  Tilting his head, he replied “I don’t understand.”

Togo then found himself standing back on the ice, with the lead strap in his mouth.  Everything still moved in slow motion.  He looked around, and saw the wolf standing a short distance away, on the shore.  She howled again, and disappeared.

Then he found himself immersed again in the howling winds of the blizzard, and hearing Seppala’s voice, and the urgency in it.  “PULL, Togo!  Pull!”

Togo shook his head to clear his thoughts, and found the entire team staring at him worriedly from across the ice.  The floe was now butted up against the pack ice.  He pulled determinedly against the lead, and the other dogs responded in kind, jumping the now very narrow gap and pulling the sled to safety.

CHAPTER 3

Togo awoke with a start, panting heavily.  Shaking it off, he rose stiffly from his bedding, and went to his water bowl for a drink. 

After slaking his thirst, he took a walk around his master’s house, visiting each room in turn, and ending with the bedroom.  Gently pushing the door open with his muzzle, he stepped quietly into the room.  There, asleep on the bed, was his master, Leonhard Seppala, snoring loudly.

Togo approached the bed, and licked Seppala’s hand, which was hanging down off the side.  Seppala groaned and turned in his sleep, and then continued snoring away.

“Goodbye, old friend,” Togo said softly.  “Thank you for believing in me.”  He wagged his tail as he thought of the good times they had had together.  Of the work they shared.  Of the old Alaska Sweepstakes races.  And of that fateful few days back in 1925, where so many lives hung in the balance, and were dependent upon his speed and experience. 

Togo laid his head upon the bed, next to his master’s head.  “I’ll see you again, someday.”

He turned to go, stopping momentarily at the door.  Looking back one more time, Togo sighed, turned again and walked out of the bedroom.

Soon