Aleu: My Untamed Reflection

Part II 

Although it had been over three weeks since sending final farewells to Jenna, Balto was still mourning his sudden loss. The funeral was emotionally heart-wrenching for him to bear, since Jenna was one of the few that touched his life and truly accepted him for who he was; to even imagine her gone forever, even now, was difficult for the wolf-dog to take. Many of his friends – both human and animal – were by his side to comfort him and offer solace during and after the burial: Rosy remained by his side, hugging him and placing dozens of flowers atop of Jenna’s grave; Doc continued to accept Balto’s company overnight; Boris and the polar bears tried cheering him up, hoping that the half-breed’s solemn sadness would be temporary; and many other local dogs were always there to offer their kind words and other tokens to show their sympathy.

However great the sorrow was for Balto to lose Jenna, he now had something else important to attend to: he was eager to be a perfect father for his wolf-like daughter, Aleu. Through the next few weeks, Balto marveled at his daughter’s progress of growth. A couple of weeks had passed since he first witnessed Aleu open her wide eyes, revealing a pair of shining blue and yellow almond-shaped pupils that much resembled her much wilder ancestors. At first, everything was blurred and fuzzy through her eyes, but over time, her vision quickly became perfect. She was getting used to walking on her three-toed paws instead of crawling on her belly like she had ever since the day she was born. She was now beginning to speak in little barks and whines, and recently, she even said her first word to Balto: “Papa!” 

It seemed that the more she learned, the clearer Balto’s love for his child became. The only reason he had to smile was for her now – she was the only important thing in his life and he still had a promise to keep.

She can never know about you, Jenna . . . I don’t want her to blame her birth for the death of you and our other five children . . . it would tear her apart . . . . 

I fear . . . fear that it was my wolf blood caused me to lose you, not you giving birth to our children . . . Balto began to think this one night when Aleu was about four weeks old; she was sleeping beside her father’s belly, just as she always had remembered she had. Why else would our other children die with you unless the wolf-like ones are left behind? I remember seeing them . . . He shuttered at the memory – that sight of seeing the five lifeless bodies that joined Jenna in death. All of them looked like you, Jen . . . The other five were burgundy and white, just like you! Tears trickled from his closed eyes, streaming down his cheeks. It’s a curse . . .The wolf blood within me caused me to lose you . . . I know I should be the one to blame for your death . . . That magical night of passionate love that showed my eternal love for you ended up sealing your fate . . .

Why? Why did this have to happen?  

He let out a sniffle and dried his tears as he turned to the sleeping bundle of light-brown fur against him. But . . . His lips formed a gentle smile while he watched her stomach move up and down as she slept and dreamed of whatever awaited her in the morning light. I am glad to have a part of you with me still . . . Aleu is growing every day, becoming a child of my likeness and your charming wit. He quickly remembered one time that Aleu had played with him and she had begun to howl while trying to talk. Okay, so she has a lot of my likeness . . .

But still, I’m sure you’d be proud of her if you were here to see her right now . . . .  

At last, he finally felt calm enough to fall asleep; still sleeping in the bed that the town doctor had provided for him, he placed his head beside Aleu’s, slightly nuzzling her nose with his own as a form of a good-night kiss. She moaned a little at the tickling graze on her moistened muzzle, but she did not wake up. Knowing that Aleu was sleeping well, it was time for him to enter that dream world himself; he slowly lowered his eyes, never losing sight of his little girl as they finally closed for sleep.

“Hey, Papa! Papa! Wake up, wake up!” 

The almost squealing voice of the quarter-wolf blared into the wolf-dog’s ears; Balto could feel his daughter’s weight piling on his own as she completed her daily morning pounce. He let out a groan as he finally opened his eyes to his little girl . . . who wasn’t exactly so little anymore.

Aleu, realizing that her father was awake, moved her large beige paws and slender body off of her father as he began to fully rise for the morning. He rolled over, yawned loudly and sat up, looking at his split image in front of him. She would be a year old in a couple of days, and she had truly grown since her newborn days as a loud, crying pup. Her coat was now a well-groomed shade of mousy-brown, all thanks to Rosy’s constant brushing and bathing. Her tail wagged back and forth, curled inward like the dominant husky genes that flowed through her veins; however, her markings were clearly from her father’s recessive side: a jagged blaze of light-brown was painted down her nose while light beige-tan surrounded her eyes and cheeks, lining down her chest, belly, ankles and tail. Her most striking feature, which especially made her seem wilder, was her slanted eyes of piercing bright blue, surrounded by golden yellow.  

“Okay, okay,” Balto chuckled as he leaned over to give his pride and joy a morning nuzzle. “I’m up, I’m up!”

Aleu giggled happily. “I’m glad, Papa! I’m so excited about what’s coming up soon!” She was grinning ear to ear. 

“Hmm? What would that be, I wonder?” The wolf-dog asked curiously, although he had an idea on what it was.

“Oh, you should know it already, Papa: I turn a year old in a couple of days!” Aleu was all smiles as she closed her eyes in happiness; she paid no attention to her father’s solemn expression. 

It’s been a year already?!Balto was shocked deep down inside, which was quite the opposite of his daughter’s joy of becoming grown-up. Mainly the shock of hearing his daughter remind him of that made him lower his head in mourning once again. I can’t believe it’s been that long since . . . since . . . A tear dropped onto the wooden floor boards that lined the bottom of Rosy’s second-floor bedroom.

“Papa?” Aleu lowered her head, leaning forward to get closer to her father’s. “Papa, why are you crying? Is there something wrong?” 

His eyes shot open, realizing that he had been caught. Damn it! She saw me crying over that again! This wasn’t the first time Aleu noticed his sudden tears, but he knew that the truth behind his tears was something that had to remain hidden from her. I have to think of something to cover this up . . . and fast! He wiped his eyes with the side of one of his front paws and shook his head. “No, nothing’s wrong, Aleu. I’m just . . . so proud of you, that’s all. Starting in a couple of days, you’ll no longer be my baby – you’ll be all grown up.”

“Oh, Papa,” Aleu lowered her sepia ears in disgust. She had always disliked that word ‘baby’, especially whenever her father called her that with love. “I’m almost grown up, and I’m definitely not a baby anymore. Hmph!” She backed away from him slowly, stopping before she hit the side of Rosy’s bed. “I’m going to wake Muk and Luk up at the boat to play, okay?” 

“All right,” Balto cheered up with a slight smile. “Go on and play.” He watched as his wolfish child trotted out of the bedroom door and outside of the cozy home. The wolf-dog stood against the windowsill, looking out at the town and noticing that Aleu was about to break into a run towards his grounded boat home. “Oh, Aleu! Be careful!” Balto warned her from the upstairs window. “Don’t go into the woods without a buddy with you, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt out there.” Balto let out a quick gasp. “Oh! And do whatever Boris tells you to do! He is your babysitter after all.”

“Don’t worry, Papa!” Aleu answered back, halting with her ears lowered against her slightly-scruffy neck. “I’ll be fine! Boris, Muk and Luk will be with me, so there’s nothing to worry about!” She gave him one last smile before giggling as she broke into a sprint towards the shoreline where the gander and fraternal twin polar bears were still resting. 

Balto let out a sigh as he watched her disappear through town and head towards the outskirts of Nome. “And please . . . please be safe . . .” He dropped back down to all-fours and walked out of the room to go outside for some fresh air . . . and to check on Aleu. Rosy petted him as he descended the wooden stairway and led him through the front door.

“See you later, Balto!” Rosy waved from the doorway as the hybrid barked back. “Wish Aleu good morning for me, okay? Bye!” She shut the door and returned back inside. 

Once Balto was outside of Rosy’s home, his face turned somber as he looked at the sky. Has it really been that long? The clouds of the sunrise were painted in soft orange, yellow and white as the sun continued to fill the eastern horizon with its majestic brightness. In two days, I’ll be both happy and sad at the same time . . . He sighed and soon realized that he had walked towards the cemetery near the edge of town. I can’t believe I walked out here again. I guess I still can’t forget about you, Jen. He stopped at a small memorial near the center of the burial ground where flowers seemed to flourish and a large wooden cross and five much smaller ones surrounded the spot. The she-husky’s name was beautifully carved into the larger cross, much to Rosy’s request, and the wildflowers that grew over the mass gravesite gave the dreary cemetery a sudden flash of color. Not a single day goes by that I don’t think about you and the