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away? It’s not fair . . .”
Flick’s ears pricked up. “Hmm? Oh, all pups have to be weaned from their dams one day . . . It was hard for me too when I was about four months old, but it was . . . much different than your situation.” He let out a deep sigh as his ears fell to the side and his head fell. He stammered at a couple of words, and I could tell that he had it hard too. “Mine was . . . k-k-killed in a . . . sledding a-a-accident . . . while on her way back home. I never saw her again.”
“Oh,” My head lifted as my tears began to stop. I had heard the word “killed” and I knew what that meant: his mother was gone . . . and unlike ours, she couldn’t come back. He was now in tears and all I could do was lower my ears in respect. “I’m so sorry to bring up some bad memories.”
“Same here,” Brother offered his own condolences. “We didn’t know.”
“Ah, it’s all right,” Flick recovered with a sniffle, but his voice was normal again. “She wouldn’t want me to linger on in the past, so after she was buried, I learned to move on . . . It wasn’t easy for me, but it’s probably what she would have wanted for me and my siblings in the long run.” He looked back at us with a grin. “I never really forgot mine, and I’m sure your mother would want you to not forget her either. The important thing that the two of you have to look forward to right now is your dogsled training, and once the two of you succeed in that, I know you’ll make her spirit happy in return.”
Somehow, I was able to give Brother and Flick a smile. I did want to make Mother happy, but . . . it was lonely without her, even with my own brother with me. I had always had Brother . . . and prior to yesterday, we had always had Mother, . . . but now she was gone elsewhere.
I was able to still sleep with Brother’s shoulder to rest my head on, but as I began to dream that night, I feared about losing him too. Brother was the only one I could trust ever since I was born, and I was afraid that something could happen to him too. I felt like I had to open one of my eyes every now and then to make sure that he was still beside me. Sometimes, I would place my ear near his chest as I fell back to sleep, so that I could hear his heart still beating and know that he was still with me.
A couple of nights after our talk with Red Flick, my fur against Brother’s woke him up during the night. He looked at me with surprise and confusion.
“What are you doing, Sis?” he asked me with a whisper, as not to wake up any of the other sleeping huskies inside the dog barn.
“Oh,” I paused nervously, nearly blushing out of embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Brother . . . I’m just sleeping next to you, so that Master doesn’t take you away from me.”
“Huh?” Brother replied in surprise, still quietly. “I don’t understand.”
I led him outside so that we could talk louder and perhaps get a look at the starry night sky while we spoke. Once out of the door, we walked to the grassy meadow where we once played together as pups and sat down beneath the stars.
“Brother,” I began to admit my worries. “I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable when I sleep close to you.” My head lowered in shame, I was near to tears as I continued. “I was afraid that . . . that you would be sold without me knowing . . . and-and . . . I’d never be able to see you again . . .” Now the tears began to drip from my eyes.
The dark form of my brother was silent, as if to absorb by every word in order to understand my feelings. His head was high though – he was looking at the midnight canvas in front of us. It was strange how there was no mountains in front of where we sat – we could see the beginnings of an Aurora Borealis in front of us, sparkling with its many color ribbons dancing around the sky over the clearing.
Brother slowly gasped in awe at the sight. “Wow. Are you seeing this, Sis?” I guess he was trying to change the subject in order to cheer me up.
It worked; I looked up after drying my tears and sniffling a bit, but I too was gazing in amazement at the shimmering sight.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” I asked Brother with a smile. “The Northern Lights, I mean.”
“Yeah, they’re so pretty,” he replied back, looking at the lights . . . and then looking at me. I didn’t notice a moonbeam flash over me as he spoke. “Just like you are. You know, you really are like starlight . . . and I can see the stars in your blue eyes.”
I was taken aback by his observation, stepping back a couple of steps before sitting down again with my muzzle lowered. The only ones that saw me as starlight were Mother, Brother and Master . . . Why couldn’t I see myself as that too?
“No, I’m not,” I shook off Brother’s comment. “My name may be Starlight, but I am nothing like actual starlight.”
“Well, I’m not like a spruce tree either,” he snapped back playfully. “but I’m named Black Spruce, because Master sees that in me.”
“But you’re strong and reliable, just like a young tree that grows in the forest . . . and your eyes are green too,” I observed aloud. “Master gave you a name that really suits you well.” I felt my ears fall with my next comment as I realized what I was saying. “Maybe Mother was right when she said that Master gives us names that binds us to our destiny.“
“I guess so,” Brother said with a grin. “Perhaps one day you’ll see the starlight that shines in you. I know you will live up to it.”
But how? I didn’t know, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. I was quiet as I fell to the grass with a deep sigh. My head and nose were between my front legs and I was totally exhausted. Brother walked up to where I was and laid beside me beneath the silver light of the moon and the colorful aurora.
“This is relaxing,” Brother murmured as I began to feel his touch close to my fur. I nearly gasped at the pattering of his heart beating inside his chest, which was now close to my foreleg. “It’s almost like I could stay here forever.”
My face was nearly red as he let out a comforting sigh. “Yeah, me too. I like it when you’re here with me, Brother. I don’t feel so alone . . . and I don’t seem to miss Mother as much when you are by my side.”
He turned to me, his ears pricked up. “I understand your fear of us being separated if Master sells one of us, but you know, we’ll never really be apart.” He paused, noticing my tilted head. “I mean, if anything ever does happen to us, we’ll still be inside each other’s hearts . . . because we love each other so much . . . and Mother will always be there with us too.” He leaned over for a gentle nuzzle with our noses touching sweetly.
Our sibling bond was very strong, and I just hoped that Master understood that we needed to stay together. We felt so comfortable outside under the night sky that we ended up sleeping outside that night; our fur was so close to each other, I had a feeling that Brother could feel my heartbeat against his fur too, just like I felt his.
(Section I – completed 2/5/08)
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To Be Continued in . . . Section II . . .| Previous Page | 1 2 3 |
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