The following characters are copyrighted © by me and cannot be used without my permission: Autumn, Shadow, Malik, Chameal (kuh-meel), Zark.
The following characters are copyrighted © by Universal Studios: Jenna, Rosie, Rosie's parents.
Three small husky pups ran throughout a small house, knocking anything unsteady down. A young red-haired girl ran after them, yelling, hoping they would come to her.
“Rosie,” the girl’s father scolded, “get those pups under control before I have to.”
“I'm trying!” she told him, frustration in her voice. “Come on Jenna! Malik, sit! Stop running Chameal!”
Rosie’s father laughed as he watched his daughter running after the pups, attempting to round them up. The small creatures continued to elude her for almost five minutes before she was able to catch them.
“Did you have a good time catching those pups, hun?” Rosie’s mother chuckled, walking into the kitchen.
The young girl smiled as she lifted the small red pup into her arms. She then looked at the other two pups sitting at her feet waiting for their turn to be held.
“Do we really have to get rid of them?” Rosie asked, looking up at her mother and father. “Autumn will be sad when we get rid of her pups!”
They looked at her with solemn faces. “We can’t keep al three of them, dear,” her father told her. “There just isn’t enough room. Especially when the pups become adults.”
“But… can’t I keep at least one of them?” Rosie begged, a single tear falling from her green eyes.
Her parents looked at each other, pondering her request.
“You know you’ll have to help out with taking care of the puppy, right?” her mother asked, raising her left eyebrow.
Rosie’s eyes widened. “Do you really mean it?!”
Her father nodded. “As long as you take care of the pup.”
The young girl squealed happily, running to each of her parents, giving them big hugs. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
She looked from the red pup, still in her arms, to the other two at her feet. With her smile starting to fade, she gently placed the red pup next to her siblings, kneeling down.
Patting Malik and Chameal she quickly glanced at her mom. How did they expect her to choose just one of the three pups to keep and watch the other two go off to new homes? She loved all the pups equally. It almost felt wrong to the young girl to pick.
But she knew she would have to end up choosing just one of the pups to keep.
Rosie looked up at a clock on the kitchen wall, sighing. She looked back to the three pups. “Come on guys,” she said, getting to her feet. “Time for bed.”
The pups scampered toward Rosie’s room as if they had understood what she had just said to them. She giggled as she ran after them, a smile back on her face.
Soon after getting into her room and getting her pajamas on, Rosie crawled into her warm bed, the three pups already curled into small fluffy balls at the foot of her bed.
A creek from her door caused her to jump slightly. Peering over, she spotted Autumn sticking her head in, her tail gently wagging.
“Come on girl,” Rosie called, patting her bed softly with her right hand. “Get into bed Autumn.”
The tan husky wagged her tail slightly harder and in almost a single motion pushed the door open the rest of the way and leaped into the bed, licking Rosie’s cheek before laying down next to her three small pups happily.
“Good-night,” the young girl said before laying her head onto her pillow and drifting off to sleep.
a a a
“Wake up Rosie. It’s morning.” Rosie opened her eyes slowly, rubbing them sleepily. She gazed around her room and up at her mother who had just woken her. “Today is the day I have to choose, isn’t it?” she asked sadly, looking into her mother’s eyes. Her mother held her gaze for a few seconds before turning away. “Yes. We are going to give the other two away tomorrow, though. So you have one more day with all of them.” The young girl smiled sadly and nodded, gently patting each of the little pups and Autumn. “Can I go outside with them mom?” she asked, sitting up and dangling her feet off the edge of her bed. Her mother nodded. “Just stay close to home, okay.” “Yes mom,” Rosie told her, her smile a little bigger. She slid down to the floor and woke each of the pups with a gentle shake and a small kiss on the top of their head. “Come on guys,” she told them, laughing as each pup leapt to the floor. Autumn glanced at each of her pups and yawned. The tan female got to her paws and jumped to the floor at Rosie’s feet. “Silly girl,” Rosie laughed, seeing the red bandana around Autumn’s neck had become askew. “I'll have to fix that, huh?” She gently rearranged the bandana around her neck until it fit right once more. Autumn barked happily and licked Rosie’s face, wagging her tail. “Let’s go outside now,” the girl laughed, trying to push the dog away gently. The young girl ran out of her room with Autumn following at her heels. Rosie giggled happily as the three pups romped after them to the kitchen where her purple jacket was waiting to be put on. After quickly slinging on her jacked, she opened the door, feeling the cool breeze hitting her face. “Be back in in about an hour” her father called after her as she walked out the door. “Okay!” she shouted back as she shut the door behind her, jumping into a near by snow bank. The red female, Jenna, jumped in after Rosie, yelping in surprise as she sank deeper into the cold snow band. Rosie giggled as the pup poked her head out, a small amount of the white snow on the top of her head. Malik and Chameal looked up at the girl with their puppy blue eyes, wagging their tails. The young girl laughed. “Well come on silly pups!” she called as the dark tan pup, Chameal, jumped in. Malik backed away a few steps as he watched his sister play in the snow before leaping into it himself, his light tan fur glistening with snow as he landed. Rosie looked at Autumn who was laying a few feet away watching her girl and pups. The girl laughed mischievously and picked up a snow ball. With a smile, she gently threw the snowball at Autumn, making the husky jump slightly. Standing to her paws, she playfully leapt into the snow band, causing snow to fly up and hit Rosie. She laughed, jumping halfway on Autumn in a tight embrace before rolling away. She was about to throw another snow ball at Autumn when a red male husky appeared from behind the house. “Shadow!” Rosie cried happily, scrambling up to give the dog a hug. He wagged his tail and licked her gently, rubbing his head against her hand. “You probably came to see your pups, huh, boy?” she laughed, glancing at the three pups who were running towards their father barking happily. Autumn walked over to Shadow and rubbed against him lovingly. The red husky gently licked her on her muzzle before the three eager pups leapt on him. “Take it easy pups,” Rosie laughed. “You don’t want to hurt your dad.” She stood up and brushed the snow off of her pants and tuned around, giggling. Walking up to the door, her hand on the knob, she looked back at the pups and their parents, sadly thinking about how it was probably going to be the last time their little family would be all together at once. And I still have to pick the pup I am going to keep, she told herself. Taking her hand off the door knob, Rosie ran down to the dogs again, giving each a hug. All five of them wagged their tail and gently licked Rosie’s soft cheek. “It’s time to go inside,” Rosie told her pups and Autumn, petting Shadow. “You can see him later. Come on.” Autumn gave Shadow another loving nuzzle before following her pups up to the door, waiting patiently for her girl to open it. As Rosie opened the door, the pleasant heat hit her face. Her father walked over and held onto her shoulder. “Have you decided which pup you are going to keep?” Rosie lowered her head. “Yes,” she said, glancing from her father to the three pups crowding around their bowl of food. “I will keep--” a a a
“Malik,” Rosie laughed, picking up the light tan pup. “Come on.”
She hugged the pup close, gently kissing him on the top of his head. Reluctantly, she lowered the small pup into a box.
“Chameal,” the young girl picked up the dark tan pup, hugging her as well. “I love you,” she said, giving the small female a kiss, a tear rolling onto her soft puppy fur.
Setting Chameal in the box next to her brother, Rosie lifted Jenna off the ground, tears falling from her green eyes onto the pup’s red fut. Jenna squirmed and licked her young owner’s face, whining.
Autumn looked at her two pups in the box, then glared at the sign hanging on it. Although she could not read it, she knew it attracted humans. The same sign had hung on a box the day her siblings all got humans of their own.
“You’ll really miss them like me, girl, huh?” Rosie asked the husky, putting her arms around her.
Rosie’s parents walked up to her, putting their hand on her shoulders protectively. The young girl looked up at each of them then back at Malik and Chameal in the box.
Autumn whined, licking each of her pups. She glanced around and spotted a young child boy, about Rosie’s age, coming toward the box, a huge smile on his face.
“Look mommy!” he cried excitedly, grabbing his mother’s hand and pulling her toward the box. “Puppies!”
His mother smiled and laughed, then looked to Rosie’s parents. “How much for a pup?” she asked, reaching into her purse.
“Free as long as you give them a good home,” her father said, pointing to the sign.
The boy’s mother nodded. “Pick the one you want.”
He smiled and looked at the two pups, petting them both, laughing as they licked his hands.
“I want them both mommy,” he pleaded, glancing to his mother.
“Well… having two would be better than just having one,” she said, looking at the two pups. “Then they would never get lonely…”
The boy’s smile grew. “Does that mean I get to have them both?”
“I guess so,” she laughed.
Rosie looked down at Malik and Chameal, the tears falling freely. “They already have names,” she informed the boy and his mother. “This one is Malik,” she told them, hugging the light tan pup tightly. “And this on is Chameal,” she said, holding the dark tan pup in a tight embrace.
“Those are beautiful names,” the young box said, smiling at Rosie. He looked up at her parents then back at her with a serious look on his face. “And I swear I will take very good care of these puppies. Malik and Chameal.”
The young girl smiled weakly and watched sadly as the boy picked up the two pups and carried them away.
Rosie hugged Jenna tightly, crying softly into her fur. The pup licked her girl gently on her nose, attempting to cheer her up. With a half-hearted laugh, Rosie walked back toward her house, almost expecting to hear Malik and Chameal running behind her.
Jenna looked over Rosie’s shoulder, cocking her head.
“They aren’t coming home with us, girl,” the young girl told her pup. “Malik and Chameal have their own family now.”
As if understanding what she said, Jenna whimpered, letting her tail droop down. She gazed back at the box, hating it with all her heart.
Sighing, Rosie turned her head, looking at Autumn starting off in the direction the young boy went with two of her pups. She whined sadly, standing to her paws, her tail hanging limply down, her head so low it almost touched the ground.
“Come on Autumn,” the girl called, patting her leg softly. “Let’s go home.”
The husky turned and followed Rosie, glancing back only once, hoping to see her pups running back to her.
A cold wind blew gently as they walked home. Rosie looked around the house sadly, missing the sound of puppy paws scampering around. Never would it be the same.
a a a
Jenna opened her pale blue eyes, sleepily, looking around the dark room, wishing she could go back to sleep.
“Mom,” she whispered, nudging Autumn gently on her side. “Are you awake?”
Autumn opened her eyes slowly, yawning. “Well I am now.”
The red pup smiled, slightly embarrassed at not realizing her mother would still have been sleeping. “I can’t sleep, mom,” she said, lowering her ears slightly. “I miss my brother and sister.”
“I know,” Autumn told her, nuzzling her lovingly. “I do, too.”
“Can we… can we go find them?” Jenna asked, hopefully.
Autumn shook her head.
Autumn shook her head. “No.”
The red pup just looked at her. “But…”
“It’s out of the question.”
Jenna stood up, facing her mother, anger in her small eyes. “You can’t stop me from going,” she whispered, a small growl in her throat. “I'm going. And- and there is nothing you can do about it!”
She leapt down from Rosie’s bed and ran out the door, tears stinging her eyes. The pup hesitated at the wooden door leading outside, wondering if it was really the right thing to do.
“But it is going to be locked,” she told herself, glancing up at a window. “But that’s open!”
Clumsily jumping onto the table under the window, she slipped out.
As she hit the ground, Jenna made a small grunt. Standing to her paws and shaking herself off, she gazed up at the window she had just escaped from.
Glancing around, Jenna started to wander in the direction she believed the box had been just a few days before.
“Where is it?!” Jenna cried, looking franticly around, trying not to let the rising panic take over her. “Oh… This was a bad idea. I should have stayed home.”
“That would have been a wise choice young pup,” a voice said from the shadows.
Jenna spun around, her tail tucked tightly between her hind legs and her ears laid back in terror. “W-who’s there?” she yelped, trying to sound a lot braver than she really was.
The voice chuckled. “Don’t worry. I'm not gong to hurt you little one.”
Jenna was about to speak again, but the source of the voice appeared, silencing her.
“You’re a pretty small pup to be out here all alone, aren’t ‘ya?” he asked, chuckling.
The red pup looked away. “I guess so.”
She gasped as the male stepped closer into the light the moon cast off. He had straggly black fur, his body covered in old scars. The male had chocolate brown eyes that twinkled with youthfulness.
“Who are you?” Jenna questioned.
The black male smiled. “The name’s Zark.”
Jenna nodded. “That’s such a cool name!” she exclaimed, almost forgetting her fear. Then as an after thought, she added, “I am Jenna.”
He gently chuckled again, looking her up and down. “So what made you run away from your home?”
“Well,” she started, “I don’t really want to talk about it. But I do want to go home. I just don’t know where home is.”
Zark nodded. “Tell you what: I'll bring you to where I sleep for tonight and then tomorrow I will bring you home.”
“Really?”
“Sure. It’s the least I can do,” he told her, turning back to the shadows motioning for Jenna to follow him.. she scampered up beside him, wagging her tail, glad to have someone looking out for her.
It didn’t take long for the two of them to reach a small dark ally-way. Zark lay down on a small pile of blankets, waiting for Jenna to lie down as well. As she did, he protectively wrapped his tail around her and shut his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
She glanced at him and smiled, snuggling into his warm tail. As sleep started to take over her, she could almost see her siblings around her. She smiled as she and sleep finally met.
“Rise and shine Jenna,” Zark laughed, nudging the red pup. “Daylight is burning.”
Jenna opened her eyes groggily, looking up at the larger black dog. She glanced around her surroundings, momentarily forgetting where she was.
Standing, she shook herself off, yawning. The red pup smiled as Zark laughed at her.
“Wan to get going?” he asked. “I'm sure your owner is frantic with worry.”
Jenna nodded slowly, thinking of the thing that had brought her out, away from the warmth of her cozy home. “When we get back, you should stay with us!” she exclaimed.
Zark shook his head. “Nah,” he told her. “I don’t belong in a house. But once I get you back, you will see me again.”
Jenna nodded, pretending to understand. It was an unknown reason to her that anyone would pass the opportunity to have a loving owner to take care of them.
She waited patiently as the black male rose to his paws, a slight smirk crossing his face.
“Well, come on then,” he told her, walking out of the ally-way, glancing back to make sure she was following him.
Jenna smiled, wagging her tail, as she followed Zark. She could imagine what might have happened to her if he hadn’t found her last night.
“How are you going to find where I live?” Jenna asked after a few moments of silence.
Zark smiled. “Well,” he told her, “I have to get your scent and then follow it.”
Jenna nodded. “Do you have my scent?”
The black dog chuckled. “Not yet,” he said, motioning for the red pup to come forward. Slowly, she moved up to him, laughing as he started to sniff her. “But now I do.”
He led her away from the ally, nose in the air. After just a moment, he laughed slightly, turning where Jenna’s faded scent was coming. Every few feet, Zark would stop again, making sure he hadn’t lost the trail.
The red pup was about to ask Zark a question when she saw a medium sized tan husky running toward them.
“Mom…?” she whispered.
“Jenna!” Autumn shouted, growling slightly. “Get away from that dog!”
Jenna stopped and cocked her head, not understanding why her mother wanted her to get away from Zark. He was just helping her get home.
“But Zark is just trying to help me get home,” she tried to explain. “He’s not going to hurt me.”
Zark hesitated as the angry female ran towards him, unsure of what to do. He knew she only wanted to take her pup home, but he also knew a female would protect her pup no matter what.
“Listen,” he said calmly. “I was only trying--”
His words were cut short as Autumn leapt at him, her teeth sinking into his throat. Yelping in pain and surprise, Zark stumbled backward, trying to get the female husky off.
“Mom, no!” Jenna cried, panicking. “Zark just wanted to help me!”
Autumn ignored her and bit the male harder, growling viscously. In one quick motion, she shoved him to the ground.
Jenna watched, running around them franticly, trying to think of a way to break them apart. Before she could, a loud sound caused her to spin around.
A few houses away, a man slammed open the door. He was holding what looked like a silver stick that twinkled menacingly when the sun hit it.
“You worthless creatures!” he hollered, raising the stick to his eye. “Get away from my property!”
As Jenna started toward her mother and Zark, a loud band rang though the air, causing her to jump.
With a yelp, Autumn hit the ground as Zark ran in the opposite direction, his tail tightly held between his hind legs.
“Mom…?” Jenna asked, slowly walking up to her. “Are you okay mom?”
Autumn painfully pushed herself up onto her feet, her eyes clamped shut in pain. “Let’s just get you home.”
Jenna slowly nodded and followed her mother, noticing a trail of blood behind her. Not wanting to ask what it was, the pup pushed it out of her mind.
After a few minutes, the two arrived on the doorstep of their house. Scratching on the door to get someone’s attention, Jenna glanced at her mother with a worried look.
Slowly the door opened and a squeal of joy came. Rosie opened the door the rest of the way, running out to grab Jenna.
“Mom! Dad!” she called, smiling.
The young girl’s parents appeared in the doorway, gasping as they saw Autumn. Rosie’s father approached the dog, whispering to her.
With a whine, she collapsed, gasping for breath. In a painful motion, she pulled her bandana off, letting it fall softly in the snow. Autumn looked up at Jenna still in Rosie’s arms, her eyes saying what she wasn’t able to.
Slowly, she shut her eyes, putting all her efforts into breathing. Soon her movements ceased and she went limp.
Rosie’s mother gasped again, putting her hands over her mouth in shock. “Oh dear…” she sad sadly.
The young girl’s father rested his hand on Autumn’s chest, praying to feel the thumping of her head. Looking up, he shook his head. “She’s gone.”
Rosie stood there holding Jenna close, trying to keep the tears she knew were forming from falling. Looking down at the bandana still laying in the snow, she picked it up.
“Here Jenna,” she said, tying it onto the pup.
“What are we going to do with… Autumn’s body?” Rosie’s mother asked her father.
He glanced at her body quickly. “I'll bring it in the back yard and we can bury her there.” He stopped, glancing toward their house. “Why don’t you do dig the grave.”
She nodded, walking toward the shed to get a shovel and into the backyard. With great sorrow, she started to dig. After thirty minutes, the hole was big enough to bury Autumn.
“It’s ready,” she called, trying to keep her voice from breaking.
A few moments later, he came around with Autumn’s limp body in his arms. Rosie followed, still clutching Jenna.
Gently, Rosie’s father lowered the husky into the grave and slowly filled it with dirt. He glanced at his wife and daughter, then at the fresh pile of dirt marking Autumn’s grave.
“We’ll miss you Autumn,” he sad sadly. “You were a great dog.”
The family stood around in silence for a few minutes before the chill of the wind sent them inside. Rosie set Jenna down sadly as she went up to her room.
Jenna walked over to the window, staring at the place her mother had been buried. Sighing, she glanced at the bandana that was now around her neck. It was the final thing she had to remember her by.
“I'll miss you, mom,” she said, a single tear sliding down her muzzle. “I'll never forget you.”