OLIVIA_LOVES_LINK

                                          PRESENTS

                                           Saba's Love

Storyboarded and written by me (duh!)

Critiqued by Andrew Morgan

NOTE: Shtiya (shtee-uh) is my character, along with Thug, Gangsta, Somebody, Sasha, Alexi, Enzo Driscoll, Eula, Dimitri, Darius, Torpedo, Evelyn, Mary, James, and Walter. Please don't use them without permission, or I'll report you without hesitation. Most of my characters will soon be displayed in my art gallery: Olivia loves Balto.

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   Saba opened her eyes wearily. She expected to be on a soft rug in front of the fireplace, but instead she was in a wooden box looking at an alley wall. She scolded herself.

"Darn it! I was supposed to be back with the humans, but here I am in the alley for the 10th time this year!" she said to herself, frusterated.

Saba stood up and stretched. She was a bit drowsy at first, but woke up when she stepped in the cold snow. It was spring, and the snow was mushy. Saba hoped her brother, Kodi, who was on the Mail Sleddog Team, noticed the slushy snow.

Saba smelled something unfriendly. She saw 3 dog heads turn the corner and walk towards her. She recognized the alley dogs at once. Their names were Thug, Gangsta, and Somebody. Thus was a rottweiler who had many scars on him and a torn ear. He had a New York accent. Gangsta was a doberman, and Somebody was a white bull terrier. Thug and Gangsta couldn't think of a name for him, so they just called him Somebody.

"Go away. I'm not putting up with you today," Saba said defensively, standing her ground.

"Aw, we ain't gonna do nuthin' to ya. We just wanna play around with a beautiful girl, ain't that right, boys?" Thug said, turning his head to Gangsta and Somebody for an answer.

"Yeah," Gangsta and Somebody said in unison.

The 3 alley dogs came closer and closer to her, and started circling her with smirks on their faces, when suddenly, Thug shouted, "Get 'er!" They all leaped on her. Saba fought them violently, but they overpowered her.

When Saba knew she was done for, a figure soared through the sky with the sun beaming behind it. The figure threw the alley dogs off of Saba and fought them until Thug, Gangsta, and Somebody ran out of the alley, wimpering like puppies.

The stranger that saved Saba looked back at Saba and asked "Are you alright, miss?"

Saba looked at him. He had a bridge on his snout and had dark grey fur, with a lighter shade of grey going from his jaw to the front of his neck and chest, on down to his belly and under his tail.

"I'm...fine," Saba replied, still amazed at his heroic deed.

"My name is Shtiya. I heard a dog fight, so I went to see who the victim was, and I saw a damsel in distress and fought the alley dogs off," the stranger said as if he was telling a story to a puppy.

"My name is Saba," replied Saba, smiling.

Saba suddenly realized she needed to get home. "Ahem. I should be going home now," Saba said hastily.

"Shall I walk you home?" Shtiya asked, seemingly dazed.

"Huh? But you don't even know where I live!" Saba exclaimed, chuckling.

"Oh, uh...right," Shtiya said, embarassed.

Saba chuckled,  "I can get home on my own, thank you."

"I'll see you later, I guess." Shtiya said. He trotted out of the alley.

"Well, he was awful nice," Saba said to herself.

She walked on the snow, her dainty paws pattering. She found herself thinking only of Shtiya. His eyes...they certainly had a sense of humor in them. And his smile could make anybody chuckle. His build reminded Saba of her own father, Balto.

"Hi, Saba! Whatcha doin'?" a familiar voice said.

Saba snapped out of "Dreamland" and looked down in front of her. It was Alexi, a black moscow toy terrier with brown eyes.

"Oh, hi Alexi," Saba said, smiling politely.

"I couldn't find you at your home last night," a borzoi questioned Saba.

"Well, Sasha, I ended up falling asleep in the alley again," Saba explained to the borzoi.

"As always," Sasha said, rolling her eyes.

"Looks like the mail came in late again," Alexi said, looking at Kodi and the rest of them team.

Seeing Kodi reminded Saba that she needed to go home. She hastily said "Please excuse me, but I really need to go. I'll see you two later."

Saba was in a hurry, and she ran to her home. Panting, she pawed and wimpered loudly at the door. As the door opened, Saba saw a familiar face.

It was Evelyn. Evelyn was 8 years old and had blonde hair in a ponytail and blue eyes.

"Hi, Saba! Did you spend the night in the alley again?" Evelyn chuckled and hugged Saba.

Saba licked Evelyn's smiling face, and Evelyn giggled.

"You know, Saba? When Rosie told me Balto and Jenna had puppies, I just had to get one.  Balto saved my life when I had diptheria, you know. Everybody thought I was sure to die!" Evelyn told Saba proudly.

Saba was satisfied by this. She was very proud of her father for what he did. Evelyn was only 5 at the time, and Saba couldn't imagine not knowing Evelyn. Evelyn's little brother, Walter, wasn't so lucky. He was only 2 when he died of diptheria. If only he could've lived 10 minutes more for the medicine to arrive...but at least Evelyn's older brother, James, lived. He was now 15.

"Come on in, Saba! I bought you sausage links, and I know those are your favorite! exclaimed Evelyn.

Excited, Saba brushed by the door and into the house. She sat down by a counter and looked up eagerly at Evelyn, who just walked in.

"Heh heh! Ok, Saba, here you go," Evelyn said, holding a sausage link. Saba gently took away the sausage and started chewing.

Evelyn's mom, Mary, came in from another room, and when she saw Saba, she exclaimed , "There you are, Saba! Did you end up in the alley again?"

It was hard for Saba to bark with a sausage link in her mouth, so she just trotted over to Mary, sat at her feet, and waited to be petted. Mary scratched Saba's ears, and Saba's foot started thumping.

Saba then walked away and layed down on her rug to finish the sausage link.

*****

Saba was taking a walk in the town with Sasha and Alexi. Alexi looked up at Saba and asked, "Why do you always end up spending the night in the alley?"

"I've only been there 10 times this year! But anyway, I don't really know why I do...the house is so much cozier and safer, but for some reason I sleep in the alley sometimes," Saba replied, thinking about the question.

Saba heard a lot of barking from the town dogs as an unfamiliar dog appeared. He looked a bit scruffy and had fur of medium length. The brown dog walked up to Saba ans said, "So you're the daughter of balto, eh?"

Saba was a bit timid around strangers, but she answered "Y-yes...I'm Saba."

"Oh, how rude of me, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Enzo Driscoll, but just call me Enzo. I'm here to visit my Uncle Doc," the stranger said, smiling friendly at Saba.

"I know Doc! Everybody in this town knows Doc! I didn't know he had a nephew! Saba exclaimed.

"Well, you know now. Uncle Doc is my ma's brother," Enzo said proudly.

"Gosh, Doc really keep quiet about his relatives," Saba said, surprised.

"Tell me about it," Enzo said, rolling his eyes.

Saba chuckled and asked, "Could you tell me what breed Doc is? Everybody's been wondering that for a while."

"Well, his ma was a St.Bernard, but nobody knows who his pa is," Enzo answered.

"Not even Doc knows?" Saba asked, curious and surprised.

"Nope, not even him...or his ma for that matter," Enzo said. Enzo walked along down the road with his owner.

Saba's eyebrows were raised.

"I knew Doc had St.Bernard in him! Sasha exclaimed, satisfied.

"Odd...I thought he might have malamute in him," Alexi said suspiciously.

"Well, maybe his dad was a malamute," Saba said in the same tone.

"We'll never know," Sasha said.

"I probably won't even know," a stranger's voice said.

Saba, Sasha, and Alexi turned their heads to where the voice came from and saw an old female St.Bernard.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was speaking my mind. I couldn't help overhearing your conversation...and by the by, I'm Eula, Doc's mother," the St.Bernard said.

"Very nice to meet you, Eula. Doc hasn't spoken of you either...but anyway, I'm Saba," Saba said, introducing herself.

"Well, how d'you do, Saba?" Eula asked politely.

"Just fine, thanks...these are my friends Sasha and Alexi," Saba said, pointing at her 2 friends.

"Hi," Sasha and Alexi said at the same time.

"Well, y'all are quite the trio," Eula said, grinning.

"So why is Doc so quiet about his relatives?" Alexi asked as if she'd been wondering that the whole time.

"He never talks about anything unless he needs to," Eula replied.

"Well, he hasn't ever been a chatterbox," Sasha said, understanding.

"I'd  better catch up with Enzo," Eula said hastily. Eula followed the pawprints Enzo left in the slushy snow.

Saba, Sasha, and Alexi continued walking and chatting.

"So, did you see the plane today?" Alexi asked Saba.

"No, I must've been inside the house," Saba answered.

"Oh my GOSH you should've seen it! It was amazing!" Alexi exclaimed.

"I may see it later. Dad's been really impressed with planes lately," Saba assured Alexi.

Alexi was looking another way, and she said, "Look, it's Dimitri!" Saba turned her head and saw a rather handsome norwegian elkhound.

"Hey, Lexi pretty!" Dimitri shouted to Alexi as her ran to her.

Alexi ran toward him and nuzzled him. "I'll see you two later!" Alexi shouted to Saba and Sasha. Alexi walked off with Dimitri.

Saba and Sasha chatted for a long while, until Sasha had to go home.

It was sunset when Sasha left, so Saba went to the seashore to watch the golden sunset. She heard a familiar voice say behind her, "Beautiful sunset, isn't it?"

Startled, Saba jumped and spun around to see Shtiya. "Oops, sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Shtiya apologized.

"It's alright," Saba said.

Shtiya sat next to her, joining her in watching the sunset.

"Thanks for saving me in the alley," Saba said quietly.

"You're welcome, Saba," Shtiya said, scooting closer to Saba.

"The sunset's gold this evening...gold represents love...," Saba said looking at the sunset.

"Hm...that fits, doesn't it?" Shtiya said.

"What do you mean?" Saba asked.

"Well, the gold represents love, and we're...," Shtiya partly explained, trying to give Saba a clue.

"Oh, um...right," Saba said.

"You know, Saba, you look a great deal like your mom," Shtiya said, studying Saba all over.

"And you remind my of my dad...you have a similar build, and your eyes have a sense of humor in them," Saba said, smiling.

"Your eyes are like sapphires, and your fur is as red as a ruby...like rubies and cream combined," Shtiya said poetically.

Saba blushed and looked away, beaming.

Saba looked at a cloud above the bright yellow sun and saw that it was the shape of a heart.

"Look, Shtiya! It's a cloud shaped like a heart!" Saba cried, pointing to the cloud.

"Well, what do you know!" Shtiya exclaimed.

Having nothing else to say, Saba and Shtiya gazed at the sunset and were sprinkled with sea spray until the sky turned dark blue and the sun went down.

"I'll meet you at the pond in the afternoon tomorrow," Shtiya confirmed.

"Alright. Good night, Shtiya," Saba agreed.

The lights in the windows glowed brightly, and in their beams the snow sparkled and glittered.

As Saba walked quietly through the town, she saw Enzo appear through the shadows.

"Well, looky here!" Enzo cried cheerfully.

"Oh, hello, Enzo. How's the evening going for you?" Saba asked politely.

"Mighty fine, thanks," Enzo replied.

"So tell me Enzo, where did you come from?" Saba asked.

"I came from Idaho, and I just learned today that we're not just here for a visit...we've moved here," Enzo explained.

"I'm sure you'll like it here," Saba assured him like a tour guide.

"I'd better get goin' now. Nice talkin' to ya," Enzo said.

Saba continued walking home. She walked up the stairs of the porch and pawed at the door.

Evelyn opened the door in her pajamas, squealed in delight, and hugged Saba. Saba licked Evelyn's salty tasting face as a greeting.

Saba and Evelyn walked through the door. Saba considered sleeping on the rug in front of the fireplace, but decided to sleep by Evelyn's bed-she'd spent enough time away from Evelyn.

Saba and Evelyn climbed up the stairs into Evelyn's bedroom, where Mary was waiting.

Evelyn climbed into bed, and Mary pulled the blankets over her. Mary kissed Evelyn on the cheek and said, "Goodnight, sweetie."

Saba curled up on the rug beside the bed. Mary looked down at Saba, patted her on the head and said "Goodnight, Saba."

Mary turned off the kerosene lamp on Evelyn's bedside table and climbed down the stairs.

Evelyn rolled over on her side, reached her arm down to Saba, and stroked her until they both fell asleep.

                                                    *****

Saba woke up in the morning to the smell of bacon. Evelyn wasn't in bed, and assuming Evelyn was in the kitchen, Saba climbed down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Evelyn was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table, and when she saw Saba, she grinned and said, "Good morning Saba! I fixed up your breakfast today."

Saba trotted over to her food bowl, which was filled with dog chow. She didn't like dog chow as much as real meat, but it was good enough. Instinctively,  Saba ate the bowl clean in an instant.

Evelyn finished her breakfast, and got up from her chair to play with Saba.

First, Evelyn played dead. Sab stood over her pretending to be worried, until Evelyn blew in her face. It was like an amusement park for Evelyn, and after a few hours, they started playing leapfrog. Saba loved jumping over Evelyn and hearing her giggle afterward. Making Evelyn happy meant so much to Saba, and Evelyn seemed to feel the same way.

They sported and played until noon, and Saba remembered her meeting with Shtiya.

She walked over to the door, and looked back, gesturing that she wanted to go out.

Evelyn was about to get up and let her out, but James got up from his chair and said "I'll get it."

He opened the door for Saba, and she broke into a run. The pond was on the outskirts of Nome, and it would take a while to get there. Saba didn't stop to say hello or anything else. She had to see Shtiya.

She finally arrived at the pond, where she saw Shtiya.

"Am I late?" Saba asked, panting.

"No, you're on time," Shtiya assured her.

After the pain in Saba's chest was over, she asked Shtiya what they were doing at the pond.

"Swimming, of course!" Shtiya answered.

Shtiya smiled at Saba and said "Ladies first."

Saba, flattered by Shtiya's courtesy,said "Thanks," and stepped in. The ice water made her flinch for a second, but freezing temperatures were, of course, normal in Alaska.

Saba walked slowly into the water and started swimming. Shtiya joined her.

They just did normal swimming until Saba splashed Shtiya, soaking his head. "Splash fight!" she shouted. Saba and Shtiya splashed eachother and laughed playfully.

Suddenly, there was a plunge. When Saba could see clearly, she looked into the eyes of someone she didn't know.

"Darius, what are you doing here?!" Shtiya demanded angrily.

The stranger looked just like Shtiya, except he had black and white fur and a mischevious look on his face.

"I just wanted to join in the swim, bro," Darius said smoothly.

"I only wanted to swim with Saba," Shtiya said impatiently.

Darius turned his head to Saba and smirked. He swam very close to Saba until they were almost nose to nose, making Saba uncomfortable.

"Well, well, well, aren't you a pretty little...," Darius never got to finish his sentence because Shtiya aggressively pushed him and snarled.

"Leave her alone!" Shtiya shouted.

Darius slapped Shtiya across the face and said "Don't act like you have authority over me. I'm the older sibling here."

"By ten minutes!" Shtiya scoffed.

They started fighting. The water splashed in thin waves. Saba didn't want Shtiya to get hurt, so she joined the fight. She bit Darius on the neck and pinned him to the bank of the pond. She held him down with her front legs and let go of his neck.

"Look, pal! I don't know who you think you are, but you're not going to hurt Shtiya even if he is your brother! Now go away or it'll get ugly! Saba told him off very angrily.

She let him go, and Darius jumped out of the water, running away without saying a word.

"Th-thanks Saba. You sounded do scary you even started to scare me," Shtiya chuckled.

"No problem. I didn't want you to get hurt, and I just had to do something," Saba said.

They swam for hours and hours. They were so absorbed in their fun, they didn't even notice that the mail sled dogs had beat the plane in a race.

When the sun started to set, they stopped swimming and chatted small talk.

"Darius can be such a jerk. He always finds a bachelorette to drool over," Shtiya said rolling his eyes.

"I figured as much. I haven't seen my sister, Aleu, for a year. She leads a wolf clan now," Saba said.

"Leading a wolf clan, eh? Tough job!" said Shtiya.

"Yeah...sometimes I wonder if I'll ever see her again," Saba said sadly.

"I'm sure she'll visit you when she can," Shtiya said, trying to comfort Saba.

"Speaking of which, I'm going to Canada for 2 weeks," Shtiya continued.

"Why are you going to Canada?" Saba asked.

"I dunno, ask my owner," Shtiya said.

"In that case, I'll wait for you at the dock," Saba confirmed.

"Alrighty then, I'll be going home now," Shtiya said, getting up.

It was night now, and Shtiya disappeared in the shadows. Saba left for home as well, and when she was in the house, she curled up one the soft rug in front of the fireplace. She was still a little cold from the pond water, and she wanted to get warmed up.

The sparks danced, the fire glowed, and the shadows flickered all around Saba. She fell asleep with the fire's warmth.

                                                     ***

Saba tried to keep herself entertained, but she thought only of Shtiya. Not even talking to Sasha or Alexi or playing with Evelyn kept her mind occupied.

Two weeks after Shtiya left, Saba waited at the dock like she said she would. From morning to twilight, she just sat and stared out into the ocean.

It was night when she saw a ship in the clearing. "It has to be Shtiya," she thought to herself.

The ship slowly drifted closer and closer to the dock until it stopped at the dock. Shtiya came running out of the ship and onto the dock. Saba's heart swelled with happiness. She shedded tears of joy, and she nuzzled Shtiya lovingly. Shtiya did the same.

"C'mon, let's go to the meadow and run off some steam," Saba said cheerfully.

"I need to do that. I've been sitting in a ship all day," Shtiya agreed.

Saba and Shtiya hiked through the forest. The forest was dark and shadowy, with only a few ribbons of moonlight shining through the cedar trees.

They arrived on the meadow. The grass was speckled with wildflowers, and all this was visible in the moonbeam.

"Tag, you're it!" cried Saba playfully. Saba broke into a run with Shtiya following behind.

"Tag, you're it!" cried Shtiya as he touched Saba.

Laughing happily, Saba chased after him. She jumped and fell on him, and they tumbled in the grass. They were having so much fun, they laughed the whole time.

Saba jumped on him once again. This time Shtiya was laying on his back, and Saba was on top of him. Nose to nose, they gazed into eachother's eyes, until they were interupted by a voice. It was Darius.

"You again!" Saba cried angrily.

"You'd better believe it, baby," Darius said in his smooth style of talking.

Darius glared at Shtiya and said, "What sense do you have in stealing my girl?"

"Nonsense, Darius. She's my mate," Shtiya said, getting impatient.

Saba was startled by this. "Did he just say mate?" she thought to herself.

"Foolish brother. Once she sees my brons, she'll take me," Darius said villianously.

Darius bared him fangs and attacked Shtiya.

"NO!!" Saba screamed. She flew at Darius and pushed him off of Shtiya. She skillfully fought him. She bit in every place that was in her sight, and tore a deep cut in his shoulder.

Darius cried out in pain and said, "Ok, ok, you win, I'm leaving now!" He disappeared through the trees, limping on his way.

"Thanks, Saba," Shtiya said, amazed.

Saba panted and said, "Yeah, well, I told him earlier it would get ugly if he didn't leave."

Shtiya smiled. Saba was awfully tired, and the boiler room was a great place to relax.

"How about we relax in the boiler room?" Saba suggested.

Shtiya nodded and got up. Saba and Shtiya hiked through the forest to the town, and into the boiler room. It was warm and cozy. A perfect place to spend the night.

Saba found a place to sleep and layed down. Shtiya layed down beside her and draped his paw over her. Saba sighed contentedly and said, "I love you, Shtiya."

They slept soundly and deeply through the night.

                                               EPILOGUE

Saba and Shtiya became the proud parents of two brothers. One was named Kavik (from the book The Wolf Dog by Walt Morey), who looked like a wolf, and Torpedo, who looked like a black and white husky (again, most of the characters will soon be displayed in my art gallery).

                                                THE END

COMING SOON: Saba's Love II: A Tail of Two Brothers