An original short story: Going Home

This is another "short" - only 500 words, written in 2017. I hope you enjoy.

 Going Home by Patty Panni

The dog is soaking wet. He walks with a steady gait, and appears to have a distinct destination in mind. He isn’t particularly handsome…sort of nondescript, really: brown and tan, medium size. But in the dog’s eyes…there seems to be a wisdom, a nobleness of spirit. This, it turns out, is not just any old dog.

As the dog travels, he occasionally stops, finds shelter – if only a shrub – and rests. His paw pads are bruised and swollen, and when he rests, he licks them.  He’s been walking a long time. On rainy days like today, finding water is easy. But food…that is another matter entirely. On a good day, he finds a rabbit or possum. Some days he’s lucky to find a field mouse. He is always hungry. Instinctively, he avoids higher trafficked roads. Instead, the dog walks through brush and wooded areas, always headed northeast. As if he had a compass inside him. As if he were a wise man following a star.

The dog yearns to hear his Person’s voice. It has been a long time, but he remembers it That memory drives him forward, compels him to keep moving. She is the best Person the dog has ever known. He remembers her warm touch, how she knows just where to scratch behind his ears and above his tail. He remembers walks together and sleeping at the foot of her bed. He misses his Person.

They were traveling together. The dog loves car rides with his Person. She puts down the windows and lets him sniff all the good smells as she drives. Sometimes, she goes to a place that puts food through the window. Then, he gets a real treat. French fries!

But, on the last car ride she didn’t drive to the window food place. Instead, she drove for a very long time. She sang and talked to him about “holiday.” Occasionally, she would stop to give him food and water, walk him on his leash, and let him do his business. Then back on the road. The last stop had trees and wonderful smells. The dog saw something furry darting away from the car, and he gave chase. Running and running! Oh, the smells! The feeling of the wind flapping his ears! But, when the dog finally stopped, he realized his Person was nowhere around. He tried to go back the right way, but he had run so far he couldn’t quite work it out.

And so, he walks. Perhaps it is ancient wisdom that guides him. Somehow, he knows the way.

Finally, one day, the dog sniffs familiar smells. Bone tired, but determined, he pushes forward. He passes through neighborhoods he knows and walks straight to the house. His Person’s house.

The dog scratches at the door. Waits. Then, a voice, oh, the voice he loves so much says, “Jasper? Jasper, is it really you? You’ve come home to me!!” And his Person is there, warm hands stroking his head and quivering haunches.

The dog releases a deep sigh. Finally…finally he is home.