Nearly Human-Short story

Nearly Human

The loss. So sudden. Looking up through the crack in the jagged ice at my loyal dog team waiting for me to resurface. Drifting in and out of consciousness through the frigid water. Falling through hazy recognitions. My dog team waits.  Through the foggy frost blue water, I can view my huskies’ soft almond shaped eyes. I grasp their gaze tightly. I’m not ready. Not ready to let go and fall into the endless abyss of death.

“Here Duke!” My owner affectionately calls to me. I awake abruptly, curled up in a soft dog bed.

It has been a year since I had fallen through the ice in the middle of a dog sledding race, and drowned in the icy water, ending my life as a human.

Next to me in an identical dog bed, is a white, black, and mahogany colored basset hound, with soft floppy ears, and short stubby legs.  “Here Chester!” My owner calls to the basset hound. Chester yawns, and hops out of his bed, tail wagging, paws thumping. I stretch out my long legs, covered with white fur, and jump on my owner, barking in his face in my high pitched puppy voice.

As much as I love my owner, I cannot help but be jealous of his biped abilities that I once had.

My owner sets down a bowl of dog food next to me. I step away from the bowl in disgust, as Chester joyfully gobbles his food and mine. Even though I’m a dog, a majestic Siberian husky, I refuse to eat dog food. “Do you want to go for a walk?” My owner questions, and my ears perk up. My owner clips the leash to my collar, and heads out the door.

I am greeted outside by a sheer, scintillating, fresh layer of snow. As I bound ahead of my owner I savor the snow flying beneath my feet, and the wind blowing through my fur.  Although I cannot race with my dog team again, I can fly through the snow, and settle with being nearly human.