The Rainbow Bridge

A probably unrealistic idea of what I imagine goes on after a loved pet goes to the other side. In honor to my son.

The path seems to be endless, floating in emptiness surrounded by colorful clouds that look like cotton candy and smell like peach. I don't see anyone else but me in here. It feels as if I've been walking for days and days without rest, and yet I don't feel a little bit tired. I haven't had food, haven't had water and yet I don't feel hungry or thirsty either. I won't lie, though, I definitely could eat a whole big plate of food right now despite not being hungry.

It doesn't matter how much I walk, or run, I don't seem to be getting anywhere, I can only see more of this colorful path as far as my eyes will let me. Running seems pointless, so I'll just keep on walking. Walking now feels like I'm being carried by birds in comparison to how painful it used to be only a short time ago.

I haven't looked back once while walking on this bridge, but I decide to stop now and all I can see is the same path both ahead and on the way back. I can't go back now, not that there's anything to go back to anyway. When I started the path, there was only one way to go. I tried looking down, but there's something blocking the way that I can't see; and I couldn't go back because the way was also blocked, so I could only move ahead. Ahead I moved and ahead I keep going, but to no avail.

All I can hear is the clicking sound of my nails against the glass floor, other than that I have never heard so much dead silence in my life, and I've had quite a long life.

I start running at full speed again, desperate to find someone or something other than me and my current surroundings. Minutes, hours and probably days pass, I keep running without getting tired, but there's just emptiness ahead.

Wait! I see something. It's small, but I can tell there's something other than emptiness just ahead. I reach it in no time and I am astonished! My mouth waters and drool comes out of it. It's a big bowl of chicken with boiled carrots, my favorite food! I swallow every bit of it fast, but tasting every single bite. So much goodness. I focused so much on the food that I didn't even notice the bowl of water next to it; feels so refreshing.

I'd love to lay down and sleep for hours now, but I'm not really tired and I still need to find the other side to this seemingly endless path. Let's not think about it twice and just keep running before I change my mind.

More hours pass, but I don't stop or slow down, I am determined to get out of here as soon as I possibly can.

Oh! I see it, I see it! There's a huge metal door blocking the end of the path. There seem to be faces with eyes surrounding it, that's weird, because the faces don't have bodies, they just seem to be part of the wall. They look at me intensely. I yell at them asking where I am and to let me through, but I don't think they understand, hardly any human can understand me after all.

I sit still and wait as the faces look at me and at each other as if deciding what to do. After just a little bit, the big doors open without making a sound. I don't hesitate to go through before anything else happens.

Inside, there's only lots more of the fluffy funny looking clouds that smell like peach; they're everywhere and even cover me as I walk. I looked back to find the doors already closed. I guess I'll have to keep walking until I find something else other than these clouds. I can't even see anything, everything is covered in soft colors.

The more I walk, the more silence is broken. I can tell there are others running around just ahead of me. I run as fast as my little legs will take me and I finally come out of the clouds.

Everyone stops and looks at me. They move their heads forward and sniff towards me with their big eyes open.

"Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend!" finally someone breaks the awkwardness and I see Fanny running so fast that when she bumps into me we both fall and roll a few times.

"Fanny! I haven't seen you in... well, in ages! I can't believe you're here, it's so good to see you!"

"Of course I'm here, silly, where else did you expect me to be by now? But you, I wasn't expecting you quite yet. What happened?" She sounds happy, but concerned.

"Well, I'm not sure. Last thing I remember is being in the hospital and my dad was crying and then it all went black and next thing I know, no one could see or hear me over there. I wanted to stick around anyway, but at some point, I woke up in the path that led me here."

"You have no idea of what is happening, do you?" She asks me while sitting down.

"Indeed I don't." I sit down in front of here, so close that our wet noses touch.

"Well, I'll be happy to explain! I've been here for some time after all."

I look over to the other guys, and they resumed what they were doing before I came. They're all running around and bumping into one another.

"But first, how's our son doing? I haven't seen him here, so I hope he's doing fine." She sounds happy as she asks this.

"Oh, Fito is doing great as usual. I saw him a few weeks before coming here. Crazy little boy that one."

"I'm so glad to hear that!" Her tail moves left to right like crazy. "So, this... is your temporary happy place," she begins explaining.

"Temporary? Where do we go next?"

"Shh, be patient, you'll understand everything when I finish, ok?"

"Alright then."

"This is where you come hang out with everyone you've met through your life. There are hundreds of others like you that at some point were connected to you or to someone you've met."

"I see! That's why so many of them look so familiar." I scan around and see my friends from my young years. There's Onix, Clifford, that Dalmatian whose name I can't remember... oh, my mom! I know she saw me, but she's definitely not a fan of me anyway.

"Reason you come here is so you're not all alone while you wait for your master to go to the forever after together," she continues.

"But, why can't I stay with him like I was doing before?"

"You can. You can visit him as often as you like. You're brought here because it's much better for you to wait with your friends instead of staying in a place where no one can see or hear you."

"I know he can't see me, but... he knows I'm there. He needs me. I can't just leave him and stay here."

"I know, I know. But at some point your human needs to learn to be without you until the time is right." There's silence, I know she can tell how sad I am. "My human has other dogs now, and I know he misses me, but we have to be patient to meet each other again."

"My dad still has my foster brother, but you don't understand the bond we had. We're connected. No one can ever fill my place."

"You do have a good point. But being there with him is not going to help him much. Only a good amount of patience will." She's such a wise girl, I think.

"I guess you're right. And if I can visit him as often as I want, then this place is not bad at all."

"Oh, it's definitely not bad. I love this place, in fact. And you get to wish for anything you want. Toys, food, beds, you name it!" She pauses and licks my face a few times. "You don't seem convinced, uh?"

"It's not that. I'd just like to stay with dad for some time. At least until I know he's going to be okay. He's in a really bad shape right now and I just can't leave him. I've already left him for too long coming to this place."

"Don't worry, you know our time and theirs is not the same. It's probably only been less than a day for him." She stands up and faces back to the crowd. "Come on, follow me, I'll take you to the gate out so you can see you human again."

When I hear this, I jump out and can't contain my excitement! My tail is moving left to right so fast that I can hear it cutting through the air. "Don't worry, dad, I'll be right back with you," I think to myself.

We get there in only a few minutes. It's a golden gate with wings designed on it. It's much smaller in comparison to the entrance gate.

"All you have to do is stand in front of it and it'll open right away. When you cross through it, you'll be next to your human in a heart beat."

I hesitate before I step in front of it. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yes, please come visit soon! I'm sure there are others you'd like to catch up with too."

"Yes, but my dad is my priority and I'm not coming back until I'm sure he's safe." I step in front of the door without further hesitation and it opens instantly. The inside of it is a swirl of colored lines.

"Be safe, and see you soon!" That's the last think I hear and next thing I know, I'm laying down in our bed, next to my dad, like nothing has changed... but knowing our worlds will never be the same.

Author's Note

Hopefully this makes a good children's story. This is a sensitive and personal thing to write about for me. But, let me know your feedback if you'd like.