The Good Samaritan

“You’re my Christmas gift from Santa Claus”, she said tearfully, kneeling in front of a box. “But I have to return you. Please don’t hate me. I promise I’ll return”.

The ragged dressed woman places the small box in front of a house; the moon watches over her shoulder.  She opens the box briefly and attends to its contents, before closing it tightly and moving swiftly into the night, grief haunting her like a shadow.

The next morning the front door of the house opens, and a young man in overalls steps out to examine the box.

“What do we have here then?", he wonders.

Peeling back the cardboard lid he finds a letter attached to the side, and there, lying on a thick blanket, lies a small black Alsatian Puppy.  Shivering with fear and dread, he cowers into the folds of the coverage, its eyes like huge pools of watery innocence.

The man reads the letter thoughtfully, then picks up the box.

“Welcome to Arianne’s Home for Lost Dogs”, he says gently.  “Let's get you some food”.

Life for the Puppy is better than he could ever dream!  There was food regularly, the staff are kind and gentle, and it wasn’t long before his fear subsides and gives way to his playful nature.

He walks every day amongst the other dogs and tries to make friends with a few of them.  A white-whiskered Husky, who belongs to one of the staff, comes with them also as a sort of leader.  No one messes with the leader, and the tiny Puppy certainly didn’t want to go near him in case he got a vicious nip.  But try as he might, no one wanted to be near him.

“You’re marked” is the response which puzzles him as he doesn't know what this means.

At night each dog was locked in their cage, and it's when the darkness comes in, that happy barks turn to sad whines.  These are the forgotten animals of the world, and their existence was known to very few.  This place is also where rumours are born.  Rumours of unwanted dogs being taken out by the Husky and killed.  The thought of this made the Puppy’s paws curl.

One by the one the dogs disappear, and each in the same way.  A worker would come in with the Husky and take the dog out, and they would never be seen again.  A fear of being forgotten soon gripped the small Puppy.  He no longer wagged his tail as humans walked passed because he noticed how they didn’t even look in his cage.  Each night he slept less and less in anxiety, listening out for the deep clicking of paws on stone, for when the Husky came to take him to his death.

It soon grew quiet in the home as the dog's numbers dwindled.  It soon became apparent that they were moving, as staff could be seen carrying boxes and taking things outside.

“That’s why they are killing the dogs” thought the Puppy.

The sad little Puppy stares up at the moon one evening, and an unmistakable sound comes to his ears �" the slow deep clicking of sharp claws on stone.  A grey face with sharp features appears at the entrance to his cage �" the Husky, with a worker in tow.

“It’s time little one,” said the Husky in a deep gravelling voice.

The Puppy did not look him in the eyes but stands up shivering in fear and walks out his cage slowly.  The worker gently clicks a lead to him, then walks behind the Puppy, so that the Husky leads and the Puppy is in the middle.  The last remaining dogs in cages watch in silence as the small procession passed their pens. 

"Dead-man walkin' ", was the universal growl by the watching canines.

Slowly stepping through a door, the Puppy blinks under the bright fluorescent bulbs of the waiting room.

A woman appears before him; her arms are outstretched.

“You remember me my little one?” she says, and as he gives a few cautious sniffs, his mind flashing back to the night in the box.

The young man in overalls appears with a letter in his hand.

“We appreciate all that you did.  We hope you guys are happy”.

The Puppy freezes to the spot in confusion.  The Husky pads over to him and gives him a gentle nudge with his nose.

“Go”, he said, “It’s your time”.

The Puppy gazes at the Husky in surprise.

 
“You shouldn’t believe all the rumours you hear”, the Husky says with a wag of his tail.

The Puppy leaps into the woman’s arms and is carried out.  On his way out he spies a reflection of himself in the glass of the door and spots his collar with the words "Owned" �" his mark.

As they leave, the young man scratches the Husky’s head and tosses the letter onto a desk, which slips to the floor as he goes.  The Husky walks over to it and reads:

“Dear Kind Hearts,
I rescued this little puppy from being drowned in the river.  He was an unwanted Christmas present and was thrown from a bridge under which I was sleeping.  I believe in saving all lives so thought nothing of diving into the water, despite having no dry clothes.
I know you cannot take any other dogs in because you are relocating, but please find enclosed the right money to look after him for a few weeks.  I will be back as soon as my new house keys come in.  I promise.

Yours,

A Good Samaritan”.

Author's Note

part of the #bepositivewritenow First Sentence project, with Instagrammers giving a First Sentence, and then I follow up with a story that, hopefully, is positive.