Mama, Where Are You?

• Jessica Bradford, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2013

Her sore, blistered paws softly patted the dusty road. Her golden fur was tangled in the wind. A large black cloud was sealing the road in darkness. She was getting worried. A storm was rolling in and her darling pup was nowhere in sight.

The desperate mother gave a start as a deafening clap of thunder spread across the desert. Her heart was in her throat and thumping loudly, making it hard to breathe. She turned a corner, nose on the ground, following her pups scent. Lightning spread across the sky creating false daylight, but she took no notice. Her heart and mind were set on finding her young and she was determined to continue her search. When the first drops of rain hit her pointed and alert ears she started to get anxious.

The rain was bucketing down now. The mother’s once gleaming, golden coat had become black with mud and was weighing her down. Her ears were clogged with water, her eyes were shut tight as not to get dirt in them and her dear pup’s scent was getting washed away in the rain. Almost all hope was lost. The only thing keeping her from passing out with exhaustion was her determination. She slowly made her way, dragging her feet, along the slippery, muddy road. Then, as though a miracle had occurred, she heard a distant, muffled yelp. It was as though all her senses had snapped back on and she sprinted off into the darkness.

She ran as fast as she could to discover the source of the yelping. Her heart had crept back up into her throat. She slid to a halt a few meters of the beaten track and slumped down next to a shaking, scarlet muddy lump of limbs. It was releasing small yelps as it’s mother tried to gently clean its fur, and get the bloody mound into something more recognizable. Try as she may the pup was losing the fight and after a few desperate minutes it had gone. The sore, blistered mother flopped down next to her once beautiful pup and allowed all her hope escape her. She had lost not only her young ,but her reason to keep fighting, and as the storm started to subside a small, glistering tear rolled down the exhausted mother’s face.