Old Dog

• Olivia Scollon, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2015

I stared up at the divine floral trees. The sky smothered the earth like a gleaming blanket. Blistering heat penetrated into the earth as if it was ready to fry an egg. The sky is just as beautiful as it is deadly, as bright as your wildest dreams but as dark as your worst nightmare.
The radiant heat of the blazing sun was making my pale skin sweat in the humidity and the top of my head felt like it was on fire. I was in the Australian outback, a lonely but intriguing place; its bare landscapes, rough red dirt, and trees tortured by the drought.
I have been travelling around the outback for a few weeks now and my devoted dog has been right by my side. His name is Banjo. Mellow and loving as a dog can be. Banjo has eyes that twinkle like stars on a clear winter’s night. He has rusty wiry fur and a shiny wet nose. I sure am happy to have him as my loyal friend.
As I was sitting, watching the day fade into night, the sky was ablaze with colour. I called Banjo to share this glorious scene. Surprisingly, there was no response. I yelled at the top of my lungs,
“BANJO WHERE ARE YOU!?”
I searched far and wide. I eventually came to a waterhole, by then it was dark and the only light left was the glimmer of the moon. There I found my Banjo but not with a happy wagging tail or a friendly bark, he was lying there as still as a stick. I immediately burst into tears, not only was he my stars he was my whole sky. I saw a snake bite on his leg and I expected the worst.
How sad I felt waking the next morning. Slowly, I made my way to the only store in town for supplies. What should I see but a funny, ratty, bundle of fur with chocolate brown eyes like my Banjo peeping at me? I entered the building standing watching the pup as I stocked up on supplies.
“Whose dog is that?’ I asked the storekeeper.
“No one now” he answered, his moustache quivering.
“Some no hoper left him after a booze up”.
“I’ll take him!” I said without even thinking.
“He is all yours. His days are numbered”.
I walked outside the shop and was greeted by the dog again. He looked up at me longingly with his droopy eyes, his long tanned ears which touched the floor and his tail started to wag. I looked at his collar, it read:
“Bertie”
I thought to myself, dogs come into our lives to teach us about love and loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it just expands your heart. The more dogs that you love in your life, the bigger your heart becomes. In my case, Bertie was another ray of happiness that had fallen from the sky, into my hands.