And the prompts were-
A LOUD noise! An explosion? The walls all falling in. Ceilings cascading downwards. Screams. Whimpers. Crying. Cold. Darkness …then silence. Trapped in a tiny space, she curled up and closed her eyes.
She lay there for what felt like an eternity. Her stomach growled with pangs of hunger. She was thirsty and longed for a cool drink.
She was scared. Alone and trapped and scared.
Just as she was losing all hope, she heard voices. Strangers’ voices, not the familiar voices of her family. Where were her family?
Suddenly, she was blinded by light as the piece of rubble above her was lifted away. Shaking with fear, she closed her eyes, whimpering quietly.
“It’s ok. I’ve got you,” said a man’s voice as he scooped her up into his arms.
She felt the stranger gently checking her over for injuries then he carried her away from the remains of the only home she’d known. He gave her a few drops of water from a bottle.
“What you got there?” another unfamiliar voice asked the man.
“The only survivor,” replied the stranger who carried her. “Pup. Can’t be more than four or five months.”
“What you going to do with it?”
Gazing down at the scared brown eyes staring up at him, he replied, “Clear it with the boss and take her home.”
She felt his warmth seep into her tiny thin body as he carried her away from the bomb site. A few moments later, he shifted his hold on her then he was placing her inside something. He took off his jacket, laid it out then sat her down in the middle of it. Already his scent was becoming familiar and felt reassuring to her senses.
“Wait there. I’ll be back soon, princess,” he promised as he closed the car door. “Need to speak to the boss before we head home.”
She must have dozed off as the vibration of the car and its motion wakened her. Looking up, she could see her rescuer in the seat next to her.
“One stop to make then we’ll get you home, princess,” he explained softly. “Need to pick up a few supplies for you at the pet store.”
Home…that suddenly sounded good.
Home was a fourth-floor apartment overlooking the river. When he carried her into the apartment, he took her straight into the kitchen and fetched her a bowl of water. She began to lap at the cold water thirstily.
“Slowly, girl,” he cautioned, stroking her head. “You don’t want to make yourself sick now, do you?”
She paused to stare up at him then watched as he scooped some dog food into a shallow dish before setting it down in front of her. It had been such a long time since she’d eaten…
The bowl was licked clean in seconds.
“Bath time.”
She stared at him with her big brown eyes but allowed herself to be scooped up again into his arms. He carried her down the hallway to the bathroom and placed her into the bathtub. Carefully, he washed all the dust and dirt from her soft brown and white coat. Satisfied that she was clean, he drained the murky water from the bath, letting her shake herself dry before he wrapped her in a warm fluffy towel.
Once she was dry, he took her back through to the kitchen then let her explore the long narrow room while he cooked his own evening meal. Just as she had done in her old home, she sat at his feet while he ate, hoping for a titbit or two. Her ploy worked.
Hours later, as she lay curled beside him on the couch, a new red collar round her neck, she realised that she wasn’t scared any more. She was free of sorrow.
Her ordeal was over. She had a new master now instead of her mistress. He seemed gentler than the little girl who had been her previous owner. He hadn’t pulled her ears or tail once.
As he dozed off on the couch, worn out from several long days of digging through the rubble day and night, she snuggled in beside him. Now felt like a time for being safe. A time to get settled into her new forever home.
Coral McCallum 