The archive of the forgotten

My good boy

I lay on the warm floor. My owner puts some wood on the fire burning in the fireplace. He walks to the kitchen and begins to cut an apple. He swiftly pets me and gives me a piece of the apple. "Who's a good boy Holden?" I bark one time and feel my tail wag.
"Of course it's you." he says while rubbing my head.
I walk through the kitchen while Icarus dances through it, my owner has always been graceful and fun, the music blasting from his speaker. He is having fun. I am tiptoe around with optimism. that. I bark at him and he gives me another part of the apple.
"You greedy little bastard" He says as he kneels and pets my head.
His smile isn't present a lot of times so I put my paws on his shoulders and lick his face. I hear his clear laugh, it always feels like he could beg God to clear the sky with that kind of laugh. 

I remember the first time I met Icarus. I was hiding under the table and he crawled under it himself.
"Hey there little guy....scary right? Having that many siblings?" He chuckled. "I have three, and that's already too much for me. I cannot fathom if I would even survive with six."
That was the first time I heard him laugh. The innocent way that I had never heard in another human, the forgetting of everything else in your life for a moment and drinking the joy of that one moment. I knew I wanted him to take me home, and he did. 

"An Irish wolfhound? We do not have space for that!" Archie exclaimed when he returned.
"O come on we have a mansion to ourselves and Look at him" He said. And archie looked and couldn't get over the similairities of my begging gaze and his lovers smile.

And so I stayed. And even Archie loves me so much nowadays. I am certain he did not think he would love me so much when I first showed up. I lie down next to the fire. Today has been a good day, Icarus took me out on a run and I could join him on the beach while he surfed. I must confess that I sometimes worry about him if he falls off his board. I always worry the sea will swallow him. I howled as he tried to play on his piano. Today was a good day.

A month later

I walk up to his bed and touch his hand with my nose. He groans and rolls onto the other side.
"Icarus." Archie says as he enters the room.
"He needs a run" Icarus says without intonation.
I moan, I do not understand why he does not run with my anymore. Archie puts my collar on and walks out of the door.
We start to run but I feel the need to return to the house the whole way.
Archie sits down on the bench and pets me as he grabs a cigarette, I thought he stopped.
"I am worried Holden." He says to me while pushing away the lonely tear with his hand. I put my head on his lap. Me too archie, me too. 

A week later

Icarus doesn't do anything anymore, he simply sits and stares at things. Even when I want to play fetch with him he does not react. He only reads, and even though he no longer walks with me I still love him and every day I cuddle with him. I think he still likes that, but most of the time his face is no longer clear when I lick it, it's salty. Why is it salty?

"Hey I'll be back in two hours." Archie says as he grabs his bag.
"I love you." Icarus says with a slight smile.

I put my head down again and close my eyes with a deep sigh. When I hear Icarus' footsteps, I open my eyes slightly, he must be going to bed. I close my eyes.

I feel the warmth from the fire slowly disappear. I open my eyes and tilt my head. How long must it have been, why didn't icarus put out the fire. I bark one time, no reaction, I stand up and walk towards icarus scent in the bathroom. I quicken my pace as I see him on the floor of the bathroom.

I walk towards his head, I am startled by the warm fluid on my paws. I push his head with my nose and bark two times, his eyes don't open, he must be sleeping pretty deep. I cry a few times but he doesn't react, I lick his face but it has a weird taste, saltier than usual and strange. I lie down in the puddle of warm fluid and put my head on his chest. Still crying for him to wake up.

I hear the door open.
"ICARUS! ICARUS!" I heard archie scream and I barked. When archie saw Icarus something scared him, his face turned as clear as the sky and his mouth made a sound I was not familiar with.

I didn't see Icarus the next two weeks.
Archie had a salty face this time.

But than he took me somewhere. And there he was, Icarus, lying in a box, he was pale but he looked beautiful. I licked his face, but he did not react, he did not react to anything, not even a smile as archie kissed him. He was a statue, he was nothing, he was made of wax. But he still looked like my Icarus, he just didn't act like it.

The next thing I remember is a lot of music and a lot of people in the church where I was never allowed to be. I couldn't help but cry out when the music started.

That was yesterday. Now I am standing at the place where they buried the box. I bark at the stone on top of it. How will he get out? How will he get out. Archie takes me off my leash.
"Stay close." He whispers while wiping his tears.
I walk towards the stone and put my head on it.
I lie down on the cold stone.

Where are you Icarus.

the writing isn't perfect, but I don't hate it