Fly

Wish upon a star

No! This couldn't be happening. Breeze, my best friend Breeze, was gone. The world before my eyes seemed to stop moving, my heart momentarily stopped beating, my lungs stopped breathing. What was I going to do without her?

Next to me, my girl had dropped my lead and was now trying her hardest to comfort Lily. While she was distracted, I ran off. I needed to be on my own for a while. I didn't know where I was heading until the familiar logo of our school caught my eye. I was back at the van. When I saw Mr.Giraffe still lying on the bed by the forced open crate door, I collapsed in to tears as a mess on the floor. How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly?

After managing to control the tears that were still threatening to pour from my eyes, I took in a long, deep breath. That familiar smell hit me again; I just couldn't remember what it was. All I could remember of it was smelling it outside our dorm room one morning a few weeks ago. A table had been moved to underneath our door window and the entrance to the main school had been opened. We made sure to be extra careful for a while afterwards but the incident seemed isolated and we quickly forgot about it. But this was definitely the same scent.

I decided that I would follow it; if I was lucky, it might give me an insight in to what happened to Breeze. I, once again, took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent, then began, nose on the floor, to follow the trail. It was clear that whoever had left the trail was sure someone was going to follow because of the extraordinary patters they had made.

The trail led me to the gate that marked the edge of the show ground and the beginning of the world away from my girl. As I lifted up my front paw and slowly reached over the boundary line, I paused. Could I really do this? I was being forced to choose between my girl and Breeze; an impossible decision to have to make. Deep down though, I knew I had to find Breeze. Who knew what could've been happening to her right now. I stepped over the line.

A chill ran down my spine. I instantly froze where I stood; a tear trickled silently down my cheek. In the distance, the desperate and frantic calling of my name dug deep in to my soul. I felt terrible for doing this to my girl. I had to, I knew that. My girl would too once I explained it to her. After I found Breeze though.

Turning my back on the first person who had ever loved me was the hardest thing I had ever had to do. Who knew when, if, I would ever see her again. After wiping away the tear with my paw, I walked away from the my best friend, and the life I had grown so attached to.

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I followed the short, dirt road that lead away from the show ground until I came to a cross road. I quickly gathered that whoever had left the trail I was following must have had some experience with this sort of work. By the time I came to the cross roads, the trail had run cold; the scent was gone.

Again, I had to decide what to do. I could pick a way to go and hope it was the right way, or I could go back with my tail between my legs and hope Breeze was found by someone else. I turned left and continued my search.

The lane I was walking along housed a handful of serene little farm cottages. As I came closer to the last cottage, I saw a small, black and white Cocker Spaniel sat by the front gate. He stood to guard as I approached but soon saw I was no threat and wagged his tail.

"Hey pup, are you lost? We don't see many new faces around here".

"I...I'm looking for my friend. She's a brown and white Border Collie". I finally replied, stuttering slightly.

"I haven't seen a brown and white Collie, but one did come by here not so long ago. Black and white, smelt like wet dog food and mud, a hint of river water in there too". He chuckled to himself. "Wasn't all too friendly either. Said he had a task to complete and went on his way".

"Really? That's the dog I'm following! Did he tell you where he was going?"

The Spaniel shook his head. "I don't know exactly, but he was heading up towards the mountains".

"Thank you for your help....ummm?"

"Blake, my name's Blake".

"Thanks Blake. I'm Storm".

"Well nice to meet you Storm. Now go find your friend!"

I shook out my fur, jumped with excitement, and carried on searching for Breeze. Blake watched me from behind the gate until I rounded the corner and was gone from his sight.

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The sun began to set above me leaving a picturesque image filled with red, orange and yellow patterns. I was mesmerised by the beauty nature created, only wishing I was watching this with the ones who meant the most to me. The road had lead me atop a mountain. The scent trail had come back, and my hope had been restored.

I bedded down for the night in a hollowed out tree. From my perch on the mountain, the show ground instantaneously caught my eye. There was one car left in the field, even the judges, organisers, ring manager etc had all gone. Standing alone, separated from the group was my girl. She was looking up at the sky, as I was moments ago. By now a star had become visible. She was staring at it.

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"You see that Stormies, that's a star. It's said that when the first star appears, you should make a wish and it'll come true", she paused and turned to look at me. "I didn't used to believe it until one night, I wished I would find the perfect dog".

I turned to face the girl sitting next to me. My head tilted slightly to the right, she giggled, reaching over to stroke me. She was still a stranger to me so I backed away from her touch. I wanted so desperately, to be able to trust her, but something stopped me. What if she ended up being like that family? What if, as soon as I trusted her, she decides that she doesn't want a scrawny, ugly looking dog like me?

"That ok boy. You'll trust me one day, I promise. We just need to spend a little more time together".

Simultaneously, we both returned to looking up at the stars. I looked at the girl, closed my eyes and made a wish.

'I wish that, one day, I can make all of your dreams come true'.

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It took all my strength to stay where I was and not go running back to my girl's loving arms. It had been my first night in my new home when she told me that. It seemed so long ago now; in reality though, it wasn't even two years ago. My wish really had come true since that day. I had helped in letting my girl achieve all of her dreams. But now I've broken her heart, I reminded myself.

I rested my head on my outstretched front paws, never taking my eyes off the solitary figure in the field. I tried to telepathically let her know that I was fine, that I wasn't in any danger. Whether she understood me or not, she turned away from me and joined the rest of the group. They all climbed into the van, and we're soon gone, leaving me looking at an empty field.

Before falling asleep, I looked up at the sky, specifically at the first star out.

"Please keep her safe, protect her and let her know that I'm going to be just fine". I felt silly for talking to a star but I had worked before and I had every confidence that it would work again.

"Goodnight Poppy".

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Picture is Blake!

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Barks,
Storm xx