Reddit Stories 2019

Tuesday

"Forever?" Butters asked on what should have been an ordinary Tuesday morning. His muzzle was grey now, but the lab's eyes were still the same as the day they first met, soft and full of joy. He was slow now. The humans in his house, more and larger now, still threw balls for him and laughed as he chased them through the yard, ignoring that his run had turned into a walk. One would never guess from the way from the way his tongue hung from his mouth and the constant thumps of his tail, but he was in pain. He told Shadow before the humans caught on, of course. If it hadn't grown worse, they may have never known. Butters was determined to stay strong.

He loved the children very much and never wanted them to hurt the way he did.

"Forever," Shadow promised. They didn't speak of it - they didn't need to - but they both knew that promise would be their last. Shadow overheard the grey furred humans as he patrolled the fenceline. Butters understood their hushed whispers and sad gaze.

He understood when the youngest of the humans hugged him with tears in her eyes.

Shadow and Butters had only a brief moment for their final goodbye. A quiet minute while the children gathered Butters' favorite toys and soft blankets. Shadow leaned into Butters, coating himself in Butters' smell. He tried to stay strong, as strong as Butters, but found himself mewling like a injured kitten.

"I love you," Shadow whispered, jumping from the bumper and scurrying under the porch. He didn't hear Butters reply, but he didn't need to. Slowly, the white SUV pulled away. Shadow sat under the porch for hours, the same spot he always sat when Butters went to the vet, but when the car returned after the sun had died, there were only five sullen faces.

Butters was gone.

Shadow reminded himself of their promise constantly in the years that followed. Of all their promises. Butters family never took the same shine to him, but he stayed, watching the family grow and move. He met Butters when he was still under his mother's care and there were only three humans in the house. Butters never got to see the girl graduate from school, but Shadow learned she was accepted to her top choice.

Shadow didn't understand what that meant, but he would tell Butters when they reunited. The girl seemed excited, so it could only be good news.

Shadow survived his love by almost five full years. He thought he might go the same way as Butters, quiet and slow. He didn't expect to cross the street on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon, only to meet Nephthys on the other side.

They spoke no words. Shadow understood.

She washed away his life and his memories flowed downstream like a lazy river, stretching almost twenty years back. But no matter how hard she scrubbed, he held to his promise. To the bittersweet goodbye with an aged dog on his deathbed.

Shadow promised forever. One life or nine, he would hold his promise.

The first few years of his next life were infuriating. His arms and legs were weak. His fur was gone. He couldn't even hold his head on his own. He would forget the smiling faces of his new human parents when they covered their faces and was shocked to his core when they appeared from behind their hands.

His new parents called him Erin and forced him into dresses until he could dress himself. His mother cried the first time he cut his fur - no, hair - the first time he cut his hair short. He was young at the time and thought he had done something wrong, so he didn't try again until much later, when he felt comfortable to rebel. He got into frequent arguments with his parents at that time.

He was gone from home by the time he realized why he felt wrong.

On his own, he found the support that had been missing. He found friendship and family. People who would happily refer to him by the name he picked out. He found peace. But a longing feeling nagged at him. He dreamt of a promise to an old dog every night. A promise made with love that transcended lifetimes.

It wasn't until the day after his twenty-eighth birthday, a full ten years longer than before, that he realized what it was. Shadow walked out of the clinic, exhausted and sore from a long shift of what really amounted to pet maintenance. He tripped over a leash attached to an excitable chocolate lab at one end, and a stunning brunette on the other. The lap wagged its tail and jumped at Shadow's face, eager to express its love with a wet tongue.

"Oh my gosh," a woman's voice said, as at least three hands helped Shadow to his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm -"

Shadow stopped. His heart thumped. Standing next to the woman was a man with deep brown eyes, soft and full of joy. The world fell away. He offered Shadow a toothy grin and took the leash from the woman.

"Butters," Shadow gasped.

Man, woman, and dog tilted their heads at Shadow.

"Are you sure you're fine?" the woman asked in that joking tone certain people had when they were not, in fact, joking.

"Butters, it's me," Shadow said, stepping toward the man. Awkwardly, due to the bouncing dog who did not seem to understand the tone had shifted. "It's me, Shadow."

Butters and the woman next to him exchanged looks. Concerned. Confused. Possibly constipated.

"I'm sorry?" Butters said. His accent! In his old life, it had a sort of southern drawl, like what occasionally creeped out of Shadow's mouth, but now it was distinctly British. A seductive British.

"Butters, we-"

"Are you saying 'butter?'"

"I..." Shadow paused, unable to sort the confusing feelings now assaulting his heart. His eyes drifted downward, as if the onset of sadness pulled them. Then he noticed it. In his old life, he never would have cared, given his lack of fingers, but Butters and the woman had their hands intertwined. Both wore a golden band around one finger.

Shadow forced a laugh. "I'm sorry. Maybe I do need sit down. Sorry to bother you."

Through sheer force of will, Shadow managed to keep the tears at bay until he was alone on the cold tile floor of an empty room.

Tuesday, Shadow decided, was the worst.