One day, Hunter de Vil arrived at a cemetery holding two flower bouquets. After walking through the site for a bit, he arrived at a spot where two gravestones were present. He put a bouquet down next to each one, sat down, and took a deep breath.
"Hello Mom. Hello Dad. It's been a while since I last visited. Today's my thirteenth birthday. As usual, I'm not throwing any parties or receiving any presents. Not much has changed except for one thing. I'm living with a new family now. A really big family. I think you'd actually like them. The parents are really caring. One is a nurse; the other's a fireman. And the children? They're so playful and unique. There're some who like space, skateboarding, science, painting, music-making. You name it."
Hunter paused for a minute. "But the family has gone through many hardships. Some of them were caused by me. And despite everything that happened between us, they were all willing to forgive me and accept me as one of their own. I'm really grateful to them, and I want to do whatever I can to make them proud." He paused again and took another deep breath. "You can come out now. I know you're there."
All of a sudden, Dylan and Dolly appeared from behind some gravestones.
"Hey. Sorry for eavesdropping," said Dylan.
"You knew we were following you the whole time?" said Dolly.
"I figured one of you might be curious as to where I was going, and the other would be reluctant into following," said Hunter. "You can come see them."
The siblings sat next to Hunter.
"So today's your birthday?" said Dylan.
"Yeah."
"And these are your parents?" said Dolly.
"Yeah. Every year on my birthday I pay them a visit. To tell them how I've been doing since they've been gone."
"What happened to them?" said Dylan.
"They died in an accident a few years ago when I was young."
"Dang," said Dolly.
"You don't have to feel sorry for me. You haven't experienced any loss."
"Actually, we have."
Hunter was puzzled. "What do you mean? Your family's still whole."
"Yeah," said Dylan. "But the thing is, not all of us are biologically related."
Hunter was immediately surprised. "You're not?!"
"No," said Dolly. "See me and Dylan, we're stepsiblings. I used to have another mom."
"And I used to have another dad," said Dylan.
"And they're both gone?" said Hunter.
"Yeah," said Dolly.
"Do you miss 'em still?"
"All the time," said Dylan.
"So how did you all come to be?"
"Well," said Dolly, "before our parents met, they were each raising fifteen pups all on their own."
"And when they finally got together," said Dylan, "we became a family of thirty pups."
"And eventually, fifty-five."
"So where did the other forty-four come from?" said Hunter.
"They were adopted and taken in from off the streets."
"They had some rough starts," said Dylan. "Mistreated, abandoned. You name it."
"Oh," said Hunter.
"But we accepted them all and made them part of our family."
"And we look out for one another no matter what," said Dolly.
"So whenever you feel down and out..."
"Just know that we'll always have your back."
The siblings' encouragement put a smile on Hunter. "You two are brilliant, you know that?"
"Hey, what are older sibs for?"
Hunter was puzzled again. "Older? You're twelve just like I was."
"Well, technically, we're older than you are in dog years," said Dylan.
"Oh. Gonna play that card, eh?"
"Yep," said Dolly. "So you better get used to it."
The three youngsters laughed. Hunter placed his arms around the siblings, who in turn placed their legs behind his back.
"They really would've liked you," said Hunter.
"Yeah," said Dylan.
"We would've liked them too," said Dolly.
The youngsters stood silent for a moment, holding on to the memory of their embrace for as long as they could.
Soon afterwards, night came, and the youngsters finally arrived back home.
"Thanks for joining me today," said Hunter. "It really means a lot."
"Don't mention it," said Dylan.
"For what it's worth," said Dolly, "it was actually nice meeting your parents."
They entered the house and were suddenly greeted by the sounds of party-blowers, confetti being thrown, and the pups were all wearing party hats.
"Surprise!" said the pups.
The youngsters looked stunned.
"Did you two know about this?" said Hunter.
"Nope," said Dylan.
"Ditto," said Dolly.
"We found out today's your birthday!" said Dizzy.
"And we wanted to throw you a surprise party!" said Dee Dee.
"But how did you...?" said Hunter.
"Social media," said Dawkins.
"Ah."
Doug and Delilah appeared, and they were also wearing party hats.
"Oh good. You're back," said Delilah.
"So you all found out, I assume?" said Hunter.
"We did."
"And we figured why you didn't tell us," said Doug.
"You've had to miss so many precious moments without your loved ones being around. And today wouldn't have been any different if we hadn't known."
"But now you can make up for all that lost time because you have us. You can make new, fun memories."
"Thanks," said Hunter. "I appreciate that."
"And guess what?!" said Diesel. "We even made you a cake!"
In the kitchen, Hunter saw not an actual birthday cake. But what looked like a mishmash of kibble and frosting with thirteen candles on top.
"Sorry it's not a real cake," said D.J.
"We're not good at baking," said Da Vinci.
"That's fine," said Hunter. "It's the thought that counts."
"Now it is custom for the birthday recipient to make a wish and blow out the candles," said Dawkins.
"Go on! Make a wish! Make a wish!" cheered Dizzy and Dee Dee.
"Alright. Alright." Hunter closes his eyes; then blew out the candles.
The Dalmatians cheered.
"So what did you wish for?" said Dylan
"Well, I can't tell you that, now can I?" said Hunter.
"Aw man," said Dolly.
For Hunter knew his wish had already come true. To be with the Dalmatians for as long as he can.
