DISCLAIMER: This is a short story inspired by the fact that I saw a yellow jacket while walking my dog. You don't have to read it. It's a bit long. And also semi-inspired by The Art of Racing in the Rain (100/10 book, highly recommend).
I remember the last thing she said to me. I remember it like it was yesterday. For all I know, it could've been yesterday, or the day before yesterday, or even tomorrow. I don't keep track of time very well. If I could, then maybe I wouldn't have spent so much time worrying about when she'd get home every day, having left me alone in the dark house with nothing but a bowl of water.
But we were on a walk. The sun warmed my fur and made it glow in the light, the grass swayed softly in the breeze, and there she was, right beside me as we walked up the sidewalk. My tongue was lolling out of my mouth, my tail wagging back and forth, back and forth. And then she suddenly stopped, recoiling a little bit. I stopped too, unsure why our walk had been interrupted.
She had laughed to herself before pointing and saying to me, "That thing almost landed on me."
She was pointing at a small yellow-and-black blur that was retreating into the woods. I looked towards it and then back at her. Did she want me to go fetch it?
She laughed again and continued talking to me. "That was a yellow jacket, buddy. They've got a nasty bite and sting. You don't ever want one of those to go after you."
She'd taken me back inside, left for the day, and then never came back. Never is a long time.
At first, I waited by the door as I usually did. I waited a long time. I'm not sure how long, but maybe I waited for never. Because never is a long time.
Finally, she came back. At least I thought she did. Based on the scent that I caught wind of, it was not her. But I faintly smelled her scent on him. He smelled of the nights spent passionately with her, of the times he'd play catch with me. I remembered him- he came and went. This time, though, he leashed me up and told me that I was going to be spending some time with him.
I knew that there was only one explanation for this- the yellow jackets had gotten to her! They had taken her hostage and were demanding that I'd be sacrificed in exchange for her safe return. He was taking me to them now; it was a trick! He'd lured me in with his familiar scent and had turned out to be a spy for the yellow jackets! I put up as much of a fight as I could, but it was no use. I was lifted into his dognapping vehicle and driven to the yellow jackets' lair.
It took me a little while to understand that he wasn't a yellow jacket spy. In fact, it took me a few sun and moon rotations of staying in his apartment for me to understand that. What took me longer to understand were the strange noises coming from his room at night. One night, it got so loud that I was convinced he couldn't breathe and I had to save him. When I pushed open the door, I found him, face red and wet, sitting on the floor against the wall. I laid beside him, resting my head on his legs in a gesture of comfort. He laughed softly.
"You silly dog," he murmured, "You have no idea, do you?"
I perked my ears up, wondering what he was going to say. He rubbed my fur for a moment before saying, "I know, bud, she was everything to me too. But that car crash was severe. Ain't nothing either of us could've done."
All I understood from that sentence was 'car'. In that moment, I understood that she had taken her car and driven away forever. Forever. That has a nice ring to it. It sounds like a promise. But so does 'never'. They're similar. Never is a long time.
And forever is a long time too.
(probably could've made this longer but frankly that's all I was motivated to do byeeeee)
