Ashes To Light

whispers in the wind

The first cry and whimper birdie heard she ran towards the welping pen that was in birdies' delivery room. As birdie reached the pen she was met with a look from pearl that just said I'm tired. Dang pearl I was just gone for a minute and you done had 3 pups all on your lonesome honey. Pearl just looked at birdie with a smile that was forced because of the strength she had lost during labor. Birdie began to do her job as she had done hundreds of times before as she was a midwife, one of the best in the whole state of North Wolfston. As birdie started cleaning each pup she would get them as clean as possible and then show each pup to pearl before putting them under pearl to nurse. As birdie finished up cleaning pearl and the puppies she told pearl the reason she left was to get her supplies as she was low and did not realize pearl was so close to giving birth. Pearl looked at birdie with a eyes half closed and her breathing just starting to get under control she managed to tell birdie it's ok and then pearl passed out. Birdie knew not to panic as this was normal since pearl was a toy australian sheperd and her size alone could have killed her during labor. As pearl was resting birdie began to put away the other supplies she had a thought occurred to her that toy australian sheperds were very, very rare to see in Wolfston or anywhere around here, and as far as birdie knew they all lived in East dingo which was about a months journey from here. Birdie decided that she would wait until pearl and the pups were rested and feeling much better before she would ask any questions.

The day went by without any other dogs needing a midwife, so birdie took the time to put away pearls things that she showed up with. Birdie walked towards the front door where perals things were at, as she grabbed the suitcase and headed upstairs. When birdie made it to the guest bedroom she laid the suitcase upon the bed and all the while walking towards the room she wondered if it would be OK to look into pearls suitcase. She thought to herself this is my home and pearl did show up out of the blue with a ton of money and looked scared out of her mind, which she was in labor but I've seen alot of scared dogs due to pregnancy but none like this. Birdie knew the way pearl was scared was different and it just made the back of her hair stand up. As birdie wiggled away the chills she made up her mind to not look because if she wanted pearl to trust her and tell her the truth she had to show her she could be trusted. Birdies mom always said if you want trust from someone give it to them first, and if they don't respond with trust then walk away.

Birdie tiptoed out of the guest room, the echo of her doubts lingering like the scent of disinfectant in the air. The setting sun cast long shadows through the delivery room window, painting the scene with an unsettling orange glow. Pearl lay nestled amongst her three squirming pups, their soft whimpers barely audible over the rhythmic thumping of her heart. Each tiny life, a testament to Pearl's resilience, tugged at Birdie's maternal instincts.

A cold wind howled through the gaps in the old farmhouse, carrying with it the scent of pine needles and distant rain. Birdie shivered, the unease she'd felt earlier prickling at the edges of her mind. Pearl's arrival had been... unconventional. The toy Aussie, a breed as rare in North Wolfston as a polar bear in the desert, had appeared on her doorstep, panting and clutching a worn suitcase, on the cusp of giving birth. Her story, whispered between contractions, was a tangled web of fear and escape, a tale hinting at danger lurking just beyond the horizon.

Birdie wasn't one to pry, not when it came to the secrets her furry patients entrusted her with. But Pearl's arrival, the urgency in her eyes, it gnawed at her like a persistent itch. The East Dingo, the land beyond the sprawling plains, was shrouded in whispers and rumors, a place where shadows stretched long and danger lurked in the twisting valleys. Birdie had always scoffed at such tales, dismissing them as campfire stories spun by bored ranchers. But now, looking into Pearl's exhausted yet resolute eyes, a seed of doubt had taken root.

As the pups slept, nestled under Pearl's warm fur, Birdie decided to investigate. Not by prying into Pearl's secrets, but by listening to the wind. The whispers it carried, the stories woven into its song, might hold the answers she sought. Stepping outside, she lifted her face to the sky, the vast canvas awash with a million twinkling stars. The wind, now a gentle caress, rustled through the leaves of the ancient oak, its voice a low murmur against the night.