Bay's Wish [ONC 2024]

07 - Hello Again

7 years, 4 months postmortem

Making myself happy proved to be a difficult task, but not impossible.

Where days used to turn into weeks, weeks now turned into months. Visits to the Earth Observatory slowly became less a part of my daily routine and more so whenever I felt like checking in on Bay and Stormy. Over the years, the visits became less frequent, until I only stopped by once every three or four months.

Bay and Stormy had their lives figured out. It took Stormy a few years, but he eventually became a dog that a human could be proud of. Aside from a few flaws—leash pulling being the worst one—he didn't seem so bad. He protected Bay, made her happy, and that was all that mattered.

He also managed to shred every version of Squeaky Duck that Bay bought him—but my Squeaky Duck was safe in a box out of Stormy's reach, so that affair did not bother me as much as it used to.

Knowing that Bay was in mostly capable paws, I could finally enjoy Dog Heaven to its fullest. I savored the rush of the wind in my ears every morning, allowing my legs to carry me farther and faster than they ever could in life.

I zoomed down a hill at a rabbit's pace, my paws galloping against the plush grass. The ground sprang up beneath each pounding step like a springboard, propelling me even faster. I had no destination in mind; I simply ran for the joy of running without restrictions.

A turn in my imaginary racetrack was coming up. With my ears flopping with my movements and my tongue slipping out the front of my open jaw, I prepared to lean and round the corner. As I pushed forward and to the side, my paws became tangled, sending me crashing to the ground.

I rolled to a stop and groaned in anticipation of the inevitable sore limbs, side, and chest, but it never came.

Oh, right... I'm dead.

There was no pain or stiffness in Dog Heaven, not even for a wipeout as big as mine.

I slowly rose to my paws. I was not injured, but the shock of losing my footing was enough to knock the wind out of me. A quick glance showed no other dogs around to witness my bruised ego.

The pads of my paws pressed into the grass and I trotted back the way I came from. I was still wandering aimlessly, but at a much slower pace, and allowed myself to follow my nose.

I traced the lingering scents of dogs who had already explored the area earlier in the day. There were the regular scents from others who often followed the same trails I did, but there was something else in there. Something familiar I could not quite place. I followed my nose until the grass beneath my paws turned into pavement. My nose had taken me to the Earth Observatory.

The scent strengthened, but my mind failed to connect it to anything recognizable. I walked towards the door, this time relying on my eyes as well as my nose.

The door swooshed open, hitting me with a rush of guilt for not visiting more. It had been months since I last visited.

I scanned the room to find the usual scene: a few dogs strewn about, most of them newly arrived within the last few months. But no one I knew.

A thoughtful breath huffed out my nostrils. Maybe my sniffer was losing its touch after so many years in Dog Heaven. I turned to leave, but as I approached the door, a shockingly familiar coat of black and white fur at the end of the room snagged my attention.

"What..." I trailed off and crept forward. Something between my nose and my mind clicked, and I knew how I recognized that smell. "What are you doing here?"

Stormy looked at me, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth like he'd just sprinted across the city. He was all grown up, but dead—Stormy was dead.