Something Domestic

Something Domestic

The night couldn’t be any darker. The moonless sky was marked by thunderous clouds and the occasional lightning. The hoot of the owl filled the ominous silence of the night as humans and animals alike were relieved to be inside their homes and not in this shroud of darkness. Everything stood still in its place as though frozen by some unknown force. A sudden shrill cry broke through the blanket of the night.

“LET ME GO!”

“STOP! YOU FREAK. GET BACK HERE.”

“NO!”

A door opened and was soon slammed closed as a small dark figure rushed past the gates of the shrouded house and ran towards the road. An enormous drop of water fell from the sky right onto the young boy's face as he ran. Soon, the sky opened its chest and let loose its rage as the raindrops mixed with the salty tears and fell onto the earth. But nobody was there to witness it.

To the ongoing passenger, he was just a reckless boy frolicking. Nobody stopped to witness the bruises on his arms or his burst lip. Or how he seemed to favor one side of his body over the other. And none noticed the black, empty eyes as he ran past them in the downpour of grief. Only the sky seemed to grieve for the boy and let loose its tears for the little figure trying to escape his inheritance.

He ran with adrenaline pumping through his veins. Despite the obvious exhaustion, he ran. He ran from the monsters in his home, he ran from his nightmares till he could no more. He ran till his strength ran out and he slumped near a dumpster in a dark alley where only the dead could be found. He slid down the wall and pulled his arms around his knees as grief overtook him. The young boy hardly over the age of thirteen sat in a dark alleyway with no soul to hear his howls as he cried into the night as the sky rained cats and dogs as a literal representation of his pain.

How ironic it is that the one promised to give you the most is the one to take it all away and one wonders in the fairness of the universe and the justice of nature, when all hell is let loose and you’re left with nothing. But unknown to all, nature is just and unforgiving. When all hope is lost, the one above sends someone as his hands to comfort and right the wrong. The lone figure in the darkness, whose eyes imitate a charred river bed was not alone in this night. A creature on four legs drenched in the rain had been quietly following him and now moves towards the youngster as a silent thunder illuminates the world for a second before all in lost in the dark.

Though scared, the boy has no energy to even lift his head. Accepting his fate, he closes his broken eyes. But the next thing he knows, a warm snout nuzzles his face. His broken black meets sad brown as the creature forces himself in the boy's arms. Its coat which may have been once a beautiful golden was now a dirty brown speckled with unknown substances. He looked none better than the boy but its eyes spoke all that he couldn’t. Both have suffered a great deal and had no one but the other. They were no strangers. They had met a long time ago when the four-legged soul who was once cherished was cast aside by the only one he knew to be his own. Then had the boy come to his rescue. One does not forget acts of kindness irrespective of the fact that it is human or animal. Actions have always spoken louder.

And now here he was, repaying the same kindness. The black-haired boy looked into the comforting eyes of the canine and again his dam of grief broke as he pulled the golden hound to his chest. For what seemed like an eternity they both stayed in an embrace which healed the sharp edges of his broken soul. The dark sky lightened and soon dawn ascended. A ray of sunlight filtered through the now clearing clouds and illuminated just the spot where both souls were holding on to each other. A moment so magical that only the nature noticed.

The boy who was alone in the world now had a companion for life or so he presumed. He patted the canine’s head as the said hound licked his face and a peal of laughter came through the boy's mouth. A sound so rare that he himself could not believe.

But their happiness was short-lived.

“There you are. You brat!” a lanky man in his mid-thirties came around a corner with mad eyes, which lit up with an evil glint on seeing the young pale boy.

The boy paled even more and pushed the canine behind him as though it might protect him, but nobody was safe. The brown-coated hound slipped past the boy and out of the alley.

“You, ungrateful wretched rat. Did you think you can run away from me.” The man with the crooked teeth hissed as he pulled his belt out of his pants.

The boy looked around for help, but upon seeing the dead empty road, he knew there was no escape. He was relieved that at least his only friend was spared from the slaughter.

“Nobody is coming for you brat. ” The ugly man inched forward while the young boy moved back. “All you had to do was listen to me. And you disobeyed. So, now you'll face your punishment.”

 He lifted his hands armed with the belt. The boy scrunches up his brows and turning his head sideways silently awaits the onslaught of the familiar pain. As soon the weapon starts to descend, time slows down. A second feels like an eternity and finally, the belt hits with a loud thump.

And the boy falls backwards, But the pain he awaited never came. He opens his black eyes now filled with shock to see a golden coated hound on his chest whimpering with pain. The pain that was meant for him. His eyes once again stings with tears. His vision blurs as he gathers the furry creature onto his lap and puts his arms around him. And silent tears make their way down his eyes onto the golden fur.

“Why this stupid-” The belt lifted again, the boy turns his back to receive the blow, but before it could, a loud hiss of a taser pierces through the haze of his mind. A loud cry behind him confirms that it wasn’t for him. Two blue-clad officers holding tasers come forward towards the now unconscious crooked man.

“Say, kid. Are you alright?” He nods through the fur.

 “Your friend here practically dragged us to you.” One of the two blue figures says with amazement in his eyes pointing towards the furry creature, while the other handcuffs the vile unconscious monster.

“ I-I’m gl-glad he did.” The blue-eyed boy stutters, with final relief in his voice, as he slips into unconsciousness with his only family in his arms. And for once, he has hope that tomorrow the sun would shine a little brighter as would his life.

                                                                                                                        -Sheryl Carlene Jackson