Children Short Story – My master, My bestfriend.
Photo credit: irkengirdib from morguefile.com
I love my master who is not just my master but also my best friend.
Before I met him, before he became my master and friend I did not really have a life. Growing up without my father and mother who I never knew and cannot remember knowing, I found no memory of my life with them in me any memory of a life with them just seemed like It had been deleted, like it never happened amnesia maybe.
I had to take care of myself, I had to find my own way of survival on the street I lived on. life on the street was not easy from day one I had to feed myself to find food I had to become a scavenger walking the streets in search of what to eat. I was not the only one living life like that on the street there were others like me trying to survive too. I had to be strong and smart to face my competition there were some who were stronger and smarter than me but I found relief from those who were not as strong as me.
It was a cut-throat street life the perfect example of survival of the fittest. Sometimes bloody fights were necessary to determine who was entitled to the food found. The stronger and smarter ones amongst us always came out on top they knew the best places to find food and protected there treasure by fighting off others trying to take it away from them. We used to use our nose take us to places where we could find food, usually I went out in search of what to eat alone but on rare occassion I went out with one or two companions.
Sometimes the strong ones amongst us would watch others look for food and once they found it the strong would pounce on them taking the food from them. I stood between the strong and the weak I could prey on some of the weak while trying to avoid the stronger ones who also preyed upon me.
Even though we did not like to share our food at night we found it better and safer to be together we would sleep in packs, sleeping in packs offered us more security.
It was my nose that led me to him blessed with a keen sense of smell, my nose was my best weapon of survival. I was lying on my stomach on a street corner bored, trying to make sense of the people walking pass me with some of them not even noticing me when a sweet smell came calling I instinctively perked my ears and head got up and started walking at first but later breaking into a run in the direction of the sweet smell. When I eventually found the source of the smell it was a young man infront of a small flat he was listening to music from a speaker which stood beside him and roasting meat from which the sweet aroma had escaped from.
At first I watched him from a safe distance happily miming to his music and enjoying his barbecue. My fear was that he would chase me away if he saw me it was what usually happened to me with most people. I waited anxiously and patiently determined to hang around until he was done so I could have some of his leftovers and as I waited I started praying that no other one of us had also gotten a whiff of the smell and was coming towards it too I wanted it all for myself.
I must have been there for about fifteen to twenty minutes before he noticed my presence. I was thrown into a state of shock and surprise when the next thing he did after seeing me was to throw some pieces of meat to me, this was something that rarely happened to me, eventhough there was nothing I wanted to do more than to rush towards the meat I hesitated.
“What if it’s a trick?, what if he just wants you to come closer so he could grab you or do something bad to you?” the warning in my head shouted.
“Common don’t be scared, I don’t bite”.The voice from the young man said to me laughing.
From my past experience with humans I knew some of them hated us, some of them even had our meat as their best delicacy. What if it’s a dog he is roasting and would gladly add you on to his barbecue? I asked myself although I immediately dismissed that notion as my nose told me the meat been barbecued did not belong to any member of my species.
It was not his words of assurance that eventually moved me rather it was the burning hunger in me and my fear that some other dog would come up to claim the prize before me.
After that first encounter I made it a habit to be at his place as much as I could, everyday he saw me hanging around his house. After some days he started leaving food for me on the step of his front door, the food was always there waiting for me, I kept It a secret from the other dogs, with each passing day we grew accustomed to each other until one day he came back home while I was lost in the food he opened the front door and using sign language invited me into his house and his life and that began our life together.
He offered me shelter, fed me and took me to see the veterinary doctor whenever I was sick. He gave me the opportunity to have parents by taking on the role of becoming my father and mother. I became his constant companion following him almost everywhere he went.
We had no need for words to express ourselves although he would sometimes chose to speak to me, our relationship was based more on telepathy than on words we played catch ball, went for strolls together we were Inseperable.
Before we met he lived alone, a bachelor life, as a bachelor there were days when he would come back home with a female companion those were my worst days as I would be thrown into gloom jealous of the girl trying to intrude into our life. I used to do anything to make her stay uncomfortable whenever they were watching a movie I would stand in front of the T.V trying to block her view .
I would become hyperactive running and jumping up and down over turnIng thIngs just to make him pay more attention to me. In my desperation I would even fake sickness.
They never really stayed for long as they were mostly one night stand or atmost some weeks stand. They were not even important threats deserving of all the fuss I used to create over them. In the end they sell left leaving the two of us together.
But everything changed when Susan came on board.
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