The Christmas Wish

The Christmas Wish

Basil

         Basil rolled over and sighed contentedly.  He was lying in his favorite chair in the corner of the living room next to the fireplace.  The embers had died out from the night before but he could still feel its lingering warmth.  He licked his lips and yawned, then stretched his short, wrinkled legs straight out in front of him.  Arching his back at the same time, he was surprised his long spine didn’t object with its customary creak and pop, a complaint that only he could hear. He was glad he wasn’t stiff this morning, certainly not like he had been over the last couple months.  At times, he could hardly move at all and had to be helped into his chair.

         He knew any stiffness he might feel today was due to the recent snow and the cold that came along with it.  In his younger days, he loved to run and jump in the big puffy pillows it made in the back yard, eagerly digging down to the grass below to sniff the wonderful smells that his long basset hound ears gathered and lobbed sideways at his wet, snow-covered nose, a nose which was almost always less than an inch above the ground.

         There was a time recently when he didn’t like the cold; he smelled it as it silently crept in through the bottoms of the doors and the corners of every window, its only goal to make him shiver. Today, the morning had dawned bright and shining and he didn’t mind the cold or the snow one bit.

         Still enjoying the small bit of warmth coming from the fireplace, Basil rose up and began to circle the seat of his big overstuffed arm chair.  He circled, looking like the sole competitor in a slow race to overtake the back half of his own body.  Well into his third loop, he finally found the perfect spot and stopped, curling his body into a tight ball before snuggling down into the well-worn cushion.

         He heard the floorboards above him begin to creak and pop as his family started the day.  He smiled inwardly with the thought that maybe the old floor, much like his old spine, also didn’t care to be stretched.  He listened to his family move around.  He had known the lady the longest, but loved each of them equally.  He was quite proud that he could tell them each apart only by the sound their steps made as they walked across the floor.

         Soon, the lady would come down the stairs, followed by the man and then the kid.  Maybe they would greet him in his chair and pet his gray head and rub his belly.  Sometimes the lady would cover him with one of the soft blankets that were kept inside the big wooden chest on the other side of the fireplace.

         Upstairs he heard a heavy thud and the clomping, quickly tapping steps that could only be made by the large paws of the newest four-legged member of the family.

Maxi

         Maxi woke up happy.  In fact, Maxi was always happy.  This morning he was comfortable and warm in what had become his very own spot on the kid’s bed.  The kid was his favorite person since coming to live here.  Maxi loved the way he smelled, like dusty rocks and bacon grease, tasted like it too.  That was until the lady made him take a bath.  Maxi still loved him after the bath of course, even if the kid did taste like chalky, bitter flowers, but only for a little while.

         Maxi loved mornings.  Actually Maxi loved morning, afternoon, evening and the middle of the night too.  He had the naturally happy and gentle disposition all golden retrievers seem to be born with, but of course he himself wasn’t aware of this.

         For him, this morning would mean a wonderful romp in the new snow. Mornings also meant a big bowl of fresh water that he would lap up and drip all over the pantry floor before shaking his head and flinging the excess on anything and anybody nearby.

         Then, if he was very calm and didn’t move around while the lady cleaned and dressed the long row of stitches running along his side, she would reward him with a flurry of petting and a small piece of toast.  When the kid was eating his breakfast, Maxi knew he would throw bits of bacon to him under the table whether he moved around or not.

         Maxi was happy to be here with the kid and the nice lady and man, even though he couldn’t remember exactly how he came to be here, nor could he remember much of anything before that.  If any memories came to him they were as flashes, quick flashes of bright lights and fuzzy pictures in his mind that he didn’t really understand. There was a certain smell in the house however, a familiar smell that seemed to be everywhere but especially on the chair in the living room next to the fireplace.

         Like most mornings, he woke up when he felt the kid begin to stir.  He jumped off the bed with a loud thump and ran through the upstairs enthusiastically greeting the rest of the family - his family.

A Wish

         Maxi smelled something good on the other side of the road.  He was very hungry and ran to investigate.  There was a sudden flash of light followed by a terrifying squealing sound that made his whole body vibrate.  There was a white hot burst of pain as he felt the collision with the bumper, the impact with the car spinning him wildly in the air and he landed in a heap at the side of the road.  He tried to stand but the most his legs could manage was a weak paddle.  He could feel a numbing sensation spreading through him, thankfully dimming the pain in his side.  His head hurt and the landscape was spinning, making his stomach churn. He felt a warm wetness trickling down his body and dripping into the dirt.

         He lay on the side of the road, drifting in and out of consciousness as the night wore on.  A coldness began to creep through his body and he started to shiver despite the uncommonly warm late November weather.

         In the early morning hours, Maxi opened his eyes and saw a brilliant flash of light.  Fearing it was another car; he cringed and closed his eyes tightly against it.  When nothing happened he opened them. 

         The light was still there, but it seemed to have sensed his fear, and had softened its brilliance. In the shape of a small ball, it hovered a couple inches above the roadway in front of him.  Maxi could see tiny fragments of light flickering inside.

         As he watched, the ball slowly dipped and swayed.  It was hypnotic and very beautiful.  Maxi felt a gentle tug and then the odd feeling of being pulled inside the ball.  A wonderful warmth and feeling of peace washed over him and his fear and pain dissolved to nothing.  Maxi also sensed something else: a hopeful expectation.  The ball was pleading with him, telling him about a wish it hoped Maxi would grant.  A last wish.

         Maxi knew that, from time to time, most animals are able to cast out fragments of their soul to the universe, much like a fisherman casts out his line into the water.  Most animals cast in their sleep without ever being aware of it.  To humans, they appear to be dreaming and to a small degree they are, but they are also traveling with the casted part of their soul. In their travels they observe and learn.  For dogs, it’s the reason they are compassionate, love unconditionally, and have the innate ability to sense what is needed of them.

         Maxi had never seen a casted soul much less communicated with one.  The soul told him about a family it loved very much.  It told him about a nice lady and man who had a kid that tasted like dusty rocks and bacon grease. It told him of its wish that Maxi would agree to take care of them.

         The soul, you see, was leaving this world very soon.  It was going on a journey, a final cast, if you will.  The family would take care of Maxi as he took care of them, and he would help to lessen their grief after the soul had departed.

         Maxi’s heart was breaking for the little soul.  His own troubles forgotten for the moment, he desperately wanted to help but didn’t know how.  At once, he was flooded by a feeling of relief and gratitude from the soul.  It told him not to worry and Maxi felt himself grow sleepy.  He didn’t want to leave the soul. He felt special that it had chosen him, but also didn’t want the pain and cold to come again once he was no longer in its warm and comforting embrace.  Everything grew blurry and he felt his eyes closing.

         When Maxi next opened his eyes, he was lying on top of a soft pad on the floor in the middle of a brightly lit room.  He felt as if his legs were being pinched and saw small tubes had been attached to them.  There was a dull pain in his side and a subtle feeling of tightness, as if the skin there was being pulled together.  People he didn’t know moved in and out of the small room.  At times, they petted and spoke sweetly to him as they tended his wounds.

         There was something else too, a familiar smell, but also a presence.  He felt as if something was next to him.  Exactly what it was he didn’t know, but he was calmed by it.

A Wish Fulfilled

         The lady walked briskly down the stairs and, as had been her custom for sixteen years, made a quick right at the bottom and went into the living room.  She rounded the corner, but stopped suddenly and sighed, closing her eyes, tears hovering just behind them.  She lowered her head toward her chest and covered her eyes with her hands.

         The lady was twelve years old when Basil arrived, all ears and feet and that unique puppy smell.  She loved him instantly, and he her.  When he was a baby, he followed her everywhere.  When he fell flat on his face after tripping over his long ears or big feet, she would kiss him and tell him to try again.  He finally grew into them; and learned how to get out of their way, or maybe it was the other way around.

         The entire family loved him, and year after year he remained.  All through her high school and college years, and her marriage and arrival of their son, Basil remained.  He had lived for so long she couldn’t get used to the fact that he was gone.

         The lady heard her husband coming down the stairs.  She removed her hands from her eyes and turned to leave the living room.  As she turned, her eye saw something in the corner of the room.  She did a double take and looked at Basil’s chair.  Seeing nothing, she quickly looked all around the room, then at the chair again.

         Her husband walked up next to her and put his arm around her. Seeing the bewildered look on her face he said “you alright babe?”  “Yeah, I just…I thought I saw something.”  Following her gaze “something in old Bazey’s chair?” he said, referring to Basil by his nickname.

         She nodded and said “it’s strange but sometimes I think I see him. Even in the vet’s office a couple weeks ago.  It was the day after he died and I went in to pick up his collar, remember?” Her husband nodded. “I could have sworn I saw him sitting right next to a big golden retriever who had just come out of surgery.”

         “I asked what happened and the doctor told me she was driving to the clinic early that morning and saw a strange ball of light on the side of the road.  She slowed down and saw Maxi lying there.  He looked like he had been on his own for a while.  He was thin and dirty, and had a long laceration on his side.  When she picked him up, Maxi didn’t bite or growl and stayed completely still, as if he knew she was trying to help him.  And for a split second when I saw Maxi on the floor, I saw Basil sitting there too.” she said, her voice breaking.  “I thought maybe he was trying to tell me something.” she said, shrugging and smiling wistfully.

         “Well, apparently you took the hint.” said the husband smiling at her and gently pulling her to him in a hug.

         Behind them, the kid came bounding down the stairs, Maxi followed close behind.  The man turned to face the kid and said “hey sport, what d’ya say we go start breakfast?”  He picked the kid up in his arms and walked away before the kid could see his mother’s tears.  “Then you can help me put the Christmas lights on the house, you can go up on the roof and I’ll hold the ladder.” he said laughing playfully as he walked down the hall to the kitchen.

         Maxi walked up beside the lady and nudged her hand with his nose. The lady looked down and smiled, stroking his head and lovingly squishing one of his soft ears in her palm.  She looked at Basil’s chair and sighed. “Come on Maxi, let’s go see what everybody’s up to in the kitchen,” she said patting him before turning and walking away.

         Maxi didn’t follow her; he was looking at the big overstuffed armchair in the corner of the living room.  A chair with a very old dog in it.  Maxi wagged his tail in greeting, the old dog in the chair wagged back at him.  Maxi felt a twinge of recognition, as if he might know the old dog but couldn’t remember meeting him before now.

         As Maxi watched, the old dog began to slowly fade from view.  He watched until it faded completely and he could no longer see it sitting in the chair, then turned and went to join his family.

Traveling

         Basil watched from his warm cocoon as the car pulled over to the side of the road.  He watched as the person gently lifted Maxi into the car and sped away.  The car Basil stopped was driven by a kind hearted person, he was sure Maxi would live and his wounds would heal quickly and completely.

         Basil was happy and completely at peace.  His family would be cared for and he wouldn’t have to worry about them any longer.  He would miss them very much and they him, but knew that he could visit them, in one form or another, whenever he wanted.

         Basil slowly ascended.  As he did so, the surrounding neighborhood took shape below him.  There was the road in which he found Maxi, next to it a ditch and a line of tall trees, beyond that the neighborhood spread out in three directions, the blocks of houses looking tidy in their square configurations.

         He had, of course, lived through many Christmases and his family always took long walks during the season when the weather allowed.  They would walk and see the decorations and visit with their neighbors, all of whom knew Basil and almost always had a tasty treat to give him.

         He loved the lights that hung from the eaves of the houses and around the windows and bushes, being partial to those that twinkled.  He liked the different shapes of animals, people, and many other things that were placed in every yard, including on the roof tops.  He especially loved the items on the lawns, large, air filled objects that he could walk up to and sniff.  He was especially drawn to the long legged animals that didn’t smell like animals.  They also lit up and sometimes moved their legs, although he was a little confused that the sleigh they pulled never seemed to get very far.

         As he rose in the air, Basil realized that he was seeing colors he had never seen before.  In life, through his canine eyes, these lights and decorations had looked to him to be blue and brown, pale yellow and gray.  Those were now so much more beautiful and bright.  They were green and red, a deep yellow and blindingly bright white.  He knew these colors, but didn’t know how he knew, he just did.  And he thought it wonderful.