I was dying. And it seemed a lot sweeter than I ever imagined death to be. Not that a dumpster would be my first choice of location when I'm gone, but the hassle of a funeral is totally eliminated, so it has its benefits.
So here I am, lying amidst bags of thrown out spaghetti, dirty diapers, tax information and wrongly placed recyclable items, when the lid of the dumpster is thrown open and all my tranquility is ruined. Not only that but no one bothered to look before throwing an enormous, growling, potato-sack like bag, in on top of me.
Now rejecting to pass on until I am comfortable, finding out what's in the bag kept me and my curiosity alive.
At first look, I would say it was a dog. But if it was a dog it would be freakishly big, so I went with wolf.
It calmed after a moment, sensing me and the garbage, most likely confused as to its whereabouts. And of all the normal things that it could have done then, it did something that I didn't think possible until I heard it happen. It spoke.
"You there, are you just going to sit there, or are you going to help me out of this stupid bag?" The wolf did not sound very happy.
First of all, I was already in this dumpster, perfectly content to die, when you interrupted me. Second of all, wolves can't talk!
He was not very patient. "Well, are you deaf, get me out here."
"Um, sure." I was a little scared at this point to deny this monster.
"Ahhh and he speaks." This wolf wasn't very polite, or funny. "Well done lad." Fingers shaking, I untied the knot in a jiffy.
As the bag fell off the wolf's body, I was surprised at how thin the wolf appeared. It was as though he hadn't eaten in a few weeks or at least anything sustainable. His teeth were bared in defense, and his eyes showed a wild, frantic glare. Between how close we were in the dumpster, and the fact he was starved, made me start to feel a little claustrophobic.
"What's your name boy?" I was again shocked because now I saw his mouth move with the words that i could hear. Before it was just talking to a bag, so it didn't really seem he was talking at all.
He lifted up the lid of the dumpster with his head, waiting for me to answer him.
"Yubinuki, my name is Yubinuki."
"Now that's a strange sort of name." This wolf wasn't very polite.
"Fine, you may call me Nuki."
"Good to know and you may call me Scottie." Now to get even.
"Well, now there is a cute little name for a frightening wolf such as you."
"Ahh, but I wasn't always a wolf." This left me a bit off guard. I mean, come on how can you be something one day and then turn into a wolf the next. This was a brain jumbler.
"Wha, wha, what do you mean not always a wolf?"
"Let us first get out this dumpster and I will explain that and much more."
Oh yes, I forgot all about being in this dingy dumpster. This wolf has startled me right out of death. This would have angered me but my life seems much less interesting than this wolf I had just met, and I was now curious as to how this wolf ended up as a wolf. So I climbed up the side of the rusted metal and out into the fresh, Oriental Avenue air. My plans have changed. I am definitely not dead, but curiously content.