A Dog Will Always Love You
October 31st,that was a day of the year that had multiple meanings for many people across the world such as Halloween,and the first day of the Mexican tradition,The Day Of The Dead. A day like that could strike happiness and excitement into anyone's heart and mind,people could dress up and parade the moon lit streets for candy,or they could celebrate the lives and memories of their family members who had passed,but unfortunately this day would also be a grim and heartbreaking reminder for Charlie Brown,a reminder of the day he lost the closest freind he could ever have,Snoopy.
For the past year since that cold autumn morning he found Snoopy cold as ice on top of his doghouse,he had become an emotional wreck,often staying in his room for long periods of time and he wouldn't come out unless it was for school,and some days he would just sit alone by the old red dog house that stood in the backyard and not saying a word to his family afterwards. Looking back at it,the signs were obvious that the dog was on his last legs,his white and black fur coat had lost some of its color and merged together to form a grayish color,he walked a lot slower,didn't eat nearly as much as he usually would,slept much longer,and he even went back to walking on four legs the majority of the time.
If there was one good thing that could be mustered up from the situation,it was that his death was as peaceful and painless as it could be,he just lay there dreaming about swimming in an ocean of bones and being loved by his owner and friends until he saw that heavenly light engulf him and his surroundings. The funeral was conducted a few days later,and Charlie Brown and his friends buried him under the kite eating tree,and for the past year Charlie Brown tried to move on but in the end he couldn't stop thinking about his dog.
It was another typical Halloween in Birchwood,and Charlie Brown,Linus,Lucy,Scheroder,Sally,and Pig-Pen were standing outside at the bus stop,they were all talking about what they planned on doing for Halloween,while Charlie Brown kept silent and leaned on the stop sign. Linus took notice of Charlie Brown's depression and slowly walked up to the boy as he timidly asked "Hey Charlie Brown."
"Hey Linus." Charlie Brown greeted his friend back with a slightly rough and scratchy voice to which Linus gave a deep sigh and asked more positively "So…...what do you plan on doing for Halloween. I'm sure Violet will finally invite you to one of her parties,maybe you could come with us tonight."
"I don't know Linus,I…...I think I may just sit Halloween out this year." Charlie Brown politely declined Linus's offer before the bus arrived and they got on. When Charlie Brown and Linus sat at the back seat of the bus,Linus noticed very smell tears rolling down Charlie Brown's face,and he decided to comfort him with a pat on the back as he somberly remarked "I miss Snoopy too Charlie Brown. He was a great dog."
"I just miss him so much Linus,I just wish I could see him one last time and give him a proper goodbye,even if it was just for a few seconds." Charlie Brown replied in a much quieter and saddened voice as Linus soon got an idea and suggested "You know I….I hear that tonight is the first day of the Day Of The Dead."
"What's that Linus?" Charlie Brown asked in a more curious voice as he wiped some of the tears off his cheek,and Linus informed him "The Day Of The Dead is a Mexican tradition where people will put out food,a photo,some of their favorite belongings and orange leaves to celebrate the lives of their family who have passed."
"What good is that gonna do for me Linus? You know I'm not Mexican." Charlie Brown retorted slightly more cynically to which Linus continued "True,but I think it wouldn't hurt to give it a try tonight,and maybe afterwards you could go trick or treating with us."
Charlie Brown sat there on the rubber bus seat and thought about it for a few moments until he spoke up "I…..I'll think about it Linus. Thanks for telling me about that."
"No problem Charlie Brown,I hear this holiday has really helped some people who were mourning,plus I think Snoopy would want his owner to have a little bit of fun,even on the anniversary of his passing." Linus replied before the bus reached the school that was decorated with countless Halloween decorations,the kids all piled out of the bus and headed to their classes with none of them being late.
The evening shortly came after school and Charlie Brown was still sitting in his room all alone as he fiddled with the small,red rubber collar that belonged to his dog while he heard the sounds of kids already trick or treating outside,it was the only belonging of Snoopy's that he didn't put in the attic to collect dust and rot away.
A couple of tears started to build up in Charlie Brown's eyes as he couldn't help but remember the times where Snoopy would dress up as the World War 1 Flying Ace for each and every Halloween,and the times he would beg for his supper around this exact time,but his silent crying would be interrupted when Sally creaked his door open with a white bed sheet in hand as she asked "Big brother,would you mind helping me with my costume? My sweet baboo is not doing that stupid Great Pumpkin thing and is gonna take me to Violet's party tonight,and she even invited you although not face to face."
"Oh,sure thing Sally." Charlie Brown snapped out of his depression and agreed to help Sally as he headed down the stairs,and he would be greeted by a barrage of arts and crafts tools. To make a long story short,it took only around 20 minutes for Charlie Brown and Sally to make her ghost outfit with a green monster mask glued onto it,it wasn't the best costume in the world,but Sally was okay with it because even she knew not to push her brother on a day like this after what happened.
It was nearing time for Linus to pick Sally up and Charlie Brown was about to head back upstairs,but he stopped at the base of the stiars when he saw Snoopy's doghouse still sitting outside in his peripheral vision. Suddenly the words of Linus from earlier that day started to ring in his head over and over again,it got to the point where it was all he could think about and he ultimately decided to take his advice as he asked himself "Why am I doing this?"
He headed upstairs to the attic and saw a brown cardboard box at the back of the room that had the words "Snoopy" written on the side of it in black marker. Charlie Brown reluctantly opened the box with a deep sigh and would be greeted by almost all of Snoopy's belongings such as his typewriter,his outfits for his alter egos and sitting at the top,his purple dog dish that he treated like a sacred treasure.
Tears started to well up in his eyes again but he quickly brushed them off as he quickly yanked the bowl out of the box and ran out of the attic,almost as so he wouldn't have to look at his dog's belongings for much longer. He headed back downstairs to the kitchen and opened the cabinet to be greeted by one can of dog food at the very back of it covered in dust,it was intended to be Snoopy's breakfast for that day,but since he died Charlie Brown felt no need to open it,yet he had no reason to throw it away so it just sat there unopened for a whole year.
Charlie Brown opened the can with the same old can opener and would be greeted by the same old rancid smell that only a dog would find appetizing and headed outside with it,but not before he grabbed a small picture of Snoopy smiling off the wall. As he headed outside,he almost expected to see his dog laying on his doghouse and waiting to be fed,but alas there was still nothing but an empty bit of space covered by the orange autumn leaves. Charlie Brown slowly sat the supper dish and picture at the base of the doghouse,and the smiling face of Snoopy in that photo seemed to follow Charlie Brown wherever he went,so he decided to sit on the stairs leading into his house and stare at the doghouse for a while.
As he continued to stare at the constant reminder that his best friend was gone forever,he started to hang his head lower and lower to the point where he was nearly burying his face in his lap,he soon couldn't take it anymore and stood up as he was about to head back inside. But just as he touched the cooper doorknob that was part of the patio door,the strangest thing seemed to happen,he felt a sudden warm glow and light from a few feet behind him,as well as the crunching of grass and leaves. It couldn't be Linus or Sally since it wasn't time for them to leave for the party yet,there was a small part of Charlie Brown that didn't want to look behind him to see what was in his backyard,but he did turn around anyway almost as if something pushed him to,and what he would see would shock him to the very core.
Standing in front of the doghouse and back at Charlie Brown was a black and white beagle with black ears,a red collar,and a very faint yellow glow around him. The beagle didn't say a word or do anything really,he merely stood still and smiled a friendly and loving smile at the boy that was mere feet away from him. Charlie Brown was mortified yet confused at the same time,there was no way this could be real,his dog that has been dead for a year was standing in front of him younger and happy as he could be. It had to have been a dream or a hallucination made out of desperation.
Charlie Brown felt the need to shout something like "What!" or "No Way!",but all he could do was muster out a quiet yet still audible question "Snoopy?" to which the dog nodded his head.
Charlie Brown soon started to smile widely as he mouth started to quiver and tears of joy and happiness started to build up in his eyes,this was actually real,he started to slowly walk towards his dog but that walk slowly turned into a full on sprint and when he finally reached his dog,they wasted no time and they both immediately grabbed each other tightly for a very long and heartfelt hug.
They both smiled as widely as they could,and they were both crying tears of joy as all Charlie Brown could whimper was "Snoopy." over and over again,Snoopy soon let go of his owner and licked him all over his body in one fell swoop before he pounced on Charlie Brown and started to lick him over and over again for what felt like an eternity. Charlie Brown started to laugh and cry at the same time as he strangled his dog in another hug,and it felt like an eternity before he could finally let go and get up from the ground and dirt.
Snoopy proceeded to eat his dog food that was offered and take a quick look at the state of his doghouse as Charlie Brown watched in sheer joy,but alas this reunion wasn't meant to last forever as another faint glow started to envelope Snoopy. Charlie Brown instantly know what this meant and he and Snoopy slowly gave each other one last hug before Charlie Brown whispered into his dog's ear "Goodbye Snoopy."
Snoopy soon faded away into thin air in Charlie Brown's arms as the feeling of warm fur faded away as well,Charlie Brown looked up into the night sky as the full moon and stars hung over him and he started to happily cry with a smile.
"Big brother,Linus is here,see you later!" Sally suddenly called out to her brother from the inside of the house,but something unexpected happened as Charlie Brown ran inside the house and called "Wait! I….I think I'll come with you."
Linus,who was waiting at the front door and wearing a mummy outfit,started to smile from underneath his costume and remark "That's the spirit Charlie Brown. Hurry up,get your costume on!"
Charlie Brown soon came down the stairs with the helmet of the World War 1 Flying Ace,and Linus instantly asked bewildered "What happened today Charlie Brown? I haven't seen you touch that stuff in ages." before he noticed the super dish,photo of Snoopy,and orange leaves by his doghouse and suddenly kept quiet,he already had all the answers he needed.
After this fateful night,Charlie Brown started to become much more social,he started to talk about Snoopy much more often and the idea of bringing him up wasn't seen as taboo anymore,he brought Snoopy's belongings out of the attic and set them around his doghouse like a museum,and he started to feel legitimately happy again after so long. All it took was a once in a lifetime visit from his dog,and when Charlie Brown's day would inevitably come,the second reunion would be even better.