A Dog's Gift

AN: the characters do not belong to me. This was not an easy story for me to write because my precious cat passed away a few days ago. But because of her, this was, to me, a story that begged to be written. I dedicate the story to June and all the animals who daily give us the gift of remembering what is important in life. xx

Isis lay on the floor by the window in the library, her head resting on the soft rug beneath her weary body. Her master knew that something was wrong, though Isis sensed that he had not discovered what it was yet. Some of the small ones had wondered if she was going to have a litter of puppies, but if Isis could have spoken the tongue of humans, she would have told them that she was far past the age for puppies, even if she had the energy. Instead, she just continued to lie there, her dreams sparkling with all of the good memories she had with her master and mistress. In these scenes from her dreams, she was young again, running through the fields on the estate, accompanying her master when he went hunting and galloping around all of the strange but kindly men that had populated her house when she was younger.

It was her mistress, with her woman's intuition, Isis deduced, who guessed that she was ill.

"Please, Robert, take her to the veterinarian," Isis' mistress asked her master.

The master called Robert had let the small ones convince him that perhaps Isis was going to have a litter of puppies, mostly because he didn't want to face the truth about his beloved companion. He also knew next to nothing about the female reproductive system, both that of dogs and people. He had no idea of puppies were a possibility or not. No, Master Robert did not know what was happening to her. After all of the times that Isis had wished for the ability to speak in the tongue of humans, this was one time that she was glad for the communication barrier. She could see in Master Robert's hurting blue eyes that the real news would be more than he could take.

"Very well, Cora, I shall take her tomorrow," Master Robert answered. "I'm sure there's nothing wrong with her, there can't be."

Isis heard the catch in his usually steady, melodic voice and knew that somewhere within his human brain, even if he would not admit it to Mistress Cora, he was afraid.

It hadn't been long since Isis had been quite afraid, too. The usually harmonious marriage between master and mistress had deteriorated when a tall, gray haired man came to the house and asked to look at the art but spent more time looking at Mistress Cora instead. As soon as he had arrived, the master and mistress had spoken to each other in harsh tones that made Isis want to hide in a corner. All of her life, they had been loving to one another, speaking kindly with few exceptions.

When there was going to be a joining of male and female human right after the time the men had been in the house, and Mistress Cora had spent days lying in her bed feeling miserable and hovering as close to the land of dreams as Isis was now, Master Robert had been sniffing at another female. Isis had to restrain herself to keep from biting her master. But thankfully he came to his senses and returned to his rightful female who got well and pulled away from the land of dreams. They started to speak with love once more, and it had not stopped until the art man arrived.

Isis had not understood why Master Robert had said the art man was flirting with her, after all, he wasn't a dog, at least not that she knew. No, the art man spent more time with Mistress Cora than Master Robert had and that was why their voices had changed. Isis did her best to comfort her master with a warm snuggle and a friendly lick across the face, but nothing improved his mood. Her tail hung low because she knew that she would be leaving permanently for the land of dreams before long and she wanted her family to be happy.

Shortly afterward, Isis had heard a commotion in the bedroom where her master and mistress slept. If she hadn't been so tired, she would have run down to the kitchen to seek solace in the place where all the nice females made the good food that she used to run after in her youth. But she lay on the rug in the library instead, waiting for things to get better. They did improve slightly by the time both her master and mistress were crouched down over her, Mistress Cora's soft hands gently petting her fur as she expressed concern for the beloved dog in quiet, calm tones. If Isis had been able to lift her head, she would have licked Mistress Cora's hand.

The dreaded next morning arrived and her master had red rimmed eyes as he picked her up, wrapped her in a blanket and took her to the veterinarian. Isis wasn't particularly scared of the veterinarian, as any discomfort was short lived and she was told how beautiful she was and given a treat.

But this day was different. Nothing the doctor did hurt Isis, just some careful prodding and examination. The difference was in their voices as Master Robert and the doctor talked with sadness and even the hint of a tear from each man. At one point, the doctor asked Master Robert something to which he shook his head.

"I'm taking her home," he said. "Thank you." Not long after that, Master Robert scooped her up in his arms and took her back to the house. It was odd. The men were not angry with one another but they hadn't made happy sounds. Her eyes felt droopy as he carried her into the library, where Mistress Cora was waiting.

"How did it go at the veterinarian?" She asked softly.

Master Robert appeared to be unable to find his words. Isis wanted to lick his face to reassure him that it would be all right, but her eyes and body were so very heavy.

"Isis has cancer," he choked out. Was that why she felt so tired? Was it what was drawing her so near to the land of dreams? "They wanted to put her down right there, but I couldn't let them. I want her to be at home, with the people she loves."

Mistress Cora started to cry. "I'm so sorry, Robert."

Isis sighed. She felt a little better, not in body but in heart as she heard her master and mistress talking kindly to one another. She didn't want to go to the land of dreams, no matter how peaceful it looked when she dreamed about it, without knowing her master and mistress were happy.

Isis spent the day in her master's arms, feeling the heaving of his chest as he fought to keep tears at bay. She didn't want him to be so sad, didn't he know that she would always watch over him with the same love she always had from the land of dreams? Didn't he know that she had to leave sometime, even though it was sooner than she would like? With a Herculean effort, Isis lifted her head and passed her tongue over his face, tasting the salt of the rivers pouring from his eyes now that they were alone together.

"I love you, girl," he whispered and began to sob uncontrollably.

After the kind man who helped her master prepare for the night had left, he spread her favorite blanket on the bed. He placed Isis on the blanket and wrapped her up as to be warm enough for the long night that was to come. Then he stood as of suddenly remembering something, picked her up and walked to the big bedroom.

"Cora? I just want to tell you that I'm going to sleep in my dressing room tonight only because I don't want to leave Isis. I'd love to spend the night with you, but she doesn't have much time left."

Mistress Cora smiled sadly. "Bring her in here."

Isis soon found herself warm, snuggled between her master and mistress, who talked as kindly as ever as they stroked her fur and told her what a wonderful dog she had always been. The hands that were not buried in her fur were holding one another, love and impending grief mixing into one bittersweet emotion. Isis felt her heart swell with joy as she watched them share a chaste albeit tender kiss before returning their attention to her. She was nearly finished; her work was nearly done. Her master and mistress would love each other forever, it was the gift she had given them.

"She is perfect and she will always be perfect." Master Robert looked down at Isis.

"Yes," Mistress Cora agreed. "Such a lovely dog."

As they spoke with love passing in the sounds between them, Isis felt her heavy body grow lighter, lighter and lighter. The memories that were really dreams flashed faster before her eyes. She found that she was no longer just watching things from her past, but was now running on those fields and they were every bit as lush and green as she had hoped they could be. There were other dogs and people everywhere. Isis recognized their scents and lifted her head with ease to bark, sniff and frolic with joy. A group of beagles who used to hunt on the estate before they had arrived in the land of dreams ran by her.

A little further on, there were the men! They all had two legs, no longer needing pant legs to be rolled up on one side because of a missing limb. They didn't wear bandages over their eyes. They each had two arms and two legs and could see, hear and talk perfectly. Isis felt a little shy at first, unsure if they'd remember her from that other place where bad things happened and it was possible to feel sad. Yet her fears were allayed by a number of the men scratching her head and petting her fur. They remembered the dog that had brought them joy in the midst of suffering.

Isis ran a little farther to the place where three familiar people stood chatting as if they hadn't a care in the world. A young man who had taken his last breath while lying in one of the big manor beds for the first time in his life was standing beside another man, the one who was to be earl after her Master Robert, both happy and whole again. And then there was the girl for whom both Master Robert and Mistress Cora had wept for every night, still doing so often when they were alone with only the dog for company.

"Hello, Isis!" Sybil knelt down to embrace the happy dog. "I know you'll remember me."

Isis responded by jumping on Sybil so enthusiastically that she nearly knocked the girl down.

Sybil laughed while she began to play with the dog.

"I'll see you later, William and Mathew," she called to the human men, "Isis is here and I want to show her around."

"Good dog," Sybil said. "You brought my parents close again. Mama and Papa will have one another for the rest of their very long lives. We'll see them again one day, you know. In the meanwhile, let's have fun here!"

And so Sybil and Isis went off together in search of adventure that would never end.

"Do you ever feel like she's here with us?" Cora asked Robert. "Sybil, I mean. I can still feel her presence."

"All the time, my love." Robert straightened his tie before they went down to Christmas dinner. "Often I feel as though Isis were with her. Isn't it the strangest thing?"

"Not really," Cora answered. "They both loved you so. Nothing can take that away."

"As is my love for you," Robert murmured as he kissed Cora deeply. "Now, we should not be late. We don't want to cause a scandal." He offered Cora his arm, which she took as they proceeded down the hall, her musical laughter echoing behind them, so joyful that it could be heard by a girl and dog in the land of dreams.

The End