Chapter 7


"BELOVED!!!!!"


I didn't know what happened next. I kept my eyes shut tightly, waiting for the sudden impact, the sudden pain of teeth and claws…

But nothing happened.

I opened my eyes slowly when I heard whimpers and growls. What I saw astonished me, beyond comprehension.

The dog was lying on the ground, face first, and twitching. It looked up at me and growled, menacingly. Its eyes turned from golden-amber to red, then back again. Around its neck was a darkish-purple glow…

I got up shakily, but the dog stood up too, following my every movement. The darkish-purple glow was now gone.

'Imbecile...wretched wench...' I could hear it curse. But how could it be possible? Was I just imagining things again? But of course, that was completely idiotic. I knew I was hearing something!

Out of nowhere the dog charged at me again. At the last second, I jumped out of the way. When I tried to regain my footing, the dog was already hot on my trail. I tripped over the God Tree's root and I knew it was the end when I hit the dirt.

A million things went through my mind at that moment as I was lying there on the ground. The dog, my mother, the sketches I did, my brother, the eyes of the dog, my grandfather, the color, my life, the necklace….

The word, beloved...

My world went dark for a few seconds, as if time itself stopped. When the dog first came at me when I was sitting underneath the God Tree, I screamed something...I screamed a word, and the animal stopped...and fell to the ground…

The word, beloved...

Everything changed, and I saw a meadow. I was walking towards something, and I was filled with regret and bitter sadness. I held something within each hand, and I cried pitifully.

I prayed to the pinkish jewel, and chanted to the darkish-purple beads. The word 'beloved' ran through my mind a million times…

"Please let this subduing word, this enchantment on these prayer beads, show him that I truly do love him….and that I am not betraying him….my beloved…."

I was brought back to reality as the dog's snarls filled my head. It jumped at me, and it seemed that everything was in slow motion. I saw the dog come, and I knew fear washed off of me like a radiator, but I willed my voice to scream and to shout out….

"BELOVED!!"

Instantly, dog met dirt. The dark purple beads glowed tremendously. When the word wore off, the beads stopped glowing…and the dog would get up again, snarling more furiously then before.

"Beloved!" I said, but a little less loudly.

My assumptions were correct. When I would say the word, 'beloved,' the beads glow, the dog gets slammed in to the ground, and when the word wears off, the beads stop glowing…and the dog, yet again, growls furiously…but doesn't get up this time.

'Damn her to hell….she remembers….' the dog snarled in to the dirt. It looked up at me and shook its head back and forth, angrily. It got up and immediately crouched down again, about to strike…

"Beloved."

And down the dog went, once again. I couldn't help but to laugh. It was so funny!

"Beloved! Beloved! Beloved!"

Wham! Wham! Wham!

I laughed more loudly and I rolled on to the ground with tears in my eyes. I clutched at my abdomen, trying to ease the pain that formed there from my laughing.

'You think this is so funny, little girl?' It growled. I looked at the dog on my side, still giggling.

"Wow, so you can really speak to me, or at least telepathically…" I said, in between giggles. "It would have been really weird looking if you could move your mouth and speak."

'Laugh all you want, wench. You can keep saying that wretched word for all eternity if you must. But all I have to do is get close enough, and once I get that close, it's all over.'

I rolled my eyes at the dog and murmured the 'word' under my breath. The dog let out a howl as it fell to the ground all over again. I got up from the ground and started to walk away since I was getting bored, until suddenly, I felt a painful stab in my ribs. I crouched over in pain, finally remembering that some of my ribs were cracked…

And it was that entire dumb dogs fault!

I turned around to face the animal and 'beloved' it to a pulp, but I sighed when I saw it still lying there, gasping for breath. I couldn't entirely blame my foolishness on the beast, and I cursed myself for having a heart and a weak spot for animals (except for my uncaring, extremely overweight feline).

And the dog did save my life, didn't it? Even though it probably would have eaten me later…but if it wasn't for the animal, worse things probably would have happened to me.

"Thank you," I murmured to it. It looked up at me, surprised. Its eyes narrowed at me in disgust and it growled some more.

'Why do you thank me, wench?' It asked, stupefied. Though the dog was growling, its voice seemed gentler then before, and less menacing.

I walked closer to the dog but I still kept my distance. I sat three feet away from it, wanting to get even closer, but knowing even this distance wasn't safe enough. I smiled gently at it. Why did I suddenly feel…warmth and affection…for this animal?

"You saved my life," I whispered. The dog seemed so oddly familiar to me, and I just wanted to embrace it…to keep it safe…and to apologize to it; to beg for forgiveness for no apparent reason!

It grunted and tried to get up, but it was of no use. I looked on in confusion. Was it a trap for me to get closer to it, to see if it was ok?

'I would have killed you. I would have killed you now, if you haven't remembered that god-forsaken word!' The dog tried to get up again and when it growled at me when it was barely standing, I 'beloved' it to the ground once more. Sure, I do have a heart and a weak spot for animals, but I have to be assertive and be the alpha…the dominant…or whatever the "Dog Whisper" says in his episodes…

"I have questions for you, pup, and I want answers," I stated, being assertive. The dog narrowed its eyes at me, confusingly, but growled at the word, 'pup'.

"First off," I started, "why can I hear you? Am I reading your mind?"

The dog grunted and looked away. 'I don't need to give you any answers!'

"Beloved." I said silently. The dog, it seemed, was lifted off of the ground just a little bit, and was slammed back in to the ground. Talk about defying gravity and physics!

'Will you stop that!?' It howled.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "No, unless I get some answers."

The dog growled menacingly once more. I opened my mouth to say the 'word' again, but I guess it took the hint and quickly said, 'No.'

"Hm?" I questioned. "No, what?"

The dog rolled its eyes. 'No, you can't read my mind. If you could, you wouldn't be asking me these questions right now. But, the fact that you can hear me, I have no idea, since no one else can.'

"Ah…" I mentally smacked myself for being so stupid. "Well, you can't read my mind, right?"

The dog growled. It was losing its patience. 'You are an idiot!'

I said the 'word' in defiance, and down went the dog again. "I was just making sure, alright? You don't have to be such an ass—err, jerk!"

The dog whimpered and moaned. It didn't yell at me again or lift its head up. It just lay there, silent. I panicked when I though I possibly killed it, but I sighed in relief as I saw it was still breathing.

I let out a gasp in horror as I saw the blood on the coat of the animal. The crimson splashes looked fresh…and when I saw the deep gashes in the dogs back and sides, I sighed in relief that the dog didn't claim more people's (or animal's) lives.

But the dog was hurt! I once again cursed myself for my compassion for all living things. I was about to reach over and touch it, but then I stopped myself. What if it was another trap?

"Are you ok, dog?" I asked, tentatively. It didn't move or speak, or even whimper. I grabbed a stick and started to poke it. Blood was coming from out of the dog's mouth and it was panting to the extreme. I knew it wasn't trying to trick me, then. I knew it was truly hurt, and without me, it would die!

"Mom! Grandpa!" I screamed out in to the night. "I need your help! Please!"

Why was I crying? Why was I so scared that I might lose this dogs life? It couldn't possibly be my compassion for all living things…it was something more…

This feeling was greater than my passion for soccer, or my love for Tofu…this feeling was foreign to me, but familiar in the same way. I clutched on to the dog, trying to keep it breathing, telling it everything was going to be alright now: That I'll take care of it, always, and that I'll never leave it again.

'I promise to always stay by your side. I'll never leave you again...'

A dark whisper in the back of my mind...a deep voice, a beautiful voice. But, in that moment, I whispered it to the dog, as well...

And in my heart, I truly meant it.