Pride Comes Before The Fall
Epilogue
Life. What is it? Very few people know just how precious it is. You go to sleep every night, with a plan on the next days' events. You expect life to go on as it always does. But, for the wolfdog Balto, that was not the case.
Many years ago, Balto discovered just how precious life was. He risked his own life to save the ones he loved, and he paid the ultimate price for it. But, his sacrifice did not go unnoticed, and therefore he was allowed to survive. He discovered that in a blink of an eye, life can change, for better or for worse. Fortunately for him, it changed in his favor.
Balto snapped out of his thoughts to find the bright sunlight forcing him to squint his eyes. A cool breeze from the nearby ocean provided some protection against the onset of the summer heat, and the soft, gentle clap of the waves at his paws made it feel even cooler out. Balto rose and walked to the side of his trawler. The shade provided by it was very alluring, and as soon as the radiant heat from the sun was vanquished by it, he sighed in relief. The playful yelp of pups grabbed his attention, and he turned to look back out to the beach. Kodi, his eldest son, was jogging along with his pups in tow. At the tail end of the line was Kodi's wife, Dusty, ensuring that there were no stragglers. Balto smiled at the sight. He ever imagined that he would be a father, much less a grandfather. He never thought that a wolfdog could find love. He was right, of course. He didn't find love.
Love found him. In the form of a very beautiful husky named Jenna.
Speaking of Jenna, Balto glanced around to try to find her, but he could not. On a small sandbar, a good three hundred or so feet away, was Kaltag, one of Balto's closest friends, and godfather to his children. Kaltag was playing with his own grandpups in the shallow water, gently splashing around with them. It reminded Balto of when he did the same thing with his pups when they were young, and subsequently his grandpups too. Balto was so focused on the lovable sight that he was taken by surprise when one of his own grandpups collided into his feet.
"Woah there, kiddo! Where are you going in such a hurry?" Balto asked. The pup planted himself at Balto's feet and wagged his furry tail, clearly excited. "Grandpa Balto, I came to ask you to come run with me on the beach! Would you? Would you?" he exclaimed. Balto couldn't say no to him. He was just too darn cute. Before Balto could reply, the stern voice of Kodi came from a few feet away. "Flint, why aren't you out running with the rest of your brothers and sisters?" he asked. The pup turned to face his father and replied, "I wanted grandpa Balto to come run with me..." The sudden change of demeanor from happy to sad made Balto feel terrible. Kodi walked up and nuzzled his son, sarcastically saying, "Your grandpa is old and can't run like he used to. He won't be able to keep up with your quick paws!" Flint smiled again, and started chasing his tail. "Oh, come on Kodi. I'm not that old. I can keep up with him plenty!" Balto said matter-of-factly. Kodi laughed, but he quickly took on a serious look again. "Dad, are you sure you can run with him? You've never been the same since all those years ago when you got hurt... I don't want you to get hurt again." Balto chuckled, and strode up to his son. "Kodi, I appreciate the fact that you care about my well being. I can't run like I used to, but I can hold a stride with my grandson with no problems. Besides, it's not every day that I can do that. Pretty soon, Flint will get so fast, that he will have to slow down for me." Kodi nodded, and he and Balto turned to Flint. "Ok, pup. You still up for a quick run?" Balto asked. The yips of happiness that he got in response was all the answer he needed, and the two took off down the beach. Kodi smiled at the sight of his father and son running together. It reminded him of when he and his father first went running down the beach. It was winter time, and freezing cold, but Kodi still enjoyed the moment.
As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun. The day progressed into afternoon, and Balto and Flint returned back from their run along the beach. Flint ran off to join his parents and siblings who were playing in the water. Balto went back to the shade, and dropped to a prone position. He sighed, and shut his eyes. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I haven't seen you run like that in a while, Balto." Balto turned and saw Kaltag approaching. A few seconds later, Kaltag was prone beside Balto, and the two conversed together. "Yeah, well, I couldn't resist giving my grandson a good time." Balto groaned, saying, "Even if I'm going to be sore for the next week." Kaltag laughed. "I'd take pain like that if it meant I get to put a smile on their face. You know what I mean?" Balto nodded. "Yep. It's one hundred percent worth it." Kaltag glanced off to make sure his grandpups weren't getting themselves into any trouble. He was delighted to see Boris entertaining them with his goose shenanigans. "When are your wife and kids getting back from their vacation?" Balto asked, seeing Kaltag's train of vision. Kaltag sighed. "Not for another couple weeks or so. The temperatures in Canada are still a bit warmer there than they are here, so they are going to wait it out a little longer. Plus, my humans have really nice family members, and they treat us animals really well. I'm sure my wife and kids are pampered right now!" The two dogs laughed, before a small whimper came from one of Kaltag's grandpups. Boris motioned for Kaltag to come over there. "Duty calls!" Kaltag said as he rose up. "I know the feeling!" Balto responded. Kaltag grinned at him and walked out towards his grandpup. Balto prepared to relax a bit more, but was interrupted by the very dog he wanted to see.
"Care to explain what Kaltag meant when he said 'I haven't seen you run like that in a while?'"
Jenna took Kaltag's spot at Balto's side and snuggled up against Balto, nuzzling him. He leaned into her. "Hi Jenna. What have you been up to all day?" Balto asked. Jenna shifted herself so she was on her side. "I was with Rosy and her parents. I really wanted to come here earlier, but I didn't want to leave them so soon." Balto turned to look at Jenna. "Don't feel bad. The pups have been playing in the shallow water all day. You really didn't miss much." Jenna gave Balto a knowing look. "Apparently I missed you.. what was it.. Running? My question from moments ago still stands!" Jenna said. Balto chuckled. "Yeah, I did go for a little run. Flint wanted me to run with him, so I did." Balto knew Jenna would protest, so he quickly continued. "But, don't worry! His little paws can't carry him that fast, so it was really more of a light jog for me." Balto met Jenna's eyes, and he instantly knew she felt bad about it. "Oh, come on, Jenna! Eventually, I'm not going to be able to do anything but walk with my grandpups. I wasn't going to let the moment slip away forever." Jenna simply sighed, before she smiled. "I guess you're right. But still... even after what happened to you all those years ago... You can still run. I'm surprised." Balto didn't want to think about that part of his past. "I took the doctor's advice and healed up before getting back into physical activity." Jenna didn't respond, and she shifted away from Balto. It didn't go unnoticed to him. The fact that Jenna had brought up the past was a surprise to him, and now she was acting weird all of a sudden. Something was wrong.
"You look troubled. What's up, Jenna?" Balto asked, feeling very concerned. Jenna simply turned away from him. Balto shifted closer to her, pressing her for more information. "Jenna, please tell me what's bothering you. I can't help if I don't know what the problem is." Jenna knew it was only a matter of time before she caved. Balto had a way of getting her to talk. Maybe it was the fact that he always knew how to make her feel better? Or maybe it was because he genuinely wanted to help her. But, this was something she wasn't sure Balto could help her with. Jenna finally broke, eager to get it out of her system. "This is going to sound crazy, and will probably be awkward, but... How can you live so freely and not let your past haunt you?" Balto could have laughed, or chuckled, or shunned her for prying into his personal emotions. But, this was a serious question. Jenna spoke before he could reply to her. "Over the past few years, I have had this rage building inside me for what happened to you. I have wanted to avenge you, to hunt down Steele... that monster... and kill him. He deserved to die that night." Balto was shocked. He couldn't believe that this was just now coming out. Jenna always wore her heart on her sleeve, and for her to hide something like this without him knowing was a big deal. But, Balto knew exactly what she was going through. He almost went through it himself, but he made a choice that night in the sawmill that saved him from enduring the very torture that his wife was now telling him about.
And, it just so happened that Balto knew the cure to it.
"Jenna, follow me," Balto said. Without question, Jenna followed him, and the two walked to the deck of the trawler, and stood facing the early stages of the setting sun. "What are we doing here, Balto?" Jenna asked, clearly confused. Balto started talking to Jenna. "I once wanted to kill Steele for what he did to me. I wanted to destroy him. I wanted him to be begging me to kill him when I was through with him." Jenna could not speak. This was the side of Balto she had never seen before, and secretly wanted to see. She wanted Balto to feel the same way she did about killing Steele. "But, on that night, I knew that I would be tortured for the rest of my life if I didn't set things straight with Steele." Jenna didn't understand this at all, so she asked him to elaborate. "I know the way you feel Jenna, and that's why I forgave Steele that night." Jenna gasped. "If I hadn't forgiven him for doing that to me, I would never be able to live with myself. I would always want to hunt him down and finish him off." Balto turned to Jenna, and noticed she was starting to cry. This was when he needed to sway her. "Jenna, you've let my past torture you for far too long. I promise you, that if you let all of this go and forgive Steele, everything will go away." Jenna pondered over this for a few seconds, and then suddenly snarled at Balto. "That's not easy for me to do, considering the fact that he used me and tried to force me into being his mate! Oh, and also how he lied to me about what happened to you, and took advantage of me?! I don't see how you can forgive someone for that!" Jenna's anger flash was gone almost as soon as it came up. Balto had to take a step back. He and Jenna had some arguments in the past, but she never lashed out at him over anything. Jenna noticed Balto's reaction, and she immediately broke down crying. Balto was at her side in an instant, speaking to her softly, calming her down. "He wanted to kill me, Jenna. That's not much worse than what you described. If I can forgive Steele for something like that, you can forgive him, too. I know you can." And, Balto turned and walked away. He felt bad for turning his back on Jenna, but the seed was planted, and now it needed time to grow. He felt confident that Jenna would eventually come around. And he was right. He barely made it halfway down the plank before he heard Jenna speak timidly from behind him.
"I can't do this alone. I need you, Balto."
And so, Balto immediately turned around and joined Jenna on the deck again. It took longer than anticipated, but Jenna confessed everything about her rage, her anger, and her hatred against Steele. And she released it, and then forgave him for what he did. Balto had never felt more proud than he did at that moment. He could not imagine how difficult it must have been to say 'I forgive you' to someone who had caused so much pain. But, Jenna did, and he could tell that something had shifted with her. She had perked up, and looked more alert, and more alive. Her eyes were practically shining like the afternoon sun, and she looked... free. Balto nuzzled Jenna. "I'll be back on the beach. Join me when you're ready." He then turned and walked down the plank. Balto walked back to where he was lying down, and he caught sight of something he could've sworn he had seen before. Kodi was running down the beach again. From a distance, Balto could've mistaken him for Jenna, but he knew it was his son. His pups were holding pace with him. Dusty was at the rear, her voice cheering the pups on with encouragement. Off to the left was Kaltag and his grandpups, who were busy making 'sand angels' with Boris. Every now and then, Boris would roar with laughter, and the pups would follow suit. Balto knew he had seen this scene somewhere, but he couldn't quite put a paw on it. He wanted this beautiful moment to last forever. Everything at that moment was perfect.
"This is the life," Jenna said.
Balto turned to see her standing next to him, looking out over the other dogs on the beach. She had a content smile on her face. Balto melted at the sight. "Now everything is perfect," he whispered to himself. He shut his eyes and smiled.
"I couldn't agree more!"
~The End~
