A New Dog:
A week had passed by and Trixie had settled happily inside her childhood home, her parents' home. Sometimes it was difficult being somewhere filled with such distant memories, but Trixie managed to cope with it. During that week, she decided to add the final decoration of her home. Some photographs. Ones of herself with her parents. And also a few of some of their close friends, who were like a family to her too.
She remembered one of her father's closest friends: Captain Archibald Haddock. He was a fine sea captain. Like Tintin, he was married and had a child. His wife was an explorer he met on one of his travels named Anna. They had a son named Thatcher. He was Trixie's childhood friend. Unfortunately, this well-established family met a tragic fate.
One summer, when the Captain, his wife and son needed to their estate on the outskirts of Brussels as they were being pursued by a cold-hearted relative of Anna's, Tintin requested his closest friend to take care of his daughter and keep her hidden too whilst he and Lexie went away to solve another crisis at another part of the world. The Captain instantly agreed, coming to care deeply for Trixie like a niece.
Dreadfully, whoever was looking for them, had managed to find them thanks to the help of an acquittance of the Haddocks. Tragically, Haddock and his wife were shot and killed, refusing to tell their shooter where their son and his best friend was. Trixie could only watch in horror as that happened. After that, their hideaway house exploded, killing Thatcher too.
Trixie managed to survive the explosion though. But losing Thatcher broke her heart. Her uncle and aunt managed to find her and bring her back home. Since losing her best friend, Trixie found it difficult growing up and making more friends. She did not want to go through any more pain of losing people she loved.
It was the last day before she would start her writing career. Trixie was walking along the street in the rain with an umbrella. She loved to walk around whenever she was feeling uncomfortable. Suddenly she heard a wailing woof from an alleyway on her right. She turned her head and looked forward. There was nothing but boxes and binbags laid out along. There was no sign of life. The noise came again. This time clearer and more interpretable to work out. It was the woof of a dog. She stepped forward a bit. She saw bin bags ruffling and stopped. Then – out popped a head. It was a fluffy and dirty mess, and the head had a shiny black nose. It must have been a white terrier. See that type of dog made Trixie remember
"Hello there," she greeted.
The dog growled at her.
"It's alright," she soothed. "It's alright. I'm not here to hurt you,"
The dog calmed down but was still sceptical. It stepped out of its hiding place and came towards her.
Trixie reached forward a hand. The dog sniffed it a bit. It accepted her offer and rubbed its fluffy head against it.
Trixie laughed a bit. Dogs were such loveable creatures.
"You see boy I won't hurt you,"
The dog gave out a disappointed bark.
"Are you a girl?"
The dog woofed with a smile.
Trixie smiled back. Her smile dropped when she noticed that the dog had no collar. And she was quite dirty.
"Where do you live girl? Do you have a home?"
The dog shook her head.
"Oh, you poor thing," she said. "You must be so cold. Why don't I don't you home and clean you up?"
The dog lifted up her head and hung her tongue out.
"Let me carry you," Trixie opened out her free arm slowly and the dog accepted her offer. She jumped into her arm and she lifted her and draped her scarf over her cold fur. "And you must be hungry too,"
The puppy crooned unhappily as her belly rumbled. Trixie carried the poor pup down to Labrador Road and to her apartment. "You can go in the bathtub," she pulled off her coat and tucked her umbrella away. She brought the dog to the bathroom and draw a bath. She carefully lifted the dog into the water and then filled it up with soap. She scrubbed the dog until she was shiny and clean and no longer dirty. Once she was washed, Trixie lifted her out of the bathtub and dried her up with a thick towel and then brushed her.
The little white terrier was cleaner and warmer than she had ever felt in days. Trixie then gave her some meat and some water. Once she gulped down the food and slurped down the water, she was full and better than ever.
"Feel better girl?" Trixie asked. The dog looked at her with a loving thankful gaze. She was grateful to this human for saving her from the cold and taking good care of her.
"Did you lose your parents?" a sympathetic Trixie asked.
The dog's head hung down and she woofed sadly.
"I know how you feel. I lost my parents at such a young age too," Trixie sympathised. An idea suddenly popped into her head. "Why don't you stay here with me? Then we'll never have to lonely again. We'll keep each other company and take care of one another. Do you like that?"
The dog yipped around for joy in circles and licked her face.
"I'm goanna call you, Sparkles. Because you sparkle like stars and snow,"
Sparkles immediately loved her new name and jumped for joy in her owner's arms and lucked her affectionately again with Trixie laughing happily.
Ding dong
The bell dinged. Sparkles jumped off Trixie and hid under a sofa. She was quite scared.
"It's okay girl," she said. "It's just my uncle and cousin coming over. They'll love you. It'll be alright," she promised. She walked over to her front door and opened it.
"This is my new dog Sparkles," she introduced.
"New dog?" Hank asked. "Where did you get the money to buy her?"
"I didn't buy her. I found her in the streets, all alone. She was dirty and quite hungry,"
"Well she looks very cute. She looks just like Snowy too," Carina tried to bend down and stroked her, but Sparkles retreated behind Trixie's legs, shuddering on her little legs.
"It's okay girl. Carina won't hurt you. She loves dogs," Trixie promised. "It's alright,"
Carina approached her more slowly and less inauspiciously.
Sparkles sniffed Carina's hands and sensed nothing but love in them. She accepted her touch and allowed her to stroke her. She loved her touch.
"Are you sure she doesn't belong to anyone?" Hank asked.
"I'm perfectly sure. She didn't have a collar or a tag when I found her," she said. "She's goanna stay here with me. Besides, I rather like having her as my dog," she kneeled down and stroked his dog.
"Well, it's lovely to see you've found a pet to have," Hank smiled.
Sparkles woofed
"What's wrong girl?" Hank asked.
"I don't think she likes to be called pet," Trixie said. "I think she prefers companion,"
"Well, let me correct that. You're a great companion for Trixie to have," Hank stroked Sparkles and she approved.
Trixie made tea for Hank and Carina and they sat down on the sofas. Carina gave biscuits to Sparkles and she enjoyed them. Hank observed the last decoration that Trixie had added to the living room.
"I see you've put up some photos," he said.
"I felt it was worth it," Trixie said, looking at all of them. "As much as I hate those sad losses, you've gotta move on and keep pictures of them so that they're still with you,"
"I remembered the Captain's most common words: 'Blistering Barnacles' and 'Thundering Typhoons'!" Carina remembered, imitating the boisterous Haddock's outbreaking words.
"I used to laugh all the time to that," Trixie giggled. Her giggling stopped and she turned sad a little. It hurt thinking about the Captain, and his son, who she cared for a great deal.
Carina asked, wanting to change the subject and cheer her up. "Are you excited about tomorrow?"
"I wouldn't say excited," Trixie answered. "More like – prepared. And it wouldn't hurt to have Sparkles around for company. I remember when dad, before he met my mother and worked at the headquarters, he'd have Snowy in his office. I'd like to do the same thing with Sparkles,"
"Well, I hope she takes good care of you," Hank said. "Just as I know you will take care of her,"
The night passed by, the uncle and cousin went home, and Trixie got ready for bed. She pulled on one of her mother's previous nightgowns and prepared a little bed for Sparkles, planning to get her a basket the next day, alongside a new collar. Instead she found Sparkles lying on the bed near the pillow. "Okay," she said. "I'll let you sleep on the bed,"
She pulled up the cover and lay down on mattress. She smiled at her new dog sleeping near her head.
"Let me tell you something girl. You're the same breed of a dog that my family loved. He was just like you. Sweet and gentle, and quite a lover of biscuits,"
She thought of her father's old dog Snowy. He loved to lick her all the time and play with her when she was a kid. It was a pity he had died sometime before his master had.
The two girls drifted off to bed, once Sparkles cuddled up comfortably next to Trixie's head. What a big day they had tomorrow.
Wow. So Trixie found a terrier like her father's dog Snowy and named her Sparkles. Hope you enjoy it. I only own OCs not any Adventure of Tintin characters. Just want to let you know the back stories will involved Adventure of Tintin characters but their roles will be quite different from the books.