Home sweet home, I thought a little calmer as I caught a glimpse of our home in the distance.
I hate having panic attacks, but lately, it has become a very annoying thing that I have to worry about whenever too many eyes are pointed in my direction.
Believe it or not, when I was human, I collected a good number of enemies, from radical feminists who danced naked in the street, to overweight individuals who liked to victimize themselves on public television.
It's funny how all those very unfortunate feuds originated mainly when I tried to join their chaotic marches for, I don't know- freedom maybe- I never really knew exactly why they always took to the streets as a small armed group to destroy everything in their path .
... At first, I seriously thought that that was the only point of their protests, seeing how much destruction they left in their wake and the large amount of little clothing they used on some occasions.
That thought really did not last long for me, when I tried to join a feminist march in just underpants.
Apparently, I was a chaotic agent of the patriarchy, or something ..., that experience ended with me locking myself in a cage accompanied by a few more subjects who were really submissive, like, so submissive, that if I raised my voices too much, they would just end up snuggling in the corner, trembling and fearing that I would scream again and the terrifying feminists would scold us again for being horrible machistas and agents of the patriarchy.
I heard the word 'patriarchy' so many times while I was trapped in that very strange place, that I seriously began to think it was some kind of strange religion or something that I didn't even know I was a part of when I, aparently, chose to born as a man and not a woman.
I didn't even know that I could choose that. If I can ever choose how to be born again, I will quickly choose the option to be born a bloody Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.
The funny thing is that it was that the word 'patriarchy' was mostly spoken by really old and very bitter women who had their hair dyed in every color imaginable.
In the end, they let me go after anesthetizing me and leaving me inside a garbage can, I think they also did something to me down there because I was strangely having a lot of difficulty urinating down for a while.
In summary.
¡Witches exist! I am terrified of them, and they are currently in some strange kind of holy war against the patriarchy, which I suppose is a cosmic (or imaginary) being lacking a physical body, and who apparently can control the minds of all men in the world, and do them unconsciously open his legs to sit comfortably, and oppress women from the moment of their mere conception ...
At least that was all I tried to discover at the time, they yelled many ugly things at me for being a bad boy, they did not let me speak, and I did not make the least effort to pay them even a little of my attention, of which I am still very sure they feed and obtain their macabre powers.
Well, that was the past.
A very, very confused past that I should seriously stop thinking about ...
"¡There you are!"
I was suddenly shaken from my mental withdrawal and blinked after hearing Daddy Dog exclaim in extreme relief as he opened the door for my many brothers and sisters to pass through, all in a very neat doggy line.
"Inside, inside", he exclaimed in a hurry, it was evident in his very doggy and stained expression that dad wanted us all off the street as soon as possible.
"It's six minutes to the worst night of the year", Daddy dog informed us shakily and very terrified, "B- B -Boom Night!"
"..." Mommy Dog, unlike Daddy Dog, seemed much more in control of her spots and worries as she took care of fitting all of us earmuffs one by one.
I inform you that they were not much use, I noticed that very quickly. I could still hear all of my siblings perfectly through them, and watched them each take their respective places on the stairs and still beside them, all ready to say goodbye as a very canine and spotted group of the greatest givers of life in all Camden, our parents.
I took place at the foot of the stairs, while scratching a little with my right hind leg the point where my little blue ear muffs made contact with my ears.
¡They were very itchy!
"Why do these humans do this every year!?", Daddy dog cried, ducking his head in the direction of Mommy Dog.
Mommy dog quickly took it upon herself to reassure the big, very spotty soft marshmallow that was my current daddy dog, "Don't they know they're playing with fire?"
And here puppies and puppies, is the sturdiest dog in our home, who also happens to be our father, crying on the paws of our mother.
Hmm, my old human dad would never show this kind of weakness in front of me or my old mom.
"Single file. You know the drill." I heard Mommy dog calling for our more siblings who still did not have their earmuffs once she finished reassuring our very worried and spotted dog father.
At least mom dog knew how to stay calm and in control of her worries, that always helps me calm down a bit, that is, if mom dog is calm it must be because she has everything under control.
"¡Four minutes and thirty three seconds to lockdown!" Suddenly Dolan decided to inform us all. As if suddenly we were all unable to see the clock that was behind him.
"¡Group hug!" Dolly barked still next to Dolan.
It was instantaneous, the reaction of all of us, we quickly learned the figure of Dolan in a powerful hug made up of 97 puppies.
I quickly claimed his neck as mine, and began to squeeze it with all the force that my very small body could produce.
"Agk-ggk, Dewey, c-c-can't breathe," I quickly heard Dolan rasp out as he tried to breathe, "Dolly ... help".
."Ba bbrrp", Do not worry brother, if I did not give you breathing difficulties, then I would not be showing you enough affection that you very clearly deserve for being such a considerate big brother and verify if I forgot how to breathe the very donkey of me every time I try to sleep in peace.
You deserve nothing but my best hug, dear big brother.
Suddenly someone dislodged me from Dolan's neck.
Bhuuu ~, party pooper, he was still not blue enough.
"Hehe, alright, enough of hugs, Dewey", I heard Dolly laugh, as she laid me behind her, "are you ok bro?"
"I saw my whole life go before my eyes," exclaimed Dolan disturbed as he caught his breath and stroked his neck.
"Ba", I nodded with a smile in the direction of Dolan before returning to Da Vinci's side on the stairs, you're welcome big brother, I'm sure your legendary life was an incredible show that you would be more than willing to repeat an infinite number of times.
"Dewey, are you still mad at Dylan because he wakes you up all the time?"
"Bbbaaa?" I exclaimed and pointed to myself in shock, whaaat? How can you think that the very small, tender and innocent of me can keep something inside of him as negative and ugly as the resentment against someone from our own family, older sister? How can you?
"Very well everyone", Mama dog called everyone's attention, "It's the busiest night of the year for your dad and me-"
That makes perfect sense, mom dog is a canine nurse, and dad dog is a fire dog, surely many humans out there will either blow their fingers off this day or learn fire from a random garbage can just for fun.
ah ~ yeah, the very fantastic nature of human beings never ceases to amaze me. They are the most orderly and in turn chaotic existing creatures on planet earth that walk together or separately of their own free will towards their complete self-destruction.
yup, they need mom and dad dog much more than we do on this day.
"-But we know you'll stand strong."
"Of course, no one is going to do ANY-thing crazy like go outside tonight ..."
I narrowed my eyes at Dolan's direction, I swear, every time Dolan opens his mouth he seems to just want to be challenging me to do something I hadn't planned to do.
"... Are they Dolly?"
Oh, that very obvious hint wasn't directed at me?
That's new.
"... Now. Where's my helmet? "I heard Dolan ask.
"On Dorothy", Dolly with her eyes in white indicated the current position of the astronaut helmet, pointing with one of her claws. Said pester currently resided over Dorothy.
Lucky you Dorothy, if it weren't for the fact that I was one of the first to walk in with Da Vinci, I might have been the one to claim Dolan's fish tank and I wouldn't have to bear the itch of having these silly, ridiculously little blue ear muffs.
"Hey-!" Before Dolan could say anything else, Dolly quickly fitted him with pink earmuffs with a pair of plush rabbit ears sticking out of the top.
You know, suddenly now I don't feel so bad about my earmuffs, sure, they are very itchy, but at least they don't resemble the ears of one of the most destructive and reproductive creatures on the planet.
"Oh, come on," I heard Dolan groan, and watched Dolly cover her muzzle so as not to explode in laughter.
I was one of the few of our brothers who had the denial of not laughing at him and just looking away.
"Son, your sacrifice, will be remembered for all eternity," our father commented as he and mother headed to the exit, both ready and prepared to go to their respective jobs outside the home.
"Definitely through he weekend" Mom commented with some grace in Dolan's direction, as she followed our father.
And here, puppies and puppies ... comes the most difficult and painful part of my day, that of saying goodbye ..., to those creatures that without even knowing it brought me back to life, to this incredible world of giants, spots, colors and dogs.
All my siblings and I got ready to say goodbye to our parents, to give them the best of luck in their jobs, watching as both adult figures, spotted and canine, were bathed in the orange light of the sun that is about to hide to bring the night with him.
"I want you to know how, proud I..., I can't do this. I have to go."
Our father's soft heart was overflowing with honest concern for our well-being, causing his barks to come out between cuts.
It didn't take me long to know why.
Daddy dog wanted nothing less than to stay with all of us, protect us, and whisper soft words that would reassure each of us on this night that inspired the greatest terror in his heart.
Just say the bloody word dad, I thought, as I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward in preparation to be the first to jump.
"¡GROUP HUG!"
Again, all my brothers and I reacted as one when hearing the trigger word come out of papa's snout, in less than five seconds the figure of daddy dog was buried in a canine pile of stained and unconditional love.
"¡I love you guys!", I heard Daddy dog exclaim, while I hugged his fireman's helmet and the rest of my brothers kept repeating the word 'hug' over and over again.
"Ba", I exclaimed with a smile on my snout while I felt my tail shake rapidly from behind me, I love you too, your big and soft marshmallow from a dad.
I always wanted to be able to show this kind of emotional affection with my former human dad.
He always seemed like he really needed a hug whenever he left me alone somewhere to start my summer vacation.
I always wanted to be the one to give him that hug he needed so much.
But ... He- he never wanted it ...
... Never from me.
That's why I don't want to forgot my pass ..., if that also means forget about him and mom ... Then I chose never forget.
No matter how much it hurts.
(To be continue)
((AN: The reviews motivate me to continue writing this story. Please comment and let me know your opinion, thanks for reading))