Mother's Day

It was a warm spring night in the seaside town of Adventure Bay, and the pups of the PAW Patrol were wrapping up a very special day: Mother's Day. The pups' mothers had come to visit, and the pups were estatic to see them again. All execpt one. Marshall's mother had died a few months eariler due to medical complications. Marshall was the only one who knew about it, and he wanted to keep it that way. But he knew of a place where he could go to be close to his mother. Marshall was heading up to Big View Trail: the place where he was closest to the stars. When he reached the top, Marshall walked along the edge of the cliff to a tree sitting against a giant rock. There he sat up against the tree; the bark texture settling in his fur, making it as though he and the tree were one. Looking up, the stars shone brighter than he had ever seen before. As he looked, the stars seemed to come together into one extremely bright star. The light started getting brighter and brighter until Marshall had to close his eyes. Then, as quickly as the light came, it faded away. When Marshall opened his eyes, a dog stood before him. As Marshall looked, he was able to put two and two together, and realized who was standing in front of him. The dog that Marshall had longed to be with more than anything over the past few months, a dog that had made Marshall's life worth living. "Mother?" He asked.

"Yes, my dear. It's me." She replied in a voice that made all of Marshall's fears and cares dissapate.

"You came back." Marshall replied, standing up.

"Only for the time being."

"Why can't you stay?"

"My home is up there, amongst the stars." She said, looking up at the black sky. "But I came here to spend a little time with you: for Mother's Day."

"I wish you could could stay." Marshall said, wiping away a tear from his eye.

"I know." She said walking up to Marshall, turned around and sat beside him. Marsall sat back down and layed his head against his mother. "I wanted to say that I'm proud of who you've become. You started out as a little ball of fluff, scared of everything. Now look at you. You're a member of the one and only PAW Patrol." she said, looking at her son with a smile on her face. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to tell you when I was alive." She said, turning her attention to the bay. "I just couldn't stand to tell you; not in the condition I was. I just didn't want to hurt you."

"But you not telling me what was wrong, and me finding out later hurt me more."

"I know." She said, also wiping away a tear from her eye. "I just didn't know how to tell you."

"It's okay."

"Is there anything you want to ask me while I'm here?"

"What's Heaven like?"

"Well. It's a place like no other. Everything is perfect. The sun always shines, and there is never a cloud in the sky. There is no pain, no sadness, and no fear. No hunger, no thirst. The only thing you feel is happiness and love. There are flowers everywhere: more than you could ever imagine. There are green grasses and flowering trees all over. Waterfalls, ponds, and forests. Nothing there is the slightest bit blemished."

"I can't wait to go there, and be with you."

"You will soon enough, and then we'lll have forever to catch up on what we've missed. But for now, I want you to promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Promise me that you'll live your life to the fullest, and be happy all the rest of your life."

"I promise." When he said that, a light appeared at the cliff edge.

"Well, I'd best be going."

"But you've only been here for a minute. Can't you stay longer?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I can't." With that, she stood up, and walked up to the column of light. Before she stepped back into the land of eternity, she looked back, and whisper three words that Marshall would carry with him the rest of his life.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." And with that, she stepped into the light, and was gone forever. Or at least until Marshall reached the other side. When she was gone, Marshall got up and decided to head back to the lookout.

When he arrived, Skye was there waiting for him. She was concerned when she noticed the look on Marshall face. She figured Marshall was just sad that his mother hadn't come, but that wasn't the case.

"I'm sorry your mom didn't come." She said.

"She did. Just not the way I would have liked." Marshall said, turning his head to look up at the stars. Skye followed his gaze, and saw the stars had made the shape of a dog.

"Your mother died?" Skye asked as gingerly as she could.

"Yeah, four months ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry about me."

"Marshall, I'm your friend. It's my job to worry about you. I care about you, and want you to be happy." Marshall realized what she said was true, and he let a tear flow down his cheek. Skye saw it, and gently wiped it away with her paw. "Marshall, if you ever need someone to talk to, you can always come to me." Skye said, looking Marshall in the eye. "Come on, let's head inside." So Skye turned around, and after making sure Marshall was going to follow, walked into the lookout. Marshall noticed the lookout was vacant when he walked in. Concerned, he asked Skye,

"Where are the others?"

"They went to bed. When I realized you weren't here, I stayed up to wait for you."

"I see. I guess I'd better head to bed, then."

"You can sleep in here with me if you want." Skye said, walking toward the largest cushion in the lounge area.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Right now, you look like you could use a friend."

"You're right. Thanks, Skye."

"Anytime." She said. Marshall laid down near the middle of the cushion, making sure Skye had enough room to sleep. He expected her to lay down on the cushion beside to him, and go to sleep. What he didn't expect, was for Skye to lay down beside him, and lay her head on his chest. "Goodnight, Marshall," was all she said before she drifted off to sleep.

"G'night, Skye." He said laying down, thanking God that he had such a good friend. "Goodnight." And with that, Marshall fell into the sweet embrace of sleep.