Chapter 8: Neighbourly Consolation


It had only been an hour or so since the Heeler family and I had arrived back to their home from the CPIA's building. The whole drive was more or less silent aside from one moment where Bluey spoke up.

"Dad? ...I don't want Nathan's mum and dad to have died." She said solemnly as I briefly glanced up at her before staring down at the floor once more as Bandit responded.

"I know, mate, me too... But there's nothing we can do. It's out of our hands."

And he was right. As much as none of us wanted this to happen, fate just had to turn it's back on me and let death claim the two people I held close to me all my life. They were gone... And I never even got to say goodbye...

As soon as we reached the Heeler's home, I stepped out of the vehicle and slowly walked away to the back garden without a word. Even though I didn't look back, a part of me sensed Bluey and Bingo about to follow me but Chilli and Bandit quickly stopped them, signalling to them that I needed some time alone.

And so now I sat alone under the largest tree of the back garden, the same tree I had used to initially hide from Stripe and his family that one time as I continued to stare down at the ground, feeling completely broken. I just wanted to cry, but it was as if I had cried every single tear my body could even produce. Ever heard a song that focuses on a broken heart? It's not a figure of speech. My chest was aching to no end and I could barely breath. It really feels like my heart was just broken and it was never going to be fixed...

"...Are you alright?"

An unfamiliar voice called out to me as I slowly looked up for the source as my vision was met with a dog standing behind the fence I was facing. It took me a second to notice something about her. She almost resembled the Chow Chow I had encountered a few days ago whom had screamed and run off at the sight of me. She was however much taller, no doubt an adult and possibly a parent of the said Chow Chow, given she had the same kind and colour of fur, some of which protruded from her forehead in an upwards curl. A gold brooch that resembled some kind of old mirror displayed on her chest and last but not least, a single eyelash on both outer sides of her eyes.

"...You're not afraid of me?" Was the first thing I instinctively said as the Chow Chow scaled the fence and went around it so she could approach me, before answering, to which I noticed that her voice had a kind of upper class accent like maybe from England.

"Oh, not at all. Well... At first I was uncertain about you when Chilli told me about you." I blinked as I registered her answer. Chilli had told this lady about me? How did she keep her from contacting authorities?

"It was rather my fault, to be honest. I had noticed she had been secretive whenever I talked with her and I ended up being a bit of a nosey-parker. She did tell me however how sweet you are with her children and that you are just like us, only a different species." I nodded in understanding as she finished before stopping next to me and sitting down.

"Now... Would you be alright to tell me what the matter is?" She asked, returning back to her former question. Thinking back to me finding my parents only caused me more grief which in turn made me refrain from speaking about it, but because I knew that this lady dog trusted me and I didn't want to be rude to her after she offered her concern, I sniffed before finally telling her.

"...I came to this world from a plane crash. Me and my parents were going somewhere on vacation and... I was the only one who survived. My mom and dad are gone..." I finally felt new tears start to roll down my cheeks as I gave her the answer, hearing a shocked gasp from her as my eyes slowly closed. memories of me with my parents flashing before my eyes.


[Flashback – 1 Year Ago]

I felt a small hint of warmth on my chin that was wet after my face hit the asphalt of the side walk. Putting a finger to my face, I looked at it to see the tip coated in blood as the ambience was infested with a mocking laughter above me as I looked up to see one of the jocks at my school leer down at me with a nasty smirk on his face.

"Ohhh, did I give the freshman a booboo? Want me to go and find you a nurse?" He asked with a very sarcastic tone before swiftly swinging his leg forward as his foot made contact with my stomach, making me grunt as I clutched my body instinctively.

"Come on, ya pussy! Why not actually get up and fight back? Oh wait, because you're a pathetic weak little freshman!" The jock jeered again before bursting into laughter as all I could do was clench my fists with growing anger. A part of me wanted to fight back, but doing so would mean that any teacher who passed by would immediately assume me to be in the wrong while the jock gets off scot-free.

"Care to tell me what you're doing with my son?"

My eyes widened as I looked up ahead to see my dad glaring disapprovingly at the jock with his arms crossed before looking back at said jock to see him at a loss for words.

"Oh, uhhh... I uhhh... saw him trip over and was going to help the poor dude up." He quickly said defensively to try and save face but my dad's stare didn't fade.

"Oh really? Because from what I saw, it was you who made him fall to the ground and kick him in the stomach. You wanna tell me truth or are you gonna lie again? Either way, I'll make sure the principal hears about this."

"Y-You think that old boomer really cares about his students?! I'm just doing what he would've done, which is making sure this little douchebag freshman knows his place in this school which you should've done to him first, old man!" The jock immediately fired back, choosing to instead defend himself aggressively. Unfortunately for him, a teacher just happened to overhear this and walk straight over to the jock with ire in her eyes.

"Stefan Davidson, go straight to the principal's office right now!" The jock grunted in frustration before walking away as dad helped me onto my feet.

"You okay, Nate?" I nodded as I dusted myself off.

"Yeah, I'll live. Ugh... I hate being a freshman. How is that any reason for the students here to be jerks to me?" I said with a frustrated sigh as I felt dad pat my back.

"Don't let them ruin your sleep, son. They're probably just jealous of you being a newcomer. Always remember that if someone like him messes with you, just tell us."

"Thanks, dad." I smiled at him as he laid his parental wisdom on me.


[Present Day]

I felt an embrace which snapped me out of my thoughts as I slowly blinked to find the lady Chow Chow holding me in a gentle hug. The very kind of warm and soothing hug a mother would give you to make you feel better when you've had a really bad day.

"You poor thing..." She sighed sadly. "I felt just about the same when my mother and father passed away. I felt alone and broken, like I was in a state where I would never recover emotionally. But I wasn't alone, I had friends and other family to help me through that time of pain. And with Chilli and her family looking out for you, I'm sure you will soon. Besides... My friend once told me something that will always be true, especially to everyone else who had loving parents." She said as I looked up at her and listened to the words she was about to pass on to me.

"Your lost loved ones wouldn't want you to be miserable forever. They'd want you to stay strong for them and never give up. I'm sure your mother and father are wishing the very same for you right now."

She was right. If there's one thing that hurts a parent the most, it's seeing their own child unhappy. Even if they had to leave me, they'd want me to be strong and not let sadness change me permanently. I sniffed once more before wiping the fresh tears from my eyes and then looking up at the Chow Chow who gave me a soft smile which I couldn't help but return with one of my own.

"T-Thanks, miss..." I said, nearly implying that I still didn't know her name.

"Wendy. Wendy Chow, dear."

"That's a lovely name. I'm Nathan." Wendy chuckled in response as my body felt even warmer thanks to the comforting company she was providing me. "Why thank you, Nathan. For a "human", you have a nice name yourself." She complimented as we both stood up from the ground before hearing a shocked yelp.

"M-Mum, what are you doing with that... thing?!" We both looked over to see the very same young Chow Chow I had encountered as Wendy immediately retorted with an offended look on her face.

"Judo Elizabeth Chow, do NOT be rude! Nathan is not a "thing", he is a human! And we shall treat him as a respected citizen like Mrs. Heeler wishes us to, young lady!" She scolded as the young Chow Chow whom I now knew as Judo flinched a little before looking down penitently.

"Sorry, mum..."

"It isn't me, you should be apologising to."

Judo joined us in the back garden a few seconds later before looking up at me whilst rubbing her arm.

"...Sorry, Mr. Nathan."

I knelt down a little to the young dog whilst giving her a faint reassuring smile to show her she wasn't in trouble.

"It's alright. Honestly, I would've freaked out too if I saw dogs talking and walking on two legs in my world."

"Hm? There are no dogs where you came from, Nathan?" Wendy asked me as I stood back up and turned to her.

"Well, there are. But they don't talk and they walk on four legs." Wendy put a hand to her face in slight shock.

"O-Oh goodness! Four legs?! That sounds... aboriginal!" Wendy exclaimed in alarm as I laughed a little whilst scratching the back of my head sheepishly.

"Well... I have to say. You're quite the character, Nathan. I think I could get used to having a human for a neighbour." Wendy commented with an honest smile before turning and walking away. "If you ever want to visit us, don't be afraid to drop by!" She waved to me as did Judo before the two Chow Chows left for their home.

"Nathan, are you okay?" The familiar voice of Bluey rang behind me as I looked down behind me to see the Blue Heeler looking up at me as I gave her an affirmative nod.

"Yeah, Judo's mom really helped me out. She said I shouldn't be sad forever and that my parents wouldn't want me to give up." Bluey's eyes widened in fascination at this.

"Ooh, just like a checklist!" She beamed.

"Checklist?" I asked, arching an eyebrow as Bingo joined us.

"Okay, Bingo, checklist!" Bluey instructed her younger sister as she sat down and positioned her hands to make it look like she was holding a clipboard or a booklet in one hand and a pen in the other.

"First, have a little cry." Bluey began before rubbing her eyes and letting out a faux "Waah!" for emphasis.

"Check!" Bingo exclaimed as Bluey continued.

"Then pick myself up!" Bluey stood on her toes and puffed out her chest a little.

"Check!" Bingo repeated.

"Dust myself off!" Bluey brushed her hands against her torso.

"Check!" Bingo said again once more as Bluey said the last instruction.

"And keep going! The show must go on!" Bluey pumped up a fist in a determined stance before pointing up at the sky. I couldn't help but chuckle a little at this as I figured out the similarities to the two girls' performance and me pushing myself to be strong for my parents before picking the girls up, holding them close to me.

"You girls are so adorable." Bluey and Bingo giggled at my compliment before wrapping their arms around me.

I then put the two back down and headed inside and went to Bluey and Bingo's bedroom. The three of us stopped however when we noticed a black luggage bag next to my sleeping bag. We all exchanged looks at each other before I approached said bag to find a piece of paper attached to it, which I picked up to notice that it was actually a written note.

"Hey Nathan,

In this bag, you'll find all of your owned items that survived the crash. Figured I'd send these to you since it wasn't the perfect time to return them to you. We can only apologise again for your loss and we sincerely hope you'll emotionally recover soon.

- Andrew."

After reading the note, I opened the bag and was stunned to find the majority of my clothes in there alongside a few essentials being my phone charger and my Nintendo Switch, alongside it's charging dock. What I was happy about the most was that I now had a bigger set of clothes and wouldn't have to spend a few more days with the ones on me.

"...Thanks Andrew." I muttered with a smile as I emptied the bag and stored my extra clothes in a safe area for when I'd need to use them.