Good Boy

Chapter 1- “Good Boy”

     Oh, how dreadful it is to be alone and abandoned, restrained and locked away. The birds outside sing, freer than I could ever be. Oh, how I wait for my savior to come and rescue me from my despair. But at last, I think this may be the end for me as I lay here and d—

  Keys jingled at the door, and it swung open.

  “Astro, I’m home!”

  “My savior!” I rushed to the door. “You’re finally back!”

  I jumped with joy; it had been so long since Michelle had been back. Ages had passed, but all the waiting was worth it now that she was here. Her presence alone was enough to light up the whole room.

  “What has you so excited, Astro?” she laughed. “I was only gone for an hour.”

  “Ages,” I growled back.

  I was excited to have Michelle back, but I couldn’t let her win just yet. She had left me for decades—I could never let her off so eas—

  “How about a walk?”

  Michelle held a bright red leash in the air above me.

  “Yes, please!” I barked.

* * *

  Okay, so she won this time—but I was free at last.

  The scents of the outdoors flooded my snout, filling me with an overwhelming rush of joy. I could smell everything—the hot dog cart down the street, the freshly kicked-up dirt, and best of all, Michelle’s familiar perfume. I hurried forward, dragging Michelle along with me.

  I took in every sight I had missed while locked away. Whether it was chasing the birds that had taunted me before, getting adored by passersby's, or even scoring free samples from the food carts—it was all so fun.

  “Slow down a little, Astro!” Michelle complained.

  I planned to, but I just had to smell this one last tree. I only needed to reach a little farther—

  A bell rang in the distance, but by the time I looked up, it was too late.

  A bike was heading straight toward me, and there was nothing I could do. Any second now, I would be toast.

  “Watch out, Astro!”

  Michelle tugged on the leash, pulling me to her side. It was just enough for the bike to speed past.

  She didn’t waste a second, scanning me from head to tail to make sure I was okay.

  “I’m so happy you’re safe,” she sighed. “Let’s be more careful next time, okay?”

  We started walking, Michelle keeping me even closer than before. She had rescued me once again—just like she always would.

  As we walked farther down the street, I held my head and ears high, barking at anyone who passed.

  She’s all mine. 

     We started on our way back home. The walk had been fun, but I was glad to finally be heading back with my Michelle. It was going to be amazing—she would give me treats and let me lie on her bed. I couldn’t wait.

  “Get ready to cross, Astro!” Michelle said as she pressed the crosswalk button.

  “Got it!” I barked.

  The light flashed, signaling for us to cross.

  “Let’s go.”

  Michelle started to walk, and I trailed along behind her.

  I was so excited. Any moment now, we’d be home, and I’d be able to spend the rest of the day snuggled up in Michelle’s arms. It’d be the best night ev—

  Tires screeched.

  A horn blared.

  I lunged.

  Michelle stumbled backward as something slammed into me.

  “Astro!”

  She ran toward me, dropping to her knees to pick me up.

  “Michelle,” I whimpered.

  “Oh, Astro—” Michelle gripped me even tighter. “How could this happen?” she cried.

  Pain shot through my whole body, but what hurt most was seeing Michelle like this. I hated that sad expression on her face. I’d always been there to make everything better.

  And this time, I would do the same—one last time.

  I mustered what little strength I had left, wagged my tail as best I could, and rested my paw against Michelle’s chest. Then I gave her the biggest, sloppiest kiss I could.

  “I love you,” I barked softly. “Please don’t cry.”

  Almost as if she understood, a small smile broke through the sadness on her face.

  “I love you—” Tears ran down her cheeks. “I love you so much, Astro.”

If only I were human to—

Then everything went blank. 

* * *

“He’s waking up,” a voice echoed.

  The darkness started to fade.

  Light slowly flowed in.

  “How do you feel?”

  There was that voice again, much louder than before.

  Now I could feel my paws slowly waking up, but my tail still refused to move.

  “Sir—are you okay?”

  My ears started to ring.

  Now it wasn’t just the voice. All around me were crashing sounds, sharp beeping, and pounding footsteps. Slowly, my sense of smell came back too—a clean, sharp but familiar scent filled my snout.

  Slowly, I opened my eyes.

  Light flooded in, washing everything into a blur.

  I was inside. Somewhere bright—brighter than Michelle’s room.

  “Sir, please say something,” said the closest blob of light.

  I barked.

  “Okay,” the voice said slowly. “Yeah. You definitely hit your head harder than we thought.”

  The fog began to thin. I could finally make out the man in front of me. He wore a long white coat and some strange contraption around his neck.

  No wonder the room smelled so familiar.

  I was at the vet.

  Great. I survive getting hit by a car just to end up here?

  What was Michelle—

  Wait.

  I leaped out of what seemed to be a bed and rushed past the man in the white coat.

  “Hey!” he hollered. “You’ll hurt yourself!”

  Oh, please. I’d just survived getting run over. I was practically invincible.

  Sure, running felt a little harder than usual—but that didn’t matter right now.

  What mattered was finding Michelle.

  “Grab him!” the voices behind me shouted.

  I didn’t slow down. Now that I knew Michelle was nearby, I would run through this whole building if that’s what it took to find her.

  Still, I was getting tired fast. My body felt heavy—weird.

  “He’s over here!”

  Their voices were getting closer.

  I wasted no time bursting through the first door I saw. It swung shut behind me as I stumbled inside.

  I stood there, panting. Usually, I could outrun them without even trying. Today, every step felt harder.

  Then the smells hit me—dirty water, sanitizer—and the steady drip… drip… drip.

  Oh.

  The bathroom.

  My heart was already pounding, but what I saw in the mirror made it beat even faster.

  Something was very wrong with me.

  I stumbled back and fell hard, landing where my tail should have been.

  Nothing was there.

  I scrambled to push myself up—and froze.

  My paws were longer. The fur was gone.

  They weren’t paws.

  I stared at them.

  Hands.

  Slowly, I lifted my gaze to the mirror.

  The face staring back at me wasn’t a dog’s.

  It was mine.

  And it was human.

  How was this possible?
  Is this what happened when you died?
  Wait—did I really die?

  My thoughts spiraled, none of this making any sense at all.

  Then something else hit me.

  Wasn’t this… good?

  I had died, sure—but now I was human.

  Just like Michelle.

  I could walk beside her.
  I could protect her.

  A shaky smile spread across my face.

  Now all I needed to do was find her.

  I’m coming back to you, Michelle—

“He’s in here!” The door came swinging open.

  Before I even had time to react, I was pinned down by the white coats.

  They carried me away, but I was far too lost to fight it. Before I knew it, I was sitting in front of the man I had mistaken for a vet earlier. He wasn’t a vet at all—he was one of those doctors Michelle had always complained about.

“I do have to admit,” he chuckled, “that was quite a ruckus you caused.”

  “I’m sorry.” I stared at the hands in front of me.

  I may have become human out of the blue, but I’d spent years watching Michelle talk. I could handle this much.

  “That’s quite alright,” he said with a grin. “We’re just happy to see you so lively after that coma.”

  Coma?

  The doctor pulled a piece of paper from the desk and slid it my way.

  “So, Mr… uh—” He glanced down at the chart.

  “Astro,” I said.

  “Oh, yes. Mr. Astro.” He cleared his throat. “The good news is you’re clear to go home.”

  “Great,” I muttered. “If only I knew where home was.”

  “What was that?” the doctor asked.

  “Oh—” I straightened quickly. “I just meant I’m not sure how I’m getting home right now.”

  I had decided to go out and find Michelle, but honestly, I had no idea where to start.

  “Oh, you don’t have to worry.” The doctor stood up from his chair. “If you just follow me, I’ll take you home.”

  “Home?” I said.

  “The address you had on file.” He walked as I followed. “You live at The University, correct?”

  “Oh—yeah, of course.” I had no idea what he was talking about. “I forgot all about it.” 

* * *

 We continued to the doctor’s car. I had to admit, I was pretty reluctant to get in after being run over not too long ago, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

  This was good. 

Sure, I didn’t know where the heck he was taking me, but at least it was a start.

  The ride didn’t last long. I guess whoever I am now didn’t live too far away.

  “Here’s your stop.” The doctor unlocked the car. “Don’t hesitate to contact us if anything feels off.”

  “Of course,” I said.

  I definitely wasn’t going to. I only needed one person after all.

The university was huge. The building itself looked way bigger than any other I’d seen. Not to mention that everywhere I looked, a person could be found. The place was packed.

  Usually, seeing this many people would drive me crazy with the urge to be pet by them all—but this time, I was scared. For some reason, the crowds made me feel uneasy.

  But just as the panic was about to take over, something broke me out of the trance.

  In the distance, I saw a familiar face—the only one I knew. I could recognize her from miles away.

  Her beautiful eyes glistened like diamonds, stars, and tennis balls. Her dark brown hair flew in the wind just as gracefully as a frisbee. She was just as gorgeous as she had been when I lost her.

  It was Michelle.