Dying Dog
It was so hot and muggy that afternoon, I ducked into the air-conditioned pet store to cool down. I knew my mom would be mad at me for being late, but at the time my immediate comfort seemed more important than getting home on time. As I closed the door behind me, a bell jingled, signalling my entrance to anyone who might be interested. But the pet store seemed to be all but deserted. For a pet store, it seemed to be remarkably cramped and cluttered with miscellaneous items that didn't pertain to pets or animals in general. I figured as long as I was cooling off I might as well explore, so I made my way towards the back. The store, which appreaed rather small on the outside, was deceptively spacious and housed a variety of dogs in small cubicle-like plastic cages. Small windows with cats in them lined the walls. I reached my hand into one of the cages and scratched what seemed to be a mutt behind its ears. It's tongue dangled out of its mouth in appreciation of my gesture. I couldn't help but smile at the creature, which could be so easily comforted, then turned towards another dog. Suddenly I felt a presence in the room, and when I turned around I noticed a frail old man with dark skin reaching his hand into a brown dog's cage. At first he didn't seem to notice me, and I was about to turn and make my way out of the store when he smiled. He withdrew his hand from the dog's pen and his eyes met mine.
"It's been a while since we've had a cutomer now," he uttered pleasantly, his voice crackiling out of his leathery old face. Awkwardly, I walked toward him, not sure if I should say anything or not. I looked into the dog's pen that he had been reaching into. Inside, a small dog lay there. Obviously old, I thought the dog might be dead. A flurry of thoughts ran through my head. Could this old man be holding dogs in this pet store and secretly torturing them? I wondered. Another look at the man's kind, wizened face made me feel guilty at having thought it at all. I turned my face away in a failed attempt at hiding my discomfort, then kneeled in front of the dog's cage. The dog's breathing was slow, and obviously labored. His eyes opened faintly, and he regarded me with a sad look. The pet store owner kneeled down next to me and looked at the dog, with a kind, sympathetic smile on his face.
"I remember when his mother gave birth to him. He was smaller than the others. None of the customers...," he trailed off, then began coughing. At first it was a light cough, then they became powerful hacks and I could hear the phlegm gurgling in his throat. I wondered if maybe he would die right then, and what I would do if that happened. I supposed I would dial 9-1-1. Then the coughing subsided and he picked up where he had left off. "The customers never bought him, so I raised him as if he were my own dog." The coughing had left him teary-eyes, but it made his words seem all that much more sentimental. He looked around at all the other dogs. "Of course, I raise 'em all special, you know? They're all my pups," his smile faded just for a moment as he looked back down at the dying dog. "This little guy was special though. He was like a brother. He's only been sick for about a week now. I guess it's his time. You just gotta go when the good lord calls you up, you know? He doesn't see us any differently. I don't think He does. Men and dogs, we all go up there with Him." As I he looked at the dog, fresh tears began to roll down his weathered face. "It's only a matter of time. We all gotta go. Even you and me." He regarded me with a sad smile, as if I would be dying soon, and suddenly a deep sadness seemed to overwhelm me as well. We both stood up and he looked into my face.
"You like reptiles at all?" he asked. He seemed to have forgotten about the dog. I nodded. I wanted to enthusiastically tell him I did, that they were my favorite type of animal in all the world. I wanted to do something for this man, who had suddenly lost his one friend in the world. I wanted to be his friend. I wanted to sit there in the pet store every Saturday with him drinking homemade smoothies, listening to his old jazz records and talking about all the animals he had seen. I wanted to say a lot to him, but instead I just nodded.
He returned the nod, then his smile broadened and his hand slowly pointed to the back of the room. "I got a nice reptile room back there. Them reptiles, I know how to treat 'em right." He winked at me, though I didn't quite understand why. "Go on," he said, "I gotta finishing feeding all the guys up here." He gave me a push in the general direction of the reptile room. I took one last look at the dog. He had stopped breathing.
I looked at the man and thanked him. I don't know why I did, but I did. Then I ran down the stairs into the darkness of the reptile room. It was a different world. The walls were made of rock, and there were holes in the rocks with light coming out of them. When I looked into the holes I realized they were windows. Behind each window there was an exotic reptile or amphibian. I was mesmerised. I stood at each window for ten minutes, looking through the leaves, and into the small pools, trying to find every specimen I could. Sometimes, the reptiles would stare at me, with their funny unemotional little faces. They always looked vaguely annoyed. I wondered how a place so amazing could have been in the city I'd lived in my whole life without my realizing it. I kept walking, looking in through all the windows for what must have been hours. All of the sudden I realized I'd travelled a very far way from the entrance I'd come in at. I looked around. Darkness seemed to surround me. In a corner I noticed faint ripples of water. I curiously walked towards the puddle to investigate. The water was all but invisible in the darkness. I was only able to make it out by the reflections coming from nearby reptile cages. When I kneeled down and tapped the water with my hands, I could see that it was no mere puddle, but at least the size of a swimming pool. Hardly thinking, I stripped my clothes off and slowly stepped into the pool. It was a pleasant warm. My body felt instantly relaxed upon entering. With a sigh of contentment, I eased myself into the water until I was floating on my back. I could feel the water gently lapping against my sides. I floated there for what seemed like an eternity. The water slowly began to creep upwards. Light foam began to caress my skin and I suddenly realized I was floating in the middle of a vast, dark ocean. A great light fixture hovered in the sky. It looked to be the size of the moon, but it was clearly artificial. It looked like the kind of light that would heat a reptile's cage. I realized I was now underwater. Looking in the beam of light I could see small bits of algae and other tiny plants floating in the water. I felt no sense of panic being under the water, and found that I didn't need to breath. I swam in the wonderful darkness, feeling a peace wash over me, like nothing I'd ever felt before. I looked up to the strange light. Then I looked to the right of the light. There was something there. I couldn't make it out. Something green. Lumpy. Incredibly vast. It was larger than anything I'd ever seen. Suddenly the vastness of the ocean terrified me. I panicked. Could I breath? I struggled to the surface I knew didn't exist, looking around frantically at the miles of inifinity that lay to every side of me. I looked back and saw it. A huge frog, barely visible through the light of the heat lamp. I'd never seen a frog so large. I'd never seen anything so large. I tried to understand how a creature so large could exist. How could it exist here? Where was I? Had I come in through a pet store? My life seemed like a distant memory. All this time I stared at the great unblinking frog. The frog was beautiful in a way. Suddenly a light film slid quickly over the frog's eye as he blinked. I looked back at the light, and at the bits of algae. The panic had subsided, and now I felt myself floting gently downward. I looked up, but the frog was gone. The light of the heat lamp was fading. I thought back to an old man and his dog. It was like some sort of dream I had had an eternity ago. I could feel the emotions associated with the man's smile more than see it. Then the corners of my mouth curled into a smile as well. The light faded. I ceased to live.