The dog was like a sign sent from heaven. Elegant and black, he strolled into their camp one day and sat down at his feet. He had never owned a dog, never liked nor disliked them. They simply lived alongside him. That day, when the dog sat before him, was the first time he properly looked one in the eyes. He saw himself there. Battered and bruised, a broken soul that had seen too much death and sorrow. Whenever the soldier took a blow, the dog seemed to be limping too. Whenever he was upbeat, so was the dog, and whenever he was sad, they mourned together over the endless dead bodies.
One day, he had felt a dull ache at the absence of the dog, but he hadn’t quite placed it yet, when he came upon the dog, lying dead in a ditch. He knew then that his time would soon come too. Above him, the planes circled, seconds later a bomb exploded inches from him and he joined the dog in heaven.
© 2016
Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers, Week of March 15
Photo prompt provided by pixabay.com
Such a heart touching story that it almost made me cry! You really captured the emotions in this piece Felicia! Wonderful story!
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Thank you! I was worried at first because it looked like a picture with such a touch topic… but I really ended up enjoying writing it (apart from their deaths).
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It is excellent!
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Tragic ending. I loved how the soldier and the dog were in correlation with one another. I’m sad he had to find his friend the dog, lying dead, before he himself died. War is so brutal. Good writing!
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Thank you! I agree, war is horrible, and it’s awful, too, finding out your best friend died before you did.
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This is so startlingly unhappy.
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War isn’t exactly the happiest of subjects.
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A powerful piece of writing, Felicia. I love the connection between the soldier and the dog, though their ending encompasses all the tragedy of war. Good story.
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War is horrible – there’s not only the fear of dying, but also the fear of your friends and closest companions dying.
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At least he didn’t have time to mourn?
Nice story.
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Hmm.. not enough time for the pain to settle, I guess, though it must still have been a painful shock in those seconds between the dog’s and his death.
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