Salvation at the Shelter
This is my first entry into the Soap It Up Challenge by @glitterypirateduck, and apparently I'm feeling angsty. I don't write angst well, but that doesn't mean I won't try. I only used one prompt for this, and I'll let y'all find it. Sorry for the feels on for this Super Soap Sunday.
cw: mentions of loss. also a few callbacks to mwiii if you look closely
Johnny. Your beloved Johnny.
Gone.
Taken away too soon. Leaving an emptiness in your heart and a hole within your soul.
You grieve for what feels like years, yet only turns out to be days. Time standing still as you continually waist away into a fetal crouched mess alone on your tile floor.
Friends, family, and colleagues all tell you to move on. You have to.
But you can't.
For how can one heal from the pain of losing the other half of your soul?
-
It takes you a solid six months to even begin to feel anything again. Feeling everything and nothing all at once. Overwhelming. And not enough.
The emptiness both devours you entirely while continually spitting you back out like a relentless living turbine.
You try to hide the pain behind a smile. It's futile, but it works with most nonetheless. Most.
A few take notice. Those with their own scared hearts and broken stitched souls underneath a practiced expression.
And that's when a coworker confides in you what she did when she lost her husband many years ago.
-
"Go to the shelter," she says plainly over the rim of her glass.
"The shelter?" You question, raising a brow while fumbling with your lunchbox.
"Like, the homeless shelter?"
"No, silly. The animal shelter. Lots of lost souls needing a home. Maybe one there will help fill that hole inside you."
"I'm fine." You bite back. Swallowing your emotions with a gulp of Orange Fanta as you briskly rise from your chair.
"Mhm. Just give it a shot. Might help." She says before turning to walk down the carpeted hall to return to the solitude of her cubicle.
And you're suddenly left alone again with your thoughts, staring aimlessly at the brightly colored face of the vending machine. The color of the Fanta bottle in your hand so reminiscent to the Irn Bru that was consistently stocked in your apartment, you thought you'd break down right then and there. In the middle of your office hallway.
Subtle reminders of him strewn about all through your day you'd nearly become numb to the constant memory of him.
You choked on your emotions once more. Walking as casually as possible back to the devoid walls of your cubicle. Busying yourself in a desperate attempt to rid the tight entanglement of Johnny's echo buried deep within your mind.
You'd take the advice. Go to the shelter. Fill the emotionless void within your soul with at least something. Anything. Hell, even a goldfish would do.
-
The sound was defeaning.
It made your ears ring and your bones tremble. The constant barrage of barks, howls and wails nearly made you spin on your heals and exit before even entering the double doors.
Yet you stood fast. Pushing forward. Perhaps somewhere in this cacophony of canine chaos, you could find solace from your unrelenting heartache.
"I'm just here to look," you tell the attendent with a stern brow. It's a lie, of course. But you muster the strength of poise and composure as your heart and spine wither to dust with every passing moment.
"That's what they all say," the keeper, Jared by the nameplate and probably no more than 18 replies. A wisdom in his voice as he's seen the world come through those doors a thousand times.
"C'mon. And don't get too close to the cages."
You follow close behind. Eyes scanning back and forth between metal bars, taking in the mirage of fur covered lost souls while somehow searching for one that may pull at your broken heart.
German shepherds. Pit bulls. Weimaraners. Jack Russels. Dachshunds. Every breed you could name and so many others you barely could identify.
And they all seemed to mirror your expression perfectly.
Searching. Waiting.
Waiting for an absolution that would never come.
You felt their pain. Their loneliness. Their betrayal.
Still though, non called to you. Marked you.
You were told not to look into their eyes, but how could you not. It had become so second nature to get lost in his eyes you nearly forgot what it felt like to be without them.
You were rounding the corner to the main exit, only a few cages remaining, and a sickening feeling began to boil within your gut. Choking on the bile in your throat with a fruitless attempt at speech.
"That it?"
It was a total loss. Heart sinking to your knees as Jared, the wayward keeper, opened the doors to escort you out of the wing and down an adjacent hall.
"I can show you one more. He's scheduled to be euthanized tonight. He's young. But he's very high energy. And a stubborn little shit. Which is why no one wants him."
He knitted his brow, opening the door to let you in as the overwhelming sound of aggressive barking and growling filled your ears.
Reluctantly, you stepped into the confined room. The solitude had made the poor animal more ruthless and hostile to anyone who stepped through those heavy doors.
Yet something pulled you in. A feeling. A tug at your heart that swiftly moved to wrap around your spine and move you forward.
And as you shut the door, the barking steadily began to settle. The blur of furr and teeth slowed and gradually transformed into a more discernable figure.
And as you stepped up to the cage, you cautiously crouched down to meet the animal at its level and finally met the eyes of a soul you had thought was lost to you long ago.
Blue. A blue so pure yet somehow so misunderstood. An icy cerulean wrapped around tan fur and sharpened teeth topped with blacked edged ears and darkened socks on his feet.
His, because it was obvious. He hadn't been fixed yet.
"Yeah, he's got a thing with doors. He's fine while they're closed but goes ballistic at the slightest movement."
You take note of the dogs calming demeanor. Keeping a close eye on him, scanning across his back and hindquarters, inspecting his conformation for any obvious or detrimental abnormalities.
"Poor thing seems pretty docile once he's settled down," you remark. "Why'd the last family give him up?"
You slid slowly along your feet, edging closer as the canine's demeanor shifts to become more open and submissive. Ears perked with a gradual pull of its paw to expose its tender underbelly.
"They lived next to a railroad or something. Apparently, he hates trains, too."
"What's his name?" You inquire, unable to break the stare as you gently move your hand between the bars in an attempt to gain a physical connection.
"He doesn't have one. And I wouldn't do that, ma'am. He's got-"
He chokes on his words as the fearful pup inches forward to bring the top of his nose your fingertips. You remain calm, quiet. And so does Jared. More out of sheer terror of the inevitable bite that was surely to come.
With a few curious sniffs of your scent, the dog pulls himself forward and against your hand in a desperate attempt to feel your touch.
He curls his back into your palm, rolling his spine underneath the tips of our fingers while moving to lay on the concrete floor.
It's in that moment you know you've been marked. Two lost souls finding one another in the cold and metal walls of a heartache and rekindling the vigor of life within your devoid souls.
"Damn. Never seen him do that before."
You acknowledge his voice, but the only sound reverberating in your ears is the constant strum of your beating heart. Alive once more as the ancient connection between man's best friend heals the scars of an unending loss.
"How old is he?" You ask, turning to face the man standing next to you. Comfortable enough to trust the newly found bond forged as a feeling of warmth and rejuvenation bellows from within your abdomen.
"About six months, I think. Give or taken a few weeks."
Six months. It's purely coincidence.
"I'll take him."
"Alright then. I'll get the paperwork."
You retract your hand just as Jared opens the door, and the frightened pup bolts to cowar in the safety of the corner once more.
But he remains silent. A searching stare locking into your gaze to gauge how to move forward with this unknown terrain.
Slowly, you extend your hand once more into the cage to coax him back to your touch. Rebuild the bond of trust once more as you wait for the inevitable to blow through the door.
With a solemn yet comforted look in the pups eyes, he gradually crawls over and rests his chin within the palm of your hand. Soul blazing eyes staring up within the confines of furr, having a certain familiarity you hadn't seen since so painfully losing that love so long ago.
"That's it. I'll take care of you," you whsiper in a voice akin to haunting within the walls. Rubbing your thumb along his bristled jaw line, not to dissimilar to the affection you showed once before to another blue eyed angel.
The heavy door swung open once more, yet you both remained entwined within an enamored bond as the attendant gently turned the metal knob.
"Think you've found yourself a dog there, ma'am," he muttered with a smile, extending the pen and paperwork for your newly attained ownership.
"You think of a name yet?"
You remained silent for a moment. Knowing full well his name was bestowed upon him the moment you walked through that door.
With one quick glance into his eyes once more, you fell in love with him all over again. And uttered the name you'd thought was destined to become nothing more than a distant memory.
"Johnny. Gonna call him Johnny."
This is hit me just before going to bed and I had to get it out. Love them furbabies. Boop all the snoots.
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