"Yuko", by Khalina

Just act calm and be yourself, then you won’t catch any attention. That’s what they always say. I know that it’s easier to say something, than to actually do it. How is everyone else a normal dog, but not me? Being a strange exotic dog isn’t easy at all. Everybody stares at you; some call you an alien, and other’s call animal control as if I’d hurt someone. Most say I don’t have feelings, but they’re wrong. I have just as many feelings as anyone else and I’ll prove it. I’ll show humans that I’m an ordinary dog.

Sadly, I have to hide whenever I’m in an urban town. When people see me, they think I’m deformed or something. At night, I have to find left over berries. I’m sort of a vegetarian, though I will eat cooked meat on occasions, though I don’t hunt like some of the real beastly dogs around town. One thing I enjoy doing is flying. I guess that’s what makes me exotic, my freakishly large ears and wings. I try to ignore everyone’s rude remarks, but it gets really tough when some of the children and teenagers bring out water balloons. I really don’t like kids that much. I’ve never met a single child who didn’t scream or laugh when they’ve seen me...

Yesterday, I saw this poor dog being abused. I couldn’t help it, but I interfered. I snapped at the man and scratched his wrist. This got him mad and he broke my wing. Luckily, for me and the other dog, we managed to escape. I was surprised at how the reaction the dog gave me after I practically saved his life. He didn’t flee like most dogs do when they see me, but he came up to me and helped me lick my wound. Soon, he thanked me, and then left. He probably has a family of his own. I never saw him again.

Of course, I’m on my own again, going from town to town. I’m meeting other dogs, sleeping in a tree, on a roof, or in an attic. I’ve helped other animals and even a few humans from time to time, but I’ve never been thanked ounce, except for the generous Labrador. There’s one rescue I’ll never forget though...

It all started when a large commotion was suddenly starting. I was confused and younger then. From all the noise, there was one sentence I could hear clearly, a child was stuck in the fire. I wasn’t sure exactly where the fire was or if there even was one, though I knew I had to hurry and see for myself. While running, I decided that it would be much quicker to fly then run. So, I flew in the air and quickly spotted the burning building. Diving, I heard some screaming of a woman. She was the mother of the lost child. I looked around. Why wasn’t anyone trying to blow the fire out? Some fire men were sadly nodding their heads, saying it was too late. Sometimes, humans can be so selfish and lazy.

It was hard to decide whether I should help or fly away. I strained my ears to listen for any more information and what I heard was all the information I needed.

“Mommy, help me, please.”

I’m thankful for my large ears, they saved a life.

I fearfully dove in and quickly found the hopeless little girl. She was still breathing, though she looked lifeless. I crawled under her belly and she was safely propped in between my wings. Panting, I flew out. Nobody noticed me fly out. I dove towards the weeping mother and barked. She looked up at me and screamed. This caused everyone’s attention. I flipped over and the girl woke up, landing in her mother’s arms. The girl stared at me in horror, as if I did nothing for her and I was just flying around for no good reason.

I left.

That was a few years ago and the look the girl gave me sends me chills when I think about it. She was so selfish. I’ve done so many things for people and they never do anything in return. I catch a burglar and cops shoot at me. I put out a fire and nobody thanks me. I’m not only a small fan of kids, but I really don’t like humans in general.

Now I’m outside, behind a restaurant. If I’m lucky, the small amount of light can hide my ears and wings. That can earn me a few scraps of fruit, I think.

2 Years later

I am happy. Along time ago, I didn’t know what happy was. Now I do and I like it. I’m a pet to an old Asian man. He calls me Yoku, one of the Japanese gods. The man keeps me warm and feeds me fruit and rice. I don’t mind people as much.

Others say I should act calm and be myself. Maybe they’re kind of right. I love being scratched behind my ears. I may not be a normal dog, but hey. I like being treated like a king. Maybe

I can’t prove everything to humans, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m old and happy.

The End