It was nine-thirty on Christmas Eve. I crossed the long hall on my way from the kitchen, where I had just enjoyed my festive meal, and entered my bedroom. The dinner was so relaxing that i felt that it was time to read. Slowly, I sat on my reading chair, then grabbed my book and reading glasses. Excitedly, I opened the last chapter of Twilight and started reading. In a matter of twenty minutes, I finished the gripping tale and got off my reading chair, and walked across the narrow corridor to the front door.
“Pepper! Let’s go for a walk” I called.
After a few moments there came a pat and scrabble of feet across the corridor. I looked down. Beside my feet stood a small, chubby terrier, coated in snow, except for its eyes which were as black and wide as a snooker ball. I knelt down and fastened the leather collar around her fluffy neck and put the leash on, while she wagged her tail in excitement. I opened the door and stepped outside, with pepper close behind.
I have always liked to take a breath of the evening, to smell the air, whether it is sweetly scented, bitterly cottoned with fog or even crackling cold with the left over snow. I enjoy watching nature emerge from every direction in its own way; birds soaring through the sky before swooping down towards the hills to find their prey, water rippling from tears of the clouds plummeting from the sky and hitting the vast surfaces of the lake. I like it when I walk under the shadows of the moon while the wind whispers and moans in my ears. I mostly like it when the evening is all dark and blank, where peppers coat contrasts the colours in the landscape, because of her vibrant, white coloured fur. When I was with Pepper, I was full of bliss.
That night, the inky sky was blotted with small white stars studding every part of the air with silver spots. In the far distance, I could see the crescent moon hanging proudly behind the spongy clouds which hovered over the golden peaks, giving a glint of its clearest of clear reflection onto the misty isolated lake. Trees bowed down like curtsying ballerinas beside the water, swaying their arms elegantly through the frigid air, pushing the wind onto the flat pastures of the land. As the wind dashed across the olive field, it collided with everything in its way, like it was fighting for its territory. The tall pines on the damp, lime hills towered around the lake, imprisoning everything in its contents. The dismal cries of nocturnal creatures echoed around the valley, wrinkling the surface of the lake and silencing the screams of the blustery weather. I took a glance around the landscape, and felt the cool mist lick my cheeks. At that point, my face was an iceberg, so I raised the collar of my jacket and pulled the zip up to the top. I began to walk at a steady pace, with Pepper by my side, getting faster and faster. Pepper began to fall behind me. The round blob of fur stopped on the gravel. I bellowed across the path to Pepper
“Come on Pepper, you can do it!” Straight away, she scrabbled across the gravel and got to me in a matter of seconds.
“That’s a good girl!” I cheered.
I turned around slowly and saw our favourite orchard tree which leaned over slightly, shadowing over the lake. Every time I saw the orchard tree, it brought back memories of Pepper and I in the summer having a picnic together in the shadows of the scorching sun. Every morning, we used to sit under the tree and have a picnic. It was always sausages; Pepper loved sausages with ketchup, just like me.
I began to walk rapidly across the gravel towards the tree. I slipped my hands into my large pockets and shot out a blanket and laid it across the grass under it. I put the end of the leash around my shoe so that Pepper sat beside me. As I sat under the crane made out of wood, I overlooked the vast lake in all its beauty and smiled. Across the black sheet of stars, I could see birds lurching north and a plane in the distance sailing through the sky. It manoeuvred through the mountainous region as precisely as an eagle chasing its prey, then disappeared into the cloud of dust. More than once, I glanced over my shoulder, just to check the coast was clear. Staring into the distance, stroking Pepper at the same time, breathing out large smokes of ice, I felt like I was being hypnotized by the sea-mist in front of me.
After a few minutes, I was awoken out of my trance by a loud barking noise which got louder making me, involuntarily, open my eyes. At no surprise, I saw Pepper barking into the distance. She began to tug, harder and harder, until the leash came off around my shoe. Pepper began to run and bark at the same time, she ran like the wind, faster than ever before, until I could not see the white ball through the thick sheets of fog. I instantly got up. But, at my dismay, I found myself stuck, unable to move out of place. It felt like a force pushing me back, sadly it was not a force- it was a rope. My hands were tied up behind my back and the rope which tied my hands was fastened tightly around the tree. I tugged and tugged, until I could tug no more. Who did this? Someone must have tied me up while I was asleep. I sat, panting like Pepper does, and felt a cold tear sweep across my cheek. At that moment my head felt like a ticking bomb, so many thoughts were going through my mind as each second went by. Who tied me up? Why was Pepper barking? But the most frequent question that went through my head, again and again, was where did Pepper go? As my mind began to tick, I gazed at the sky, baffled. I sat there, straining to hear a sound which signified that Pepper was okay. Nothing. Not one sound. Besides my heavy panting, from tugging violently, no sounds whatsoever came from any living creature around me. The crescent moon still stood behind the clouds. But, this time, the clouds were not spongy; they were solid granite. Abruptly, out of nowhere, came a long shot of fierce lightning which scratched the granite with its nails. Rain began to plummet down, as if a whole cloud exploded. Seeing the cloud exploding into drops of rain, I could visualize my own heart exploding too. I was quivering, not only because I was cold and wet, but also because I had no idea where Pepper was. My heart began to pound at the same time as the thoughts going through my head. I felt helpless and weak. Let alone thirsty. I began to breathe heavily, trying to take in large amounts of oxygen, but as I was doing this a thick breath of air emerged into my nose. The air was steamy and murky; like a witch’s cauldron. I felt like I someone was sticking a knife into every organ in my body; was it my fault? As I questioned myself why Pepper was gone, my ears were unfortunately still straining to hear anything that would relieve me to thinking that Pepper was still Okay...Suddenly, I began to hear a bark. Pepper! A smile sparked upon my face. My heart went back to its normal pound. Unfortunately, not for long did I stay relieved. What I heard next blood curdled and shocked me. Yes, there was a bark, but it grew fainter and then stopped, suddenly there came a loud drowning noise from the lake. It was like someone was gargling. I leaned forward to hear the sound more clearly. The gargling went into a loud whining, screaming sound. It was hard to make out what it was, but it was not human. My heart began to tick, what if something was happening to pepper? Was she okay? The sound stopped and then I heard another cry, this time it was louder and clearer; it was a whinge which lead onto a bark- but with horror I realized that it was coming from a dog, Pepper. I sat absolutely helpless in the mist that clouded me and everything from my sight. A tear rolled down my cheek, I knew that I was hearing appalling last noises of my pepper drowning in the lake.
I began to yell, tugging onto the rope at the same time, until I thought my lungs would explode. I could feel the rope denting into my wrists, but I stayed strong because Pepper must have gone through more pain. My tears began to bucket down my cheeks, and I felt helpless, but still optimistic, so I gave the rope a large tug, denting them even more into my wrists. Finally, the rope let go of my hands and I felt like I had been freed from prison.
I got up and ran as fast as like lightning. Whilst I ran, everything in my mind was racing around, I could not help but see all the memories Pepper and I had all those years then have pictures in my head of Poor Pepper being slowly choked and drowned into the lake.
What I saw next made me break into tears. I could see the contrast between the dark, murky water and a white, fluffy object in the water. Doubting that the white fluffy object was Pepper, I knelt down on my knees, not minding the stains of mud I would get onto my new trousers, and dipped my hand into the water. I felt soft silky fur. In dismay, I realized that it was Pepper and yelled a scream louder than I have ever screamed in my life. Gently, I picked up Pepper, trying not to bend her sloppy body, and cradled her in my arms. My tears trickled onto her nose and the blood on my wrists stained her fur. Although she was dead, I felt her comforting company in my arms, as if she was still wagging her tail happily, asking to go for a walk again. Just thinking of Pepper wagging her tail and widening her bright eyes, made me cry and put a smile on my face. I put peppers head against my chest and whimpered in grief. Pepper was gone, and it was my entire fault. After that moment, Friday was not a special day for me or Pepper. Pepper was born on a Friday and died on a Friday. We were separated. Forever.
That was my story that brought misery and shock into my life, resulting in my smile to disappear. Forever.
