Flesh and Bone

Sitting in the passenger seat of her older brother's truck, Sammie stared out the window at the passing scenery and listened to the music that was playing on the stereo. Watching as they pulled into the local animal adoption center, Sammie frowned and glanced over at Byron in confusion.

"Come on," he said, climbing out and waiting until she joined him before heading inside.

"Hello, how can I help you both today?" A chipper blonde-haired girl asked as they approached the front desk.

"Well, I'm hoping to find a dog for my sister," Byron replied, motioning to Sammie with his head and placing his hands on her shoulders.

"That's great if you'll follow me I'll take you back to where all our available dogs are housed and you can take a look around," the girl explained with a smile, leading them back through a door and down a long corridor, "Take as long as you need and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask a member of the team."

"Thank you."

Taking in her surroundings, Sammie wandered through the kennels and observed their overexcited inhabitants with disinterest. Reaching the end of the first row, Sammie glanced over at a seemingly empty kennel and stopped as her gaze fell upon a sad looking German Shepherd.

Slowly approaching, she knelt down in front of the large cage and hesitantly placed her hand on the door. Waiting patiently, Sammie watched as the dog slowly got up and sniffed the air as he cautiously moved towards her.

"Looks like you've made a friend," came a voice from behind her, drawing her attention away from the dog and over to a man who was smiling at her, "Major has been with us for nearly eight months and hasn't shown any interest in any of the people that have passed through looking for a dog, until now that is."

"What's his story?" Byron inquired, crouching down next to Sammie and looking up at the man.

"He was found abandoned in a park and brought to us by a concerned member of the public," the man told them, "We had high hopes that he would get adopted quickly, but he would just lay in his kennel and ignore anyone that tried to interact with him."

Returning her attention to Major, Sammie looked into his eyes and noticed that they didn’t sparkle with the same life as the others did. In a weird way, he reminded her of herself and she felt a connection with him. Ever since the accident that had killed her mum, Sammie had been numb and every day was a struggle.

She felt like a robot, hollow-chested and made up of junk metal parts. The world around her was dark and nothing seemed able to penetrate it, although Byron tried his hardest. He fought every day to break through the walls that she had built up, refusing to give up and he had made some progress.

"Can we get him?" Sammie whispered, catching Byron's wrist and looking at him.

"Of course," Byron agreed, smiling as Sammie nodded and stood up.

"If you head back out to the front desk, Jenny will give you some paperwork to fill out and I will get Major ready to go for you," the man said, shaking Byron's hand and smiling at Sammie, "Look after him and make sure that he knows he's loved, he deserves an amazing life."

"I will," Sammie promised, glancing back at Major and feeling a strange warmth spread through her chest as Major stared back at her.

Leaving Byron to handle the paperwork, Sammie wandered over to the window and allowed her surroundings to fade away as she stared out at the passing cars. Hearing Byron call her name, she turned to him watching her concerned and offered him a small smile.

"So, are you planning on keeping his name?" The man from the kennel's asked as he walked out with Major on a lead, "If so, I can re-attach his tag."

"What do you think Sammie?"

"I think that he's lost enough with us taking away his name as well, besides I like it... it's a strong name," Sammie told them, looking down as Major nudged her hand with his nose and smiling when he sat down beside her without instruction.

"I have a feeling that you two are going to be great friends," the man added, handing Sammie the lead and giving Major on final stroke as Byron headed towards the door.

Sitting in the back with him to make sure he didn't get too scared, Sammie placed her hand on his head that was resting on her lap and watched as he slowly drifted off to sleep. Stopping off at a pet store on the way home, they took him inside with them and picked up everything that he would need.

She knew that adopting Major wouldn't change the world, but perhaps it would change the world for him and that knowledge made Sammie happy. She couldn't change the past, but perhaps she could light a new path for him and show him that not everyone leaves.

Glancing up, Sammie caught Byron watching her through the rearview mirror and realized that that was what she was really scared of. Just like Major, it felt as though she had been abandoned by her mum and in reality, she wasn't as alone as she thought.