It was a late night call. Freddy sounded desperate, but he wouldn’t tell me what was going on over the phone. I just drove as fast as I could.
“Freddy, dude, this better be good.”
“Adam, I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”
“What happened? Are you alright?”
“Yes... no. I don’t know. It’s that damned dog. It’s that fucking dog...”
“It’s alright, man. Calm down. You can trust me. What happened?”
“It’s been going on for weeks. I thought I was just going crazy, but it can’t be. It can’t be.”
“Buddy, you're not making much sense right now. Take it easy, okay? I want to help, but I need you tell me everything.”
Freddy closed his eyes took a deep breath. “I know... I´m sorry. This is insane but, Adam, there is this dog, and it has been following me everywhere I go. He always has a sunflower in his mouth, and he won’t stop whimpering until I take it from him. Then he leaves and comes back in a couple of minutes with another sunflower. He does this all day, every day. I don’t remember when was the last time I had a full night’s sleep.”
It all sounded like a bad joke, but Freddy wouldn’t joke with tears in his eyes.
“Have you tried catching him? The dog, I mean.”
“Of course I have! I try but it never works. He just disappears into a corner every single time. Then he comes back. He always comes back...”
“Freddy, I understand. But perhaps-”
“No, Adam. You don’t understand. You don’t fucking understand.”
Freddy stood up and dragged me to his room. He opened the door, and I was immediately hit by the stench of rotting plants. The whole floor was littered with dead sunflowers, piles upon piles of them.
“I don’t even throw them out anymore...”
I really didn’t know what say, so I said nothing and held Freddy’s hand while he sobbed under his breath. Then, he stopped.
“You see him, right? Please tell me that you fucking see him.”
Freddy’s face was distorted by dread as he pointed behind me. I turned around and my heart skipped a beat. There he was, a small puppy with a sunflower in his mouth. Freddy retreated into a corner.
I tried to grab the puppy, but he darted between my legs and ran straight to Freddy. He put the flower at his feet and whimpered. The puppy looked at me and barked. He then turned to Freddy and whimpered once again. It was as if he was trying to say something and, somehow, we both understood.
Freddy slowly walked toward me and put the sunflower in my hand. On that very second, the piles of rotting plants disappeared into thin air, and so did the puppy. Freddy cried a different kind of tears and hugged me with all his strength. I held the last sunflower for a moment, and then it disappeared as well.
This really short story was written as an entry for the Flash Fiction Contest hosted by @rhondak
I really hope you enjoyed this piece. Don’t forget to follow me if you did! @jean.racines
Image sources: Image 1.