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Gary walked to the front with the confidence of someone who knew he had made the right decision. He saw the elders sitting and bowed slightly to them.
“Gary. Good for you to honour our invitation. Last I heard, you were better than all of us.” Salavo, one of the elders, began. Gary bowed his head. “You don’t have anything to say? You mean you are dumb? That’s ironic since it was speaking that put you in trouble in the first place.” Salavo jeered on.
“In a sane world, I wouldn’t be in trouble.” Gary struggled to hide his disgust at the proceedings.
“Silence!” Salavo ended the murmurs. “In a sane world, eh? I knew it. He believes he is better than all of us. We are all insane and…”
“I didn’t say that.”
“... he’s the only sane one.” Salavo continued. “Well, there is this saying Gary, if everyone is insane, then you’re probably the mad one.”
“I am insane for saving a life?”
“Oh, common Gary, don’t try to change the issue here. You are on trial for breaking the laws of our fathers, of our ancestors, of the divine order.” Shelly, another of the elders chipped in.
Gary lifted his head to look at Shelly. She was old and wise; he respected her far more than he respected the other elders.
“Shelly, tell me, what was I supposed to do? Watch him die?”
“The law is the law Gary. You know it.”
“Well, I know a greater law - the law of friendship. Friends do not just watch while their loved ones die, especially when they can do something about it. I did what I did because…”
“You did what you did because you are short-sighted!” Baro bellowed. Everyone hushed as Baro cleared his throat. “I’ve been on this council for 10 years and I have seen folks like you. Yes, like you. You all are so concerned with the moment that you cannot look beyond the first ten minutes. Have you considered the implication of what you did?”
“I saved a life” came the whisper.
“What did you say? Speak up!”
“I said I saved a life.”
“Look at you! Just as myopic as I suspected. Just as you saved one life, you ruined many. Why do you think we make laws Gary? For our personal interests? No! Because of the general good. And you have put your own interest above the general good…” Baro sighed and hung his head.
“Because I helped save a man’s life?
“No! Because you spoke to a human! Do you think we are all fools? Look at Gabertto, he has lost four of his canines. You know why? Because he used his mouth to stop a moving vehicle in order to save a child. He could have ran to into the store and shouted but he didn’t.” Shelly interjected.
“But my situation was different. This was a medical situation. If I had not acted…”
“Here we are again. The wise Gary instructing us in matters of science and medicine.” Salavo snickered.
Gary looked at Salavo and turned away. “The bottle was on the top shelf. There was no way I could reach it. The only way to help the man was to tell the little boy to get it. If I didn’t, the man would have died.”
“No, you don’t know that.”
“The doctor said…”
“What did the doctor say, most wise Gary, wisest dog of all time? Eh? What did he say? Gone dumb again?”
Gary sighed. “The doctor said if he had not been given the drug, there could have been great consequences.”
“Oh! The doctor didn’t mention death? Not even slightly?” Salavo asked, enjoying himself. He turned to the audience. “What we have here is a case of a dog who has forgotten who he is. After a few moments spent in the bath tub with a little boy, he’s began to feel like a brother. And when a dog forgets who he is,” he turned to Gary, “he begins to do stupid things and defend himself with even more stupid arguments.”
“So I was supposed to just keep quiet?”
“Oh, for the sake of our ancestors, stop saying that.” Shelly barked. “You could have ran round the apartment barking. Someone would have heard you.”
“But it would have been too late.
“You don’t know that Gary. As Salavo proved, it wasn’t even a life and death situation. I understand how you feel Gary but trust me, other dogs have been in worse positions and they didn’t go against the divine order.”
“I’m sorry. I just couldn’t watch the man die and the little boy become an orphan. He has issues already…”
“There again, another case of short sightedness.” Baro cleared his throat. “I know the little boy in question. My master, the psychologist, is his therapist. Already, this little boy is weird enough. He’s always talking about seeing and hearing strange things. At one point, they almost transferred him to a sanatorium. I had to intervene by jumping on to the boy’s lap and licking his face. My master know I don’t go near lunatics so he decided to give the boy a second chance. Notice I didn’t open my mouth and tell my master the boy wasn’t mad. Now, what do you think would happen when the boy goes around telling people that a dog spoke to him?”
Baro paused for effect while the slow pounding of Gary’s heart filled the air.
“Well, I will tell you.” Baro continued. “Because his father’s heart condition is unstable, I doubt if he’s going to be alive for every long. The mother wants nothing to do with the boy so the boy will become an orphan pretty soon. Now, there is no shame in being an orphan. Most of us here are actually orphans. The problem is that he would be an orphan with an unstable mental condition. Believe me, that little boy will keep going around, telling people how a dog spoke to him. Of course, no one will believe him so he’s going to question himself and his sanity. Add that to his eccentricity and no family, I repeat, no family will be willing to adopt him.”
Baro paused.
“And that is not all. Now that you’ve opened your mouth to speak, you have made other dogs either stupid or heartless or both. Think about it, the next time a dog’s family is in danger, your very action will force the dog to contemplate talking to a human. It will go on and on until…”
“And what is wrong with that?” Gary asked under his breath.
“Baro, please let me answer this one.” Shelly spoke. “Why do you think a dog is a man’s best friend? Because a dog is never a threat to a man’s life or his existing relationships. They are humans and we are dogs, that simple distinction is the reason for our peaceful coexistence. Imagine a world where dogs speak with humans, relationships would be thrown in ruins. Jealous partners would think dogs are trying to come in between them. Suspicious partners would expect us to confirm or deny their suspicions. People with problems interacting socially will turn to their dogs rather than fix their problems. And our dogs in the force will be in jeopardy. Think about the many things a dog sees and hears and imagine if people knew; we will be hunted down for information.
A lone tear rolled of Gary’s face. “I only wanted to help.”
“Well, you’ve helped enough.” Baro cleared his throat. “You know the law Gary. You must disappear from this town before dusk. You must never come in contact with the boy again.”
‘No! The boy…”
“...needs you?” Salavo asked. “You think too highly of yourself Gary. You are a dog not a human.”
Baro cleared his throat. “As I was saying. You know the divine order. Man and dogs must must speak a common language. If you fail to heed our laws, you know the consequence. You are dismissed. Salavo, call in the next case.”
This is my entry for the April 17 Twenty-four hour short story contest--A little kid learns their dog can speak by @mctiller
Thanks for reading
Blessings
[image source: Wikipedia Commons]