The fool and the dog

By: Amar Rahim Gafari

“screw you, old hag! I’m leaving your sorry self before I became just like you.” That was the last sentence mark said to his mother before vanishing from her house. After 3 years, the 17 year old Mark was coming home to his gang, planning another one of their mischievous schemes.

“what’re we gonna do today boss?” said Todd, one of the goons.

“shut your whining mouth, Todd! You think it’s easy to think of ideas when you’re breathing down my neck like that!?” said Paul, their gang leader.

“oh well sorrryyy, it’s not like we’re just LITERALLY doing nothing for the last 3 weeks. And I’m getting hungry.” Todd said before his stomach starts growling. While they were arguing, Mark came to their hideout carrying a plastic full of soda on hand.

“yo, I got some drinks, what’re ya-“ he said before seeing Paul and Todd almost flying their fists.

“dang, what happened here?” said Mark confused.

“Mark, my G, my brotha, my compandre. Help a brother and FEED ME!!! It’s been 4 days, and my stomach feels like sucking from the inside. our boss here hasn’t planned anything useful either.”

“what’cha say ya little punk!?” Paul said raising his fist and grabbed Todd’s collar.

“easy boss! I brought some drinks for the rest,” Mark said showing the plastic full of soda.

“you’re telling me, you, the one responsible for our money and stealing, only manage to get sodas?”

“give me a break Paul, do you know how hard it is to not be suspicious and trying to steal in the minimarket that I was employed in? that YOU recommended me to the manager. Just trust me, take a sip, and enjoy your day off.” He said while offering a can.

“… tch, whatever!” Paul took the can and drinks away with the rest. At night, while everyone else is asleep, Mark was the only one awake. Out from his pocket, he pulled an old picture of him and his mom. He contemplates on going back to his mother after a long time, but reinforces himself that his mother was a pathetic woman that couldn’t even kept his dad from leaving. He puts his picture back to his pocket, and went back to sleep. at 4 in the morning, he was preparing for the shop to open.

“hey Mark, can you take out the trash? I was gonna do it, but the others need me somewhere else.” Said an employee.

“on it!” Mark grabs the trashbags, and begrudgingly takes out the trash. As he went to the back to throw out the bags, he hears rustling inside the bin. He opened the lid, and saw a dirty black dog chewing on a chicken bone. The dog noticed, and jumped to him. Mark dodged the dog, and grabs a stick nearby.

“shoo, shoo! Get away ya little mutt” he throws the stick to the dog and it runs away.

“Mark, what the heck happened?” asked Paul working that day.

“nothing, just some dog that tried to jump me.”

“whatever, just get ready for today’s shift. Remember, take without suspicion.” Said Paul.

“don’t need to tell me twice.”

As the day went by, Mark was about to close the shop, before he hears panting behind him.

“ugh, you again. Shoo, get away, or else you’re gonna see my badside.”

As he said that, the dog reacted by laying beside him.

“this little-! You heard me, didn’t you!? I said-.”

As he touch the dog’s body, he felt something. As he sees a bit carefully, the dog’s stomach was almost empty. Mark stops what he’s doing, and he thinks. With a frustrating sigh, he gets in the shop, and used some of the stolen money to buy meat products, and took them to the dog.

“here, and eat up! If you replenished enough energy, leave, and don’t come back.”

He opens up the meat products for the dog, and locks the shop. As he turns, the dog was walking away after eating. As he returns and deposits his stolen money, Paul and Todd looks at him with while raising their side eyebrow.

“Mark, what is this?”

“what is what?”

“you guys supposed to get $40 today, Paul’s already deposit his 20, but you’re 5 bucks short.” Said Todd.

“what.were.you doing!?” said Paul holding his anger

“GET OFF MY BACK!! I’m sorry, okay?! I was tasked with lifting heavy things, a-and also shelfing duty. You think it’s easy keeping focus the whole day?”

with the room filled with tension, Todd broke the silence.

“well, at least we made it enough for food tomorrow.”

“great, good thing they’re not dunces.”

With a feeling of relief, he went to his bed and sleep, while having the dog at the back at his mind. The next day, when was going to close the shop, a bark sounded behind him. He turns around, and see the same black dog he fed yesterday.

“you again? I told you don’t come back.”

When he said that, the dog took out something from its mouth. Even though it’s a bit slobbery, Mark was not mistaken. With a bit of shock, he saw a pile of money, not too much, but not too little.

“w-what!? where did you get this money!? And you’re bringing it…to me?” the dog only sits there with a smile while it’s tongue sticking out.

“well, don’t mind if I do.” He says while taking with excitement, forgetting about the saliva covering it.

“yuck, gross. Beside the drool, you’re not half bad little doggy.” Said Mark.

As he was bending down to pet it, he saw the dog’s old and ripped name tag.

“Beatrice? That’s your name girl? Alrighty then Beatrice, looks like you got yourself a great partnership.” He said patting the dog.

As of that day, Mark was able to earn more and more from the stolen money from the shop, and the ones from Beatrice. Day after day, Mark keeps bringing more money for their hangout, more than enough for them to buy food for days. At nighttime, Mark and Paul was talking, while opening a cold can of soda.

“*sigh* I don’t know how you did it, but you’re able to get money for the gang. How’d you do it?”

“oh you know, I was just “sniffing” the area around, and decided to take some scraps.” Mark said with a smirk.

“well, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it! If this keeps going, we don’t need to worry about food anymore. And we don’t need to worry about going back to our deadbeat parents.” Then Paul lifts his can towards Mark.

“to us! For today, and the next.”

Mark looks at Paul’s can, then lifts his own.

“to us.” Then they clank their cans and continued drinking.

After chatting for a while, Paul went to his office to sleep. as Mark was getting ready for bed, he felt something licking his left index finger. He quickly turns around, and he saw Beatrice beside him.

“(girl, what are you doing here? You can’t be here, get out.)” but Beatrice just sits there with a smile on her face.

“(what the- f-fine, you can stay here for a bit, but not long.)” he sits on his bed, and waits.

After a while, Mark was starting to feel bored. Instead of doing nothing, he tries to talk with Beatrice.

“(ya’know, I always find it weird that you were rummaging the trash when we first met. By your collar, you should have an owner, but by the looks of it, you’ve been abandoned for quite a while.)” he said before caressing her neck.

“(what happened? Did you ran off, or got lost? Whatever it is, you probably missed them. You and I are alike, but unlike you, I have a reason for running away. My mother had me after my father left, so it was only the two of us for a while. Then she remarried, but her new husband wasn’t any better, maybe even worse.)” Mark stops for a moment, and sighs tiredly.

“(he would always scold me, sometimes he would scold her, and he even hits her. I HATED that man, and I also hated my mother. Then I ran, wishing to never see her again. It’s been a while, and I’m starting to miss her. I want to go back home, but it’s too late for me to go back. I just wish…to have…another…chance.” Before he was able to finish, he collapse to his pillow, and fell asleep.

As he sleeps, Beatrice finally got up, and walks away to not worry her new friend and master.

As days went by, nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Until one day, as Mark was closing up shop, he expected to see Beatrice sitting behind him to get the money she brought with her. As he turns around, Beatrice was nowhere to be seen. Confused, he looks around and call out her name, but nothing was heard. He runs to the hideout quickly as possible, hoping what he thought had happened to not be true. When he arrived at the hideout, he saw Beatrice trying to break free from the rope that was tied around her collar, while barking and whining as he tries.

“PAUL!” yelled Mark “what are you doing to her?!”

“oh hey Mark, so she’s a female. I was bit suspicious on how you got more money, and surprise surprise, we found something smelly on the base. Low and behold, I found this little mutt waiting outside of shop. So I “took” her here to use as our money-making animal, or were you keeping her for yourself?”

“let her go, Paul!” said Mark while stepping closer to him.

“*sigh* and I thought we were brothers. Boys! Take him out.” Then Paul’s goons run straight towards Mark, while Paul was taking Beatrice away by force. Without hesitation, Mark rammed through the crowd of goons that was in his way, making them fly like they were blown by the wind. As he reach his place, Todd was guarding the front door. As Todd sees Mark, he readies himself to fend off Mark.

“Todd, get out of the way, and I promise to not hurt you.”

“I’m sorry, Mark. But I can’t let you.” Said Todd before rushing towards him. Mark sighs, and readies his stand.

“I’m sorry, too.”

Todd throws a punch, But Mark catches his fist before reaching his face. Then he threw Todd, while flipping his body, crashing him to the wall. After he was done with Todd, he went to the front door to confront Paul. As he opens the door, Paul rushes towards him, grabbing both of his arms and pinning him to the ground. As Mark was struggling to break free, the sound of sirens is coming towards them. As the sound was close to them, a police officer went out of his, pointing his gun.

“FREEZE! No one makes a move. you two! Get up slowly, and put your hands in the air.”

Mark and Paul slowly stands up, and put their hands up in the air. As the officer was going to get them to his car, Paul pushes Mark towards the officer, making both of them to stumble and makes an opportunity for him to escape.”

“get him!” said the stumbled officer, then the rest of the officer chase towards Paul.

“and as for you young man, you’re coming with us.” Even though they didn’t say, Mark knows the reason for his arrest. The cop gets him to his car, and brings him to the holding cell. While on the road, he remembers Beatrice, and tries to tell the cop.

“sir, sir please! There’s this dog and-”

“quiet.”

“b-but sir!”

“I SAID QUIET!”

Without being able to tell the cop, he accepts his fate and hopes that Beatrice is going to be okay. at his holding cell, while waiting for his sentence, he reflects on what he did for the past 3 years. The day he left his mother, the day he joined Paul’s gang, and the day he met Beatrice. All he feels now is nothing but regret.

“young man, young man!” he looks towards the source of the voice, it was a police officer.

“take your things, you’re free to go.”

“what?”

“you’re free to go. There’s a woman looking for you, she even paid for your discharge. Now get out of here.”

Mark couldn’t believe what he is hearing, a woman? The only woman he knows is…Mark wouldn’t believe it before he sees it for himself. As he went to the front of the police station, he saw a familiar figure standing there, like she was waiting for someone.

“hello son, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

“mom?”

“oh, so you still remember? I’m very glad.”

“mom, I-“ his mom grabs his hand before he could finish.

“let’s…go home first, okay?”

Without another word, they took a taxi and drove to an apartment complex. After they arrived, she opens the door to her apartment, and let her son in first.

“it may not look much, but I hope you don’t mind.”

“y-yeah…what happened to the man you remarried? And the house?” Mark asked

“oh him…I left, and I rented this place with the money I had left.”

A silence filled the room for a while, then his mom went to the kitchen.

“you’re probably hungry, right? Let me whip out something fo-“

Mark rushes towards her and hug her from behind.

“mom! I’m sorry for ditching you for so long. I should’ve never left you alone, fighting for your life. I promise to be a better son for you.”

“…ever since your dad left, I was devastated, and scared to fail to raise you alone. I thought if I remarried, I can take care of you better, but it only makes things worse.” His mom grabbed his hand and caressing it.

“I don’t blame you for leaving, but you also made me anxious every day, not knowing what happened to my son.”

Mark softly turns his mom around, facing her to him.

“we both messed up, huh?” Mark said before smiling. His mom smiled back.

“heh, we did. But we’re together again, and let promise to better together.” She then puts her hand to his cheek. “capiche?”

“capiche.”

They then inch closer, and hug each other. While they’re hugging, a rustling sound came from the front door. Mark opens the door, he was tackled by a familiar black canine. He opens his eyes, and saw Beatrice.

“Beatrice! You’re okay!” he said before stroking her head and body aggressively overjoy.

“Mark, who’s this?” asked his mom.

“oh yeah. Mom, meet Beatrice, our new friend.”