"Are you crying because you lost a race, or because
you lost someone important?" a man's voice spoke from somewhere
above him and Christian rolled over in surprise, his arm shielding his
eyes from the sun. An old man wearing a floppy broad-brimmed hat and
tattered cardigan sweater, and leaning on a walking stick looked down
at him with a kind smile centered in a steel gray beard.
Christian was silent as the old man lowered himself onto a stone bench that had sunk precariously over the centuries. The old man's face was shadowed by the brim of the hat, but there was something familiar about him. He was probably one of the old villagers who lived a hermit-like existence, Christian thought. "My dog died," Christian said. He was about to continue when a young wirehaired Dachshund jumped up on the bench from behind the man and began pawing his knee for attention. "You have one, too!" Christian said. "Mine was also a wirehair Dachshund. What's his name?" "She - her name is 'Schatzi.'" "Really?!," Christian exclaimed. "My dog's name was Schatzi, too." The old man chuckled. "It's a common name...Dachshund people are long on love and short on imagination." "Yes, I guess," Christian said. "My grandfather named her - she was his dog and then she became mine after he died." "I see," the old man replied. The little dog tired of her bid for attention and began investigating under the bench. A few clods of dirt were expelled as she dug briefly after an imaginary badger and then she began inspecting the few upright gravestones for other interesting smells. "Do you think dogs go to Heaven?" Christian asked as he leaned on one elbow and watched the young Dachshund disappear behind a hedgerow. "They do indeed," the old man answered with certainty. "That's the whole point of giving them souls." "Animals have souls?" Christian asked hopefully. Copyright Jim Willis 2001 - Used With Permission Click here for other works by Jim Willis featured on this site Back to Viewer Viewpoint Table of Contents Do
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