By Bev Craddock
This Story Won First Prize in Our Contest
Learn More About Our Contest Here
The woman finds him when she pads downstairs in her robe and slippers to make her morning coffee. Or maybe she finds him late at night as she is turning out the lights, a heaviness pawing at her feet. The dead dog is a mastiff, a Saint Bernard, or a Bernese mountain dog, and consequently, of a heft the woman is unable to move. The dead dog remains on the floor for days, for weeks, for months. The woman is divorced, or widowed, or perhaps never married. She is at an age where there are still possibilities; however, they are diminishing. Her children are gone, moved away, or worse case scenario, deceased. Or perhaps her children live nearby and never visit for reasons the woman does or does not know. Or maybe there were never any children, which is something the woman does not bear easily.
In the mornings, just as the sun is rising, the woman lies down on the floor with the dead dog and asks: How will I move this weight? She asks this again at midday while on the treadmill at the gym, her feet tromping faster and faster as if she is getting somewhere. She asks this as she sits at her desk keying in numbers, or as she stands in her scrubs by a bedside, or possibly as she reads poetry to a class of indifferent students. She asks this in the evening as she hosts a dinner party for her most interesting and loyal friends (she has placed a blanket over the dead dog, or a lampshade on its head, so that her guests think the dead dog a piece of broken furniture or an avant-garde sculpture).
Decades pass, and the dead dog remains on the floor. The woman no longer asks: How will I move this weight? She no longer hosts dinner parties, or stands in her scrubs at bedsides, or reads poetry to disinterested students. The woman’s days are now spent in a chair by the window that overlooks the nursing home’s beautiful garden. Though her vision is no longer what it once was, she can still perceive something of the beauty, the mystery, beyond the glass. Day after day, morning to night, the woman gazes out at the beautiful and mysterious garden, the dead dog, her most faithful companion, on the floor beside her.
Congratulations Bev on your very thought provoking story. Amazing!!
Bev –
Very interesting piece about the metaphoric ‘dead dog’ which must have been a Bernese Mountain Dog because it would be a superior piece of art with a lampshade. I felt like I was in a confusing mind warp with this woman and her dead dog.
Well executed. Deserving of ‘First Place.’
Beautifully written Bev. Congratulations on your win. We will all have to deal with our “own dead dogs” at some point, as this is human condition.
I read this once and enjoyed reading it, but didn’t really get anything from it. I read it again, and also enjoyed it. I think it’s because the scene stays the same, the dead dog is always present and it doesn’t change, but it’s not boring. The enjoyment comes from perceiving the same scene of a dead dog in a progression of different viewpoints. First, as a burden to be rid of. Next, as an acceptance that needs to be lived around. Finally, as a companion that cannot be lived without. It’s clever and beautiful imho.
I have to say I enjoyed your take on this story. I understood the dead dog as a metaphor, but your framing of the metaphor was most helpful.
Bev, this is truly a masterpiece!
So much to digest in this piece-quite profound!
I agree with Jeff, “well executed and deserving of 1st place”.
Proud of you for this amazing accomplishment.
Write on Bev, write on…💓
Congratulations Bev! Beautifully written. Your story resonated with me deeply.
I loved the story. As always, your writing is thought provoking! It touches on many aspects of life.
Touching account of a woman’s late life ruminations about what she remembers, or maybe doesn’t remember, about her life, or someone’s life. Imagery is everything here!!
Terrific story! It can be viewed through many lenses.
Wow, very interesting and thought provoking. Great story. I keep getting different images of what is burdening her….
Never read anything like this before. Intriguing story. What is the dead dog? The woman’s worries? I wonder…
This story is extremely well crafted – quite sophisticated. Congratulations on winning First Place. Well done!
What a great piece, wow! A worthy 1st place.