Bottle Return

Kevin shivered under his blanket in a faraway land.  On nights like this he regretted volunteering to stay for the extended deployment.  It was Christmas Eve, and he missed his family. Yet his reason for staying hadn’t changed.  It had been over a year, but he still had the letter from his mom bearing the news that Bottle had died.  He knew home wouldn’t be home without his dog.

Of course “Bottle” wasn’t his real name.  For a few months he had been Charlie, and Kevin had loved him from the moment he saw him sitting under the Christmas  Tree.  He had been 12 that year, and even though he normally saved his allowance for the latest gadget or video game, now he would save his money to buy special treats for his dog.  The only trouble was it didn’t matter how many chew toys, dog bones, or bouncy balls he bought, the only thing Bottle would ever play with were empty soda bottles.  So the name started to stick, and soon Bottle wouldn’t answer to anything else.

He could still hear the crunching sound of the plastic as Bottle would chew on the old Sprite or Pepsi bottles.  They would wear out pretty quick, but there were always more to take the place of the old ones.  When Kevin would toss them in the air Bottle would risk life and limb to make a spectacular catch.  He would play with his beloved companion for hours, and theirs was a bond that is only possible between a boy and his dog.

Tonight as Kevin tried to fall asleep in this scary and cold place, he couldn’t help remembering how Bottle used to keep him warm at night.  He would always sleep with his head tucked under Kevin’s chin, and in the morning he would always know as soon as Kevin had woken up.  He would lift his head and lick Kevin’s nose.  This morning ritual never changed.  Even as Kevin had grown from a boy to a man he had always started his day with a kiss from Bottle, right up until the day he had joined the military.

Serving his country was the honor of his life, and he had been so proud to be able to do it.  The only part that had been hard was leaving his dog behind.  Last year he had been counting down the days to when he was going to get back home to his best friend.  Then that letter from his mom had come.  It felt like his world had ended.  His heart was empty and he was broken.  So when the call to duty had come again, he had stayed.

Still unable to sleep Kevin folded up his blanket and tucked it under his chin.  If he closed his eyes he could imagine that it was Bottle there, and soon he was finally asleep.

He awoke rather suddenly the next morning, but kept his eyes closed.  Something had startled him, but in his sleepy state he wasn’t sure what it had been.  Then he felt it again – his blanket was moving under his chin!  He opened his eyes and was shocked to see his blanket was gone and there was a dog laying with him.  As he looked down in utter surprise the dog looked up and licked his nose.

His first thought was that Bottle had returned to him.  But that was crazy!  Bottle was dead, and he had been a lab while this dog looked like some kind of shepherd.  It sure felt like Bottle though, and as he looked into this new dog’s eyes he could have sworn it was Bottle looking out at him.

He decided there was only one way to know for sure, so he got up and started searching around.  He looked all over, in trash bags, under tents, and even in other guy’s backpacks!  Finally he found it – a half empty soda bottle.  He didn’t even drink the soda, just dumped it on the ground and resealed the bottle.  Glancing back he saw the new dog still lying on his blanket. He took a deep breath, and threw the bottle as hard as he could.  Without missing a beat the new dog took off running, made an unbelievable jump, and caught the bottle with the familiar crunching sound Kevin had so dearly missed.  Kevin dropped to his knees as the dog came running back with the bottle held proudly in his mouth.   It felt like a miracle to Kevin, and he realized that the empty ache he had carried for over a year in his heart wasn’t there anymore. 

It was the best Christmas since the one when he had gotten Bottle in the first place!

His turn to go home was going to be coming up again in just a few weeks, and this time he was going to go. And whatever it took, he was going to bring this dog with him.

Word Count is 831.  My inspiration was my own dogs and my hope that we will be together again somehow and somewhere.