Flicka - Story of a boy and his dog

July 27th 2012.

They had been waiting for that call for one month now. He had a hunch that today was the day. Just came back from work, gave her a massive hug, a kiss on the cheeks and they laid down together on the bed daydreaming.

Phone rings, hearts racing, feet trembling with anticipation. He checks his phone. The number ends at 007. It was him. The man that was trusted to bring them their puppy one month ago.

"Hey Kostas! Why don't you come over at my place today at 15:00 so i can give you a present?", he said cool as a cucumber.

"Right on Mr. Panagiwths, be right there!", he replied.

She didn't hear him, for he had escaped in the kitchen to make it a surprise.

"Get dressed Alyx, we are going somewhere to pick up something!", he said assertively.

She wears her jeans and a shirt and they get in the little red KIA picanto. He reverses and starts climbing up the hill. The house was only 500 meters from their's. The little car struggling to climb, the coughing engine a sign of the miles it had devoured over the years. But they did not care. She starts to understand where they are going and grips firmly her seat and his hand.

They park outside the big steel gate. He pulls the handbreak, closes the doors and they hit the doorbell. The house is massive. It is beautiful and has a massive garden, green with trees and a little shed at the right. Next to the house is a big fence with at least 20 dogs inside. Guard dogs, ready to protect their property.

The house door opens and they see a big man coming towards us. He is holding something in his hands but they cannot see, for he has it behind his back. She holds his hand so tight it has turned red and ready to burst. But they don't care. This is the moment they have been waiting for, the last seed of their love, sown. It would seal their happiness, or spell their doom, as it turned out. The aftermath reminds me stories of prodigy, of people destined for great success, only to turn out bad, bringing death and destruction. But they also bring the need for rebuild.

The man lets them in the garden. They hear a squeek, a tiny little bark.

"I have something for you!", Mr. Panagiwths says.

And he leaves on the ground the cutest little puppy in the whole world. The living, breathing organism that would be both his happiness and bane, the thing he would love and loathe the most in the world after a few months time.

Naming her Flicka 2 years before i knew i would move to Sweden..coincidence? Or Fate?

She just hobbles around the dirt, trying to walk. She was only 8 weeks old. The feeling was indescribable. Alyx picks her up and the tree of them move to the pier on the left of the house. They sit on a bench made of rock, and a servant brings little Flicka a plate with rice and chicken. She is not leaving our side. She has big fluffly ears for her size and they soak with chicken as she dives hungrily in the plate of food. She is golden, shining bright like the sun, with a silky pink tongue, big round puppy eyes and skin so soft to the touch. They were in for a rollercoaster of emotions.

The breeder tells them the details, solves all of their early questions and they sign the contract. He pays him the rest of the money and put little Flicka in her transport cage. Hands holding, they walk calmly towards the car into their new home. The cutest bark, if you can call that a bark, shatters the silence of the mountain air. They were so happy.

And this was the beginning of the end...