Leave and Never Come Back
“Go, do you hear me?” Richard whispers, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Go, and never come back! Ever.”
His trembling hands struggle with the heavy iron chain. He drags Daisy towards the garden gate, flings it wide open, and tries to push her out onto the lane.
She doesnt understand whats happening.
Could she be being cast out? But why? She hasnt done anything wrong
“Please, go,” Richard repeats as he throws his arms around the dogs neck. “You cant stay here. Hell be home any moment and”
Just then the house door bangs open, and out lurches drunken Charles, wielding an axe.
*****
If people could even imagine for a moment how hard life can be for dogs forced to fend for themselves on the street, perhaps some would treat them differently.
At the very least, they would watch them with tenderness and pity, not disgust and contempt as often happens.
But how could people know the kinds of hardships our four-legged friends face? How could they?
Dogs cant tell their stories.
They cant complain about their fate. They carry all their pain within.
But I will tell you this storya story of love, betrayal, and loyalty.
And mine begins with Daisy, who was unwanted from the very start.
Why her first master couldnt stand her is anyones guess.
Perhaps it was simply that she existed at all.
So, he did the only thing he could think of: he drove the tiny, two-month-old puppy to the nearest village and left her on the roadside.
Thats rightjust left her.
He didnt even bother taking her into the village, where someone might have taken her in.
Instead, he left her at the edge of the main road and drove back to the city without a care.
Traffic hurtled down that road: cars, coaches, lorries, all at a furious pace.
One wrong step and the puppy would have been crushed.
Maybe her owner was counting on that.
And even if she didnt get run over, she wouldnt have lasted long without food or water. She was just a baby.
But that day, fate smiled on her.
For it was then that the nameless puppy met Richard.
And thats what saved her.
On that day, Richards father had given him a brand-new bicycle for his fourteenth birthday, and he was eager to take it on a spin.
“Dont go past the end of the village!” called his mother, Margaret, as he mounted his new “iron horse” and pedaled down the lane, full of childish excitement. “Do you hear me, love?”
“Alright, mum!” Richard called back with a grin. “Everything will be fine!”
But of course, Richard did stray beyond the village. The village lanes hadnt been mended for yearsholes everywhere. Unsuitable for cycling, barely fit for walking. At night, you could easily break your leg.
Beyond the village, a brand-new stretch of tarmac led to the main road into town. Richard fancied feeling the wind on his face.
It was a weekend, so there was hardly any traffic. Everyone was at home, resting.
Near the turn for the main road, Richard was about to head back when he spotted a small puppy running desperately back and forth along the vergedarting at cars, dodging death at the last second. It was terrifying to watch.
“Whats wrong with it? Whats it even doing out here?” Richard wondered, dismounting.
He gently left his bicycle in the grass and walked briskly towards the puppy.
*****
“Mum, Dad, look what Ive found!” Richard beams as he comes into the kitchen. “Someone just chucked her out on the road. Can we keep her? Shes lovely.”
“Richard! Did you go past the end of the village? I told you not to!” Margaret scolded.
“Mum, I only went as far as the main road and back again,” he answers, guiltily looking at his shoes. “And see, it was for a reason. If I hadnt picked up this puppy, she might have died.”
“And what about you?” Margaret sighs. “Did you think about yourself? You couldve been hit by a car. Kids shouldnt be near the road aloneespecially on bikes.”
“I promise I wont again, Mum. Please, can she stay? Ill look after her, I swear. Ive wanted a dog for ages and its my birthday today.”
“Your birthday, is it?” Margaret shakes her head. “You ought to get a proper telling off for not listening.”
Richard hugs the shivering puppy tighter, fearing his parents will take her away.
“Oh, go easy on the boy, Margaret,” his father, Edward, chimes in with a grinhes in good spirits, his voice warm from a glass or two. “Hes fourteen todaypractically a man! Think what we used to get up to at his age. And hes picked a fine dog too. Not a scraggly mongrel, she looks a good sort. Shell look after the yard. Keep her, son. I dont mind.”
“Well, if your father agrees, so do I.” Margaret smiles at Richard.
“Yes! Thank you! Youre the best parents in the whole world!”
Richard is overjoyedand that very day, he gives the puppy a name: Daisy.
At first, Richard had assumed she was a boy, but after a closer look, it turned out she was a gentle girl. Kind, affectionate, and in no time, she and Richard become inseparable.
His new bicycle is soon all but forgotten. Now, he spends all his daylight hours with his fluffy companion.
What bad could happen now? The puppy is saved, Richard finally has a doga dream he secretly thought would never come true since his father was always so strict and not much of a pet lover.
Even his parents are pleased to see Richard so happy. So, is that the end of the tale? Sadly, no.
Trouble comes six months later.
It all began when Charles, Richards dad, lost his beloved job and fell into drinking.
He drank heavilyall the savings Margaret had put away for a rainy day, he wasted on drink.
No amount of pleading (whether Margaret begged through tears or stern words) made any difference. In fact, it only made things worse.
Soon enough, even his wife became a source of irritation. Charles changed beyond recognition.
Well, it was the boozeconsumed in alarming quantitiesthat changed him. Now cruel, heartless, furious at everything
He even raised his hand to Margaret at times.
For any reason, or no reason at all. The fridge was missing a decent bit of cheese, the roof needed mending, smokes and lager cost moreeverything was Margarets fault.
Pointless to tell him otherwise.
“Me? My fault?!” Charles would bellow.
But the truth was, it all came down to him.
No one forced him to drink.
He could have found other work. Maybe in the townas a driver, or even a laboureranything. The boy would be off to university soon and theyd need the money.
But Charles didnt want to move. And when the local farm where hed worked much of his life went bust, there was no more decent work in the village.
“Margaret! Whereve you hidden the gin?” roared Charles one morning, hungover and angry.
Margaret did her best to stop him, but it never ended well for her.
Asking him one wrong question, even a small complaint, was sure to spark a row.
And if she hid the gin, it nearly always turned violent. Charles would turn into something monstrous.
She strictly forbid Richard from interferingshe didnt want him getting hurt too.
Charles had a heavy hand. Best not to tempt fate.
At such times, Richard would slip away to Daisy, stroke her soft head, and silently watch the old house where his parents argued.
Daisy would lick his salty, tear-stained cheeks, comforting him as best she could. She, too, would glance worriedly at the house.
Once, Richard himself took the brunt of it. Margaret had popped to the shop. Richard was just playing in the garden with Daisy. Charles saw him, called him over, seized his arm, and smacked him hardagain and again.
Richard tried to bear it, but finally he cried out in pain, struggling to break free. Charles held on tighthis fingers were like steel clamps.
Thats when Daisy, always so gentle and sweet, erupted in fierce barking at Charles. Her barks rattled himand Richard took the chance to pull away.
But then, shouting “Ill kill you!” Charles began staggering towards the house.
Richard knew he was headed for something dangerous. This wouldnt end well. What should he do?
“Go, please!” he whispered to Daisy, tears on his face. “Go, and never come back! Not ever.”
His hands shaking, Richard unclipped the heavy chain, dragged Daisy to the gate, threw it wide, and gave her a hard push onto the road.
Daisy didnt understand. Was she really being sent away? Why? She hadnt done anything wrong
“Go, for your own sake,” Richard sobbed, stroking her once last time. “You cant stay. Dads coming back and”
Just then, the house door crashed open. Charles appeared, axe in hand.
“Richard!” Charles barked, his voice furious. “Whyve you let the dog loose? Who told you to?”
“Dad, please,” Richard stammered, instinctively stepping back.
He wanted to runrun away with Daisybut he couldnt leave his mother alone with the beast.
“What do you mean, dont?” Charles growled, glassy-eyed, glaring at his son and the dog Richard shielded with his body.
“Dont hurt the dog, Dad. Go sleep it off. Youre not yourself you arent even human”
“Oh, I see. I shouldnt touch the dog? Well, she shouldnt have barked at me, should she? Ive fed and watered her, and she dares to snap? Ill put her straight, and after that, Ill see about your attitude. Since when does a child talk back to his father? Ill teach you some respect!”
Charles staggered forward, nearly fell, only just grabbing the rail to keep his balance, then started down the steps, axe swinging.
“Send her here!”
“Charles, dont!” Margaret cried, returning from shopping just in time. “Shes just a little thing! Youll kill her!”
“Dont you Charles me. That cur needs to learn whos in charge! Richard, bring her here, do you hear!”
There was no more time.
Richard twisted to face Daisy, looked into her brown eyes, kissed her damp black nose, and with a wrenching shove onto the lane, shouted:
“Go!!! Go now! And forgive us please, Daisy, I never wanted it to end this way.”
“You little! Charles exploded, finally grasping what Richard was doing.
Daisy looked back one last time at Richard, then ran towards the woods.
It was the only place she could hide.
“Dont come back, Daisy, or hell kill you!” Richard called after her, voice breaking.
What happened after, Daisy never saw.
She only hoped her beloved person and his mother would be alright.
*****
And then
No, not a month or even a year has passed.
Seven whole years slip by since that day. Seven long years Daisy waits for a miracle.
She hopes, prays even, that one day she might see Richard again.
But every year, hope grows slimmer. Richard and Margaret have been gone from the village a long time now.
She returns home only half a year after fleeing into the woods. Thats as long as she can last before her longing defeats her.
Cautiously, she noses the gate openit creaks. Inside, she finds only a burnt-out ruin. Not a soul.
No Richard, no Margaret, no Charlesthough Daisy hardly mourns him.
She returns several more times, but always finds it deserted. Yet even so, Daisy doesnt sense tragedy. She thinks, perhaps, theyve just movedthough shell never know when or where.
But one thing is clear: Richard and Margaret will never come back.
They have nowhere to return to.
Nor does Daisy. No home, no family.
So she wanders from one village to the next for a year or more, never staying long.
Then an old man finds herby the same main road where Daisys story first began.
A strange sense of déjà vu.
“Lost your way, have you?” the old man chuckles, his hair silver, beard long. “Fancy living with me?”
Daisy goes with himshe has no other choice.
He turns out to be kind, if fond of his tipple. He never stints on her foodbroth, porridge, marrow bones. He spares no expense for her.
He also takes her to work with him.
Hes a night watchmanand, oddly enough, the caretaker at the local graveyard.
At first, Daisy is unnerved prowling among graves, but she soon adapts.
She grows fond of Mr. Hargreaves too.
Hes a decent soul, only desperately lonely. Just like her.
Drink doesnt make Mr. Hargreaves cruelit makes him sigh deeply and confide his woes to Daisy: his wife left him, his own daughter wont speak to him, calls him a failure.
Whenever he slumps silent, Daisy settles beside him, burrowing her nose against his leg, listening closely. She understands how important it is for people to be heard.
And when the old man falls quiet, Daisy remembers better days. Margaret. Richard. She tries to forget Charlesforever, if she can.
Strangely enough, one evening on her rounds, Daisy discovers his grave.
At first, she can hardly believe it. Yet she somehow knowsshe recognises the old, hateful smell of whisky and anger.
“Whyve you stopped?” Mr. Hargreaves asks, seeing her unmoving by a certain headstone. “Lets see, who have we got Charlesyes, that must be him. The one who died in his own house, burned out. Silly way to go, though folks say he was a brute. Wife and son were well shot of him, moved to town. Still, as they saybest to speak well of the dead, or not at all. Come on, lets go. May he rest in peace, I suppose.”
Daisy lives with the graveyard keeper almost five years more. Then he passes away, and shes alone again.
Where can she go? No one wants an old dog now.
So, Daisy decides to stay at the cemetery. She can sometimes find food, and here, at least, no one troubles her.
Shes made her peace: this is where shell see out her days. She doesnt need another masterMr. Hargreaves was more a companion in misery than anything else.
Then, when the first snowfall comes, something happens Daisy could never have dreamt.
Shes doing her usual patrol, nose to the ground, when she hears voices.
People rarely visit graves on weekends, but now she hears two: a man and a woman.
Theyre standing by Charles grave.
Curious, Daisy creeps closer.
“Told you it was a bad idea to come here, Alice,” says the man. “Why should I visit my fathers grave? After all he did, why should I forgive him for what? For driving Mum to an early grave?”
“You must, Richard,” replies Alice gently. “Forgive and let him go with God. You keep having nightmares, dont you? I know, if you forgive, things will get better. No matter what kind of monster he was, hes your dad. If he keeps haunting your dreams, it must mean hes not at peace.”
“What would you know about it?”
“My gran said so. Forgive him, and everyone will feel betteryou most of all.”
“Maybe youre right,” Richard mutters, looking sombrely at the gravestone. His eyebrows knit together, then relax.
“I forgive you, Dad. For me, for Mum, and for Daisy Shame it was you who drove my best friend out. I hope shes safe somewhere.”
For a long time, Daisy has been standing behind Richard, hardly able to believe her eyes.
Its himher human.
Hes grown, become a man, but she knows him in a heartbeat.
Will he remember her?
As if sensing her gaze, Richard spins round and freezes.
“Rich, whats wrong?” Alice asks, worried. “You look like youve seen a ghost!”
“Not a ghost,” he murmurs, “a dog”
“So what? There are always dogs in graveyards. Are you scared?”
“I dont know I swear I know her wait, isnt that”
Richard moves slowly towards Daisy, stopping a few metres away, unsure.
Then, Daisy wags her tail.
She takes a step towards him. And in the next instant, they both begin to run.
Before Alice can react, Richard drops to his knees, wrapping his arms round the dog he last saw seven years before. Daisy throws her paws around his neck, licking his cheeks, his nose, his chin.
Her oldest wish has finally come true. At last, she is reunited with her humanthe one she waited seven long years for.
*****
Of course, Richard takes Daisy home.
She quickly befriends Alice.
Soon, the three of them are a family. Then one day, Daisy finds a stray kitten in the street; unanimously, he becomes part of the household too. And later, a baby joins their little familya boy named Oliver.
Some years later, Richard even restores their village house, and every year, the whole family visits for a holiday together.
Despite everything they have suffered, despite all the hardship and pain, Richard and Daisyand all those they loveare finally, truly happy.
