Duke
Posted by thebigboo
Date Posted: 01/12/2010

I was riding up to Northern Michigan with my aunt to gather up a few belongings that used to be my grandma's. My grandma had been part Native American and strongly believed in ghosts and spirits and the like.

As we drove, my aunt relayed to me many stories of how animals were a large part of Native American culture and often revered as wise and protective. Also, she said that everyone has one animal in which the connection is so strong, the two souls are bonded in a way. This one animal-the totem animal-will watch over you and protect you-even long after your life has ended. Or so go the ancient tales.

"So," I asked her, "What's your totem animal?"
"The animal I feel most connected to... is the lion." She replied. "What about you?"
After considering the question for a long time, an awkward silence filled the car. "Um, the penguin?" I blurted. But instead of laughing at me, she just smiled. Well, they are my favorite. I thought. "So, what was Grandma's?" I asked her curiously.
"The Wolf." she said. "She told me so many times.

It got dark and I guess I fell asleep, but when I woke up I thought I heard a faint howl. I told my aunt. "Could it be a wolf?" I asked, excitedly.
"Could be. There's lots of 'em up here. That's why your grandma liked it here so much. Anyway, we're almost to the cabin, so you need to stay up."

We got there twenty minutes later. As I got out of the car though, I heard the howl again, closer this time. "Let's hurry up." I said, nervous. We went in and turned on the lights. It was a nice place. There were a lot of pictures on the walls and a quaint little fireplace with a huge picture above the mantle. It was grandma when she was younger. She was cuddling a pet dog.

"That was Duke." My aunt explained. "Your Grandma found him as a puppy and took care of him. The vet said he might be part wolf. They thought the mother abandoned him because he was born without one of his legs. But," she continued,"he grew up just fine and went on to win all these medals.

"Wow." There must have been a hundred of them. If not more.
"He sure made your grandma happy. He passed away about ten years ago I think. He was a great dog though."

I remember looking at that picture for a long time as I lay on the couch trying to get to sleep. I had pleasant dreams that night about grandma and Duke. I was there for every joyous occasion they experienced. Happiness filled my every thought as the night wore on seemingly forever. The very night itself was alive, breathing, washing all traces of evil away with the morning light.

My aunt woke me at 9 o'clock. "You were in a really deep sleep. Are you okay?
"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I was just tired."
Anyway, after that, we spent the whole day packing. We left at about 10 that night.

About two miles from the house, we saw something in the road. It looked like a dog, but it only had three legs. My aunt tried to swerve to miss it, but she wasn't fast enough. We were going to hit it! Suddenly, the dog leaped- right through the windshield! My aunt slammed on the brakes! "Oh my God!" She screamed. What on Earth....

I looked at the windshield, not a scratch on it. I knew I recognized the creature. He was half wolf.
I looked at my aunt. "It was Duke," I uttered breathlessly, "protecting grandma and her things-even after life."

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