This is my submission for the Monthly Short Story Challenge held on the Sims Forums. January’s theme is “Anew.”

Word Count: 559 Words

Picture Coount: 4

Never in all my life had I cried so hard, not even when my Dad died. Charlie and I had been through so much. We’d met one hot July day while taking a specialized class together. The first time I looked into his face, I knew I’d met a kindred spirit. We tested each other, even sniped at one other sometimes but always found our way back. My Dad, a fun-loving kind of guy, heartily approved of my relationship with Charlie, although Charlie was very serious minded, even stodgy sometimes. Charlie and I went to college together. I got my diploma and he got his certificate.

After being together for nearly seven years, the loss of Charlie left an empty place in my soul, a place I feared would never be the same again. They say time heals all wounds, but I was highly doubtful.

I desperately wanted to turn back the hands of time. Maybe if I’d done things differently, Charlie might not be gone. He’d still be the Robin to my Batman, the Sonny to my Cher. Alas, those times were over and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

I had no choice but to look to the future. As heartsick as I was, I knew I needed a new partner. Charlie could no longer fulfill that role, so I had to find someone who could.

Memories flooded through me as I entered the building I’d last seen a few short years earlier. I was so nervous and scared the first time, anticipating what it was going to be like to endure a kind of training program I’d never experienced before. I was nervous and scared this time, too, but for different reasons. My training remained sharp but in getting a new partner, I was, in a sense, starting from scratch.

Three days later, my new partner arrived. Her name was Abby, and she had the most beautiful golden fur I’d ever seen. She was as different from Charlie as white is to red. I had always wanted a Golden Retriever and now, my wish had come true.

Training wasn’t a walk in the park. Well, sometimes it was…literally. Oh, I was better prepared this time around because I’d already taken Guide Dog 101. Abby knew what to do, but getting used to each other took some doing. Where Charlie had been all business, Abby liked to smile at passersby and window shop a little. How could I fault her for that? She was a Golden Retriever, after all.

It didn’t take Abby long to wag her way into my heart. She had such a sunny disposition that everyone couldn’t help but like. She loved “holding hands” with me in such a way that she’d wrap her toenails around my fingers if she could. Abby even had her loyal subjects and would conduct herself as a queen sitting on her throne.

As the old song goes, “To everything, turn, turn turn. There is a season, turn, turn turn. And a time for every purpose under Heaven.” It’s sometimes hard to understand why things happen even though there is a reason behind it. Charlie’s death meant the end of an era, but Abby lessened the pain of starting anew. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to start anew with.

Author’s Note: This little piece is a small autobiographical sketch of something that happened in my life some years ago. Pictured is my Sim Self and Abby, who I tried without much success to recreate. Sadly, Sim Abby didn’t do the real Abby justice. Here is a picture of the real Abby.

Abby and I had an awesome life together for many years until she passed away from lung cancer in 2010. She will always be “The Queen” to us. 🙂

Here is a picture of Caleb, my current partner.

Another beautiful Golden Retriever who is quite the ham.

If you’d like to learn more about dog guides and the training involved, you can visit Leader Dogs for the Blind by clicking here. This is the wonderful place all my partners have come from.