Creative Christianity: The Widow's Quest - Part 3
Rocky was an amiable companion. It seemed he had not had anyone to talk to, or at least anyone who would listen to him for quite a while. He talked about the neighborhood he lived in before his father had left and his mother died. He told her how when he was very small it had been a decent place; a place where people looked out for each other and took care of each other.
“I’m not sure what happened. I think I was so caught off guard when my dad left and didn’t come back that I didn’t realize what was beginning to happen in our neighborhood. The older people were dying, and the other adults were taking off, just like my dad…”
Constance was surprise at how perceptive and willing to share this young man was. Again, her heart swelled with feelings, not only for this boy, but for the children she had always wanted to have.
Image from Pixabay
They had left the area closest to the Rift boundary behind and were slowly making their way through an an industrial part of the lower south side of Minward. This is the area her forged work papers said she was assigned to do maintenance. She wanted to get as far from there as possible. She saw workers milling about waiting for the morning whistle to open the gate and let them inside.
Just as they crossed an alley way they both heard a soft bark. Connie turned her head, but kept her pace. Rocky, turned into the alley.
“Hey, come look at this!”
Connie stopped, but didn’t venture into the alley. “Rocky, I think it’s a bad idea to get too close to any wild animals around here. Not only that, but we need to keep moving.”
“But Connie, we can’t leave her. She needs our help.” Rocky was persistent.
Connie finally relented. She looked around again, and moved slowly into the alley. She drew up next to the boy and there, in a partially decomposed wooden crate, was a female dog with four young pups who were currently eating their breakfast.
Image by Montree Ladlongmuang from Pixabay
Before Connie could stop him, Rocky had bent down and was petting the mother and all her babies. The dog licked his hands and face causing him to laugh. The little pups whimpered and wiggled, their attention distracted from suckling to a new play companion. Rocky soon had his lap full of yapping, licking, biting puppy ardor.
Connie was about to scold him, but then she realized this was probably something he needed. She wondered how long it had been since he had been able to be just a boy. She decided the Manor at Minward wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was the Rift. She could give the lad a few minutes of joy. She plopped down on the ground beside him, and soon had puppies in her lap as well which made her forget for a few moments the hardship life had brought her.
After a few more minutes Connie put her hand gently on the boy’s shoulder. “We really should not stay here any longer. We might draw someone’s attention that isn’t friendly.”
“But what about the dogs? We can’t just leave them.” Rocky’s voice was concerned.
“I’m sorry, Rocky, but where I am going there won’t be any place for a dog, let alone her pups. It would be different if you had a home you could go back to, or if I wasn’t on a quest.”
“A quest?”
Constance hesitated, but then she made a decision. “Yes, Rocky. I am on a quest to talk to the Lord of Minward about bringing justice into the Rift.”
Rocky’s attention left the puppies and focused on her face. “You’re from the Rift? I didn’t think anyone ever left there, unless they are a Hy-Bred.”
“Well, that’s mostly true…unless you have friends who can forge work papers.”
Rocky’s eyes widened. “You mean, you are kind of like a spy?”
Connie laughed. “Hardly! I’m no more a spy than you are the Lord of Minward. I’m just one person trying to make a difference and find redemption and justice for people suffering in the Rift.”
She stood up. “We need to get going.”
Rocky put each of the pups back by their mother then stood up. “I wish we could give them some food or something…especially the mom. She looks like she needs it more than them.”
“She’s doing what mothers do; giving up her own comfort and needs to give life to her own.”
Rocky gave a little wave and they moved quickly out of the alley.
It wasn’t long before they began walking again that they heard numerous tiny yips and yaps coming from behind them. They both turned around and there came the mama dog with one pup in her mouth and the other three waddling along behind her as quickly as their little legs could carry them.
“Connie, look! They want to come with us.”
Constance watched the dogs struggling to follow them, and once again her heart softened. She knew at the rate they were going she might never get to the Manor of Minward, but somehow that didn’t seem quite as urgent as it had a few hours ago. She looked at the boy, and then at the pups. She began unraveling the scarf she had around her neck, then she opened her pack and got down on her knees.
“What are you doing?” Rocky asked.
“Well, we won’t get very far if we don’t give all those short little legs some help. I’m going to make a soft place in my pack where the smaller two can lay. Those two bigger ones should be able to keep up.”
Rocky looked excited. “You mean we are going to take them with us?”
Connie nodded.
“Oh yippee! I’ve never had a pet.”
Connie picked up the two smaller puppies and put them gently down into her side pack. They snuggled together and almost immediately fell asleep.
“Come on. We’ve got to get some food some where soon, for us and them.”
Connie was not sure why she was accumulating this rag tag band of misfits, but she knew she had to help those who were less fortunate. Maybe it was how she had been raised. Maybe it was something she knew her husband would have wanted. Maybe it was God trying to show her she was not alone. Whatever the answer she knew they were now in it together.