I’ll just go out and say it. My life ended the way I always wanted it to. I died with purpose. That is how I felt at least. I wanted my death to mean something, and to me, in that moment it was purposeful.

  My name is Michael, I am… was, a retail sales specialist. I worked for a small local company known as Klankers. I sold or helped sell “smart” appliances to dim witted idiots who thought all the fancy stuff was worth an extra grand on the purchase price. All a refrigerator does is keep things cold, why does someone want one that plays music?

  Anyway, I’m getting off topic there. I lived a normal life. Got up, got dressed, went to work, came home, made dinner, went to bed and repeated this process until my eventual demise. Only made it to 30 years old, not that old, but never really felt like “settling down” was the way to go. I wanted a relationship don’t get me wrong, just never found that person in my life at that time.

  Right, I was remembering how I died and why I ended up in the predicament I find myself in. You see, I was walking to work one morning, going to get my cup of coffee from the local Stellarbucks when I saw a puppy get off its leash. It slipped the collar, ran into the road and without thinking, I lunged for it. I got the dog. Let me say that. Picked up and tossed that little guy back at his owner. Man didn’t even get to say thanks before I felt the impact. I always laughed at the cliché moments in animated cartoons and video games when the truck hits the protagonist who did the right thing. Well, it wasn’t a truck for me. I would have been lucky if that was the case. I got hit by a cabbie, too busy on the phone to watch the road, I guess.

  Feeling the impact of the metal on my hip, before the finding out the concrete is an aggressive kisser is not high on my list of recommended ways to go. It was painful. I didn’t just slip into blackness; I got to scream and beg and shout for what I swear was a few hours. From what the people around me were screaming and saying, I doubt it was even 3 minutes.

  Stolen story; please report.

  I only really care about my thoughts at that moment….

  “Yeah, I’m screwed…. But I saved the puppy.

  …

  …

  Worth it.”

  Then I got to find out that the void isn’t what it is hyped up to be. No, I didn’t meet God. No, I didn’t see my life flash before my eyes. It was just nothing. I don’t know how long it was or how much time I spent in that nothingness, but eventually I remember taking a breath again. Feeling things.

  “Waking up” from that void to feel weak and hungry… so hungry. I cried out, surprised, cold, and wet. Something was running itself over me, warm, gentle and soft. I was picked up gently by something strong and warm. Then placed down near the warm soft thing.

  When I felt like I could move with this pathetic lack of strength and sight, I did the first thing that came to mind. I followed the smell of food and the feelings of warmth. Things were very fuzzy after this point, not really clear. I drifted in and out of awareness for a while. Sometimes I would wake up and find myself surrounded by warm and soft things. Other times the bigger warm and soft thing would clean me with what I can only assume to be a wet towel at this point. I STILL cannot see and I am starting to worry I might be blind. Help?

  Good news. I can see after all. I assume it has been at least a good few days at this point. I can also say that it isn’t surprising to of felt so weak. Trying to walk on only 2 legs as some sort of dog creature…. OH! Yeah, right; I have been apparently born as some type of dog or wolf thing. Seeing a snout sticking out of my face gave me a good scare there for a bit. Just kinda looked at it for a while, until my eyes hurt from going cross-eyed. Then I stared at it some more before realizing that 4 legs make it much easier to move around in this small body.

  Mom came back. I assume that giant is mom… or am I just small… no matter. Mom is back, she gave us all sniffs and a few licks before curling up around us and nestling us all into her stomach. If I was still human, I might have been a little more scared than I am right now. Mom is a large Wolflike creature with strange patterns on her chest, sides, and face, from what I can see. She stands by my guess, 4ft tall when on all fours. I would say the symbols are Celtic-like, but I was no history scholar or whatever that field is. Her fur seems to be a shade of Silver with the Celtic looking symbols being a darker grey…. Wait, aren’t wolves and dogs color blind? I mean everything is very blurry still, but can I see colors?

  I just laid there for a while after those thoughts. At least Mom is nice and warm, and I’m getting sleepy again. More thinking about if I can see colors, or see well at all, later.