Samhain Publishing

Today I want to tell you a ghost story.

I’ve always been fascinated with the stories about dead people going about their business as if they were still alive. There’s a theory that says that these ghosts are caught in a loop. They don’t realize they’re dead and they endlessly “relive” an event in their lives that brought them the most happiness or the most grief.

A few years ago, our rottie, Isis, had to be put to sleep when we could no longer maintain her quality of life. I can’t express in such a short piece what Isis was like or what she meant to us, but she was an extraordinary dog with Olympian desires. That rascal was always looking for opportunity, whether to cause mischief, steal a morsel or have an adventure.

But she was also a stoic little girl, never once complaining as her aging body betrayed her. Even when she came down with cancer, she went through chemo without a whimper, knowing there was always a cookie waiting for her at the end of the treatment.

What I remember most about Isis is how much she loved mealtimes. They were the highlights of her day and she would dance like a whirling dervish in anticipation of chow.

Granted, she didn’t eat mere dog food. When she came down with cancer we did a lot of research and discovered that a high protein, high fat diet seemed to slow the growth of cancers, so we switched her to real meat, eggs, and fish and did away with all her carbs.

Heck yes, she loved mealtime! What wasn’t there to like?

So it shouldn’t have surprised me when my husband, Greg, called me, his voice trembling with shock.

“Sit down,” he said. “You aren’t going to believe this.”

He was watching tv with our other rottie, Tank, and they both got up on the commercial to see what they could scrounge from the fridge.

Now Tank is a low energy dog. Greg was already in the next room when the big lummox finally decided to slide off the couch.

That’s when Greg stopped dead in his tracks.

As clear as day he saw a familiar rottie butt wiggle cheerfully into the kitchen. What-the-heck? His head snapped around and he saw Tank right behind him. There was no other dog in the house. And he KNEW that little butt. Isis was renowned for her trim figure even unto old age.

Greg raced into the kitchen, his heart pounding. But it was empty. Isis wasn’t there.

Had he subconsciously thought of her? Did he will her into existence and saw what he wanted to see?

He called me right away because between the two of us, he knows I’m the one used to ‘seeing’ the unusual.

“Was I hallucinating?” he asked.

I smiled. Isis had been gone for more than two years when she made her appearance. But I don’t think she ever really left.

She was doing what she loved best. She was at home with her daddy, and if Greg had taken a moment to look at the clock, he would have realized…it was mealtime.

Isis was always on time.

***

Maria Zannini is the author of TOUCH OF FIRE, a futuristic fantasy that combines magic, myth and romance. He’s a scoundrel and a thief and she’s a woman on a mission. They’re the perfect team—if they don’t kill each other first.

For writing topics, markets, and a new series on saving money, visit her on her blog.