Once Upon A Karma (Karmic Krystal Book 1) (9 page)

Once I get inside the building, I realise it is actually some kind of hospital for animals.  People are moving into and out of the surgery room quickly.  A police officer walks into the building and starts to interview one of the animal hospital’s rescue staff who helped take the injured dog inside.  The policeman asks about the injuries.  He asks whether the dog will survive or if the dog needs to be euthanised.  I don’t understand what is ‘
euthanised
.’  Standing near the hospital staff and the policeman, I can feel their anger and their determination to save the dog. 

I reach up and touch the policeman’s hand as he is talking.  He briefly glances down at me before continuing his line of questioning.  While he is busy, I search every corner of his mind in the hopes of finding out for myself what had happened. 

I see a list of questions that the policeman has memorised and is asking the RSPCA rescue officer.  Pushing a little bit further, I suddenly see the face of the man who slammed an axe into the head of the dog – a punishment he inflicted on an animal for barking when he was trying to talk on the telephone.  As the man is placed under arrest and the charges are read aloud to him, I see his face over and over, absorbing it into my memory.  Looking around, I see where they have taken him after he is booked.  What he has done is reprehensible. 

Pushing further still, I am able to see inside the mind of the man who had committed such a monstrous act.  I see him with his friends.  They are laughing.  I continue penetrating the minds of those inside the police officer’s head until I am able to see what they are laughing at.  Before them, the dog is yelping, screaming, growling… doing all it can to escape this evil man’s torture.

I flick through different moments in this animal abuser’s life …so many moments when he has tortured animals for fun during his lifetime, even as a child.  The joy I can feel coming from him infuriates me.  I continue watching as, one by one, animals die, screaming in agony at this monster’s hands.

The policeman startles me as he leans down, mid-mind-probe, asking me if I am lost.  I am no longer able to see the animals or the man who had hurt the dog, but I had seen all that I needed to see.  In response to the policeman’s question, I ask if the dog with the axe will be okay.  Both the policeman and the RSPCA rescue staff member tell me that they are doing everything they can to help the dog and make sure he is not in pain.  They ask me if I know anything about what happened. 

“I saw his face – the man who did this,” I say to them both.  “He will get what he deserves.”

“Yes he will,” the policeman replies.  “I can promise you that.  What is your name?  Are your parents here right now?” he asks.

“My name is Krystal Hunter.  Daddy is next door adopting a new puppy for us,” I tell them both.  “It is my birthday today and I am five years old,” I say, holding up five fingers of my hand and smiling.  “Daddy is going to let me name our new puppy when we adopt him or her.”  I find myself smiling even harder when I remind myself of this.

The policeman tells the rescue staff member that he will be back as soon as he reunites me with my father in the adoption area.  He takes my hand and we leave the hospital building.  I say a quiet prayer to the Goddess as we walk, asking that she gives the dog much-needed strength to get recover from his injuries and emotional trauma. 

As soon as we enter the adoption area of the RSPCA, my father turns around from the reception desk with a frantic look on his face.  Regret fills me for leaving his side, especially after the fright he received when Tania hadn’t been in her bed this morning.

“KRYSTAL!  SWEETHEART!” he exclaims frantically.  Worry radiates off him but it is quickly replaced with relief as he hugs me tight.  The police officer explains to my father that I had seen a dog with an axe through his head.  He tells Dad that I wanted to make sure that the dog was going to be okay.  Dad frowns and nods, understanding my concern.  He is glad that I am alright and that I hadn’t been kidnapped, especially after those men in the flat car had tried to take me away.

After the policeman walks back to the animal hospital building, we make our way into the puppy area.  None of us had yet decided on what type of dog we want to adopt.  We just know that we do not want a dog which is as big as a horse.  Trying to walk a horse would be quite difficult for a five year old!  I decide to take a chance and I ask my dad if we could possibly get a kitten instead.

“No chance,” he responds before I had finished the question.  My dad hates cats.  I don’t know why and it makes me sad and frustrated that he hates them.  I personally think they are wonderful.

I look closely at each puppy as I walk past their glass kennels.  Most of them have already been adopted and the ones remaining are of the larger dog variety.  The RSPCA staff member then asks if we would perhaps instead be interested in fostering a mother dog which is nursing tiny puppies.  Dad asks what types of dogs need fostering and enquires as to what is involved.  After being told that our job would simply be to keep them safe, ensure the mother has plenty of food and water at all times and to socialise the babies, we opt to become foster parents instead.  Getting more excited by the minute, we make our way to the nursery.

Each glass cage inside the animal nursery contains one mother dog and her babies, plus one or two extra babies which the mother might have adopted if those puppies’ mothers had died or abandoned them. 
They are so teeny tiny!
  I see one dog that almost melts my heart.  Small in stature, she shows absolutely no signs of aggression when we come close, regardless that her babies are feeding from her. 

“Mindy here is half Jack Russell, half Mini Foxy,” the RSPCA man says to us.  I peek through the glass and count the puppies that are drinking from their mum.  Wriggling and massaging their paws on their mother’s belly as they drink, four squeaking puppies are eagerly quenching their thirst.  My sisters and I look at each other, all of us smiling from ear to ear.  We nod in agreement that Mindy and the puppies need to come home with us.

“Daddy?” I pull on the bottom of his shirt.  “Can we bring Mindy and her babies home with us today please?” I ask.  Our father looks at each of us, unsure about whether to proceed with the whole fostering deal.  His face then relaxes and he smiles as soon as he sees the excitement and anticipation on our faces.

“I think that is a great idea,” he answers.  My sisters and I cheer as quietly as we can so we do not wake up the puppies, all of which are now sleeping happily with very full tummies.

With the paperwork signed, Mindy is placed gently into a large animal carrier.  One by one, her tiny puppies are also gently placed on the blanket inside the carrier.  Mindy sniffs and licks each puppy as it is reunited with her.  Dad carries the large animal carrier to the car, which is strapped into the middle of the back seat with a seatbelt holding it firmly in place.  I sit on one side and Tania sits on the other.  Both of us place our hands on the carrier, just in case the seat belt doesn’t hold properly.  Leena sits in the front seat next to Dad.  We gently talk to Mindy and her puppies the whole constantly during the drive so that they can start to get used to our voices.

A police car causes all of us to jump when its siren goes off behind our car.  Dad pulls over to the side of the road.  I pout, trying hard not to cry, having seen this happen many times on television shows, but Tania takes my hand on top of the pet carrier and squeezes it.  I worry that the policeman will pull his gun and demand that Dad gets out of the car before making him lie on the ground so he can be handcuffed and dragged away. 
My sisters and I are too little to drive home!
  When he walks to Dad’s door, the police officer asks to see my dad’s licence and registration.

“Is there a problem, Chief?” my dad asks.

“Just a routine stop, Sir,” the policeman replies.  He checks my dad’s papers, noting that three girls and an animal carrier are also in the car.

“My daughters and I have just fostered a dog and her puppies from the RSPCA,” Dad says, smiling.  After another peek into the back seat, the policeman smiles and thanks our dad, telling him that everything seems to be in order before sending us on our way.  I hug the cage as best I can, glad that walking the rest of the way home with Mindy and her sleeping babies was something I needed to worry about.

When we get home, Dad parks the car in the shade at the side of the house.  He asks each of us not to slam any car doors as he reaches into the back seat to lift the animal carrier out.  He takes it carefully upstairs and we quickly follow.  Half way up the stairs, I stop and glance over at Rusty’s grave next to the fence line.  Hopefully, Rusty understands why we are fostering Mindy and her puppies.

Setting up an area of the lounge room with a make-shift fence and warm blankets, our dad takes Mindy and her babies out of the animal carrier, one by one.  He puts the animal cage in the corner of the fenced in area of the lounge as we watch.  I hear a noise come out of my dad’s mouth which almost sounds like a whimper.  When I turn around to see what is wrong, I am delighted to see that Dad is looking at the dogs with the biggest eyes and the widest smile. 

“You did a good thing, Daddy,” I say as I hug him around his neck.  He hugs me back.

“We did, didn’t we?” He says excitedly, trying not to be too loud.  “So now that they are all settled, we need to decide which puppy we will keep!” Dad announces, trying to look tough and manly after his whimper at their cuteness just seconds earlier.  It amuses me that he wants to keep up appearances, not wanting his daughters to think he has gone all sappy over a few tiny puppies.  Each one is a different colour.  One black, one brown, one grey and the smallest is a combination of all three.  While I agree that all four of the puppies are absolutely adorable, I have a feeling that my sisters will not be happy with what I am about to suggest.

“Don’t get mad, okay?” I say to everybody in the room.  My dad and sisters quickly look at me, wondering what I might say that would upset them.  “The puppies are cute, yes, but we all saw how quickly the puppies at the RSPCA found new homes today.”  Leena, Tania and Dad all look at me curiously.  “We are just fostering right now, getting these puppies used to being with people and being loved.  I also think we are able to choose which dog we want to keep, right Daddy?”

“Yes,” he answers, trying not to interrupt whichever direction my speech was heading.

“I think if
all
of the puppies go back to the RSPCA, they will quickly find homes.  But Mindy won’t.  Her babies will be gone and she will be alone with no family,” I continue.  “I would be really happy if we could keep Mindy instead of keeping a puppy.  We could be her new family.  She will be used to us by then and she will not be so sad at the shelter by herself, possibly never having a home to go to.”

“I thought you wanted to name the puppy we keep?  Wasn’t that the plan?  It was your birthday gift,” Tania points out.

“Well, that
was
the plan, but we were also going to bring just a puppy home today.  Instead we brought home Mindy and her babies,” I reply, trying hard to make my point.  “Mindy
has
a name but she does not have a home.  Her babies will have new homes very quickly.  I would like my birthday vote to be that we keep Mindy instead.  I would also like Mindy to keep her name.  It suits her very much.  She
looks
like a Mindy, doesn’t she?”  My sisters put their thinking faces on, considering all of the facts which I had just laid out before them.  Our dad stays quiet and lets us decide what we want to do.  Finally, Leena and Tania nod their heads and agree.  When the fostering is over, Mindy will be adopted by our family and the puppies will go back to the RSPCA to be adopted by other families.

“I am so proud of you, sweetheart,” my father says as he embraces me into a hug.  “You really are growing up so fast.”  Smiling, I hug him back.  His words mean everything to me.

That night, as we are watching the news, a report comes on about a man who had mysteriously died today while in his jail cell, after being arrested and charged for animal cruelty.  They show the mugshot of the man on the screen.  It is the same man who had gleefully put an axe through the dog’s head.  “An autopsy will be carried out this evening to determine the cause of death.  We will update you as further details become available,” the reporter says. When the next news story comes on, I look at Mindy and her puppies, glad that they are with us and not with that evil man.

The following day, I see the man’s face again but this time it is on the front page of the morning newspaper.  Handing the paper to Leena, I ask if she can please read it to me.  Tania sits down beside us and listens carefully to see what has caught my interest so early in the day.

“Reports indicate that the man’s brain had completely liquidised and had poured out onto the coroner’s floor like soup when she tried to remove it to determine cause of death.”  Leena stopped reading and a frown appeared on her face.  “Yuck!”  She then continued, although looking a little bit green around the gills. “It says that the cause of the trauma is unknown and occurred while he was alone inside his holding cell.  The amount of blood vessels which had burst in his neck, eyes and face suggest that his death was excruciating.”  A look of satisfaction crosses my face as I realise that Karma is in play once again. 

“He hurt that poor dog!  There is no justification for putting an axe through an animal’s head!” I scream, my hands hitting the table and waking the puppies.  “Just imagine what that poor innocent dog felt – how incredibly helpless and afraid he was at being trapped with such a monster!  The evil man put an
axe
into its head just because it was barking when he was on the telephone.  He enjoyed doing it and he deserves to be dead.” Both of my sister’s jaws drop, not only at the harshness of my words but also at the fact that the newspaper report had not mentioned anything about barking or a telephone conversation.  An uncomfortable silence ensued, but after glancing over at Mindy and her once-again sleeping puppies, they both agreed with me that he had most definitely deserved such a fitting demise.