Whistles and the Bell

Written by Andy Naranjo
Artwork: Reawake, little one, among the stars by Gillian Story

TW: Animal violence

Madrid was sunny. The scaffolding, busy streets, and buses kept a stray dog busy as she drank from streams of spilled wine. Other housed hounds barked at her in a jealous frenzy. Jealous of her freedom, they warned her of patrolling dog catchers, teasing her about the dark fate every stray faces. Ignoring their tongues, she was jealous of the roofs that kept them shaded from the streets.

Then one day, a whistle spun through the air, unlike any Spanish gesture. It clicked, clacked, and snapped along a cobblestone alley. The stray followed the sound until she ended up on the laps of a newlywed Irish couple. They were infatuated with her. However, they had reached the end of their honeymoon.

Awaiting the boat back to Galway, Ireland, the man continued to whistle his tune as the couple made their way to the dock. The stray, stimulated by the song and desiring a new home, followed. As the boat arrived, a storm took over the sky. Then, crashing against the tides, the stray; coaxed by a whistle, was at sea and afraid. 

She had left Madrid. Upon the shores of Ireland, the storm loomed over with roars of thunder. Winds pushed the family through the front door of their cottage as the wife ran to light the fireplace.

Shaken and wet by the trip, the dog dropped by the fire.

“She’s afraid, Oliver.”

“Ah Mary, we’re all riled up by the storm. Let’s just turn on the box and sleep. I’ll walk Maribel around tomorrow and we can start the day fresh.”

Maribel’s ear shot up and flopped over at the mention of a brand new name. Flicking on the radio, Oliver and Mary slowly danced into their room as “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” brightened up the atmosphere for them. However, the wet and shaken podenco was deafened by the black clouds and lightning that cried from above. 

She remembered the shapes they took on during the sail. Haunting her were visions of a house, animals fleeing from a golden light, and an angry man shouting lightning. As Charles Harrison sang in black and white, an important message interrupted:

“-To the attention of Galway, folks; the peelers are still out. In hopes of finding the nine-year-old Shannon Clam and her dog Belle, please report to the station or the police if you see or know anything. She was last seen walking Belle by her parents, but heavy storms and winds have made it difficult to-“ 

Maribel could hear wolfhounds barking outside the windows as they trotted through the rain. Her paws gripped the floorboards, and then…KCRACK. The sound of lightning whipped through her ears and she bolted through the front door, splitting the wood. Out and about, sprinting like a scared cat, Maribel slipped and sprinted through the narrow streets of a stormy Galway. Following her were dark clouds in the shape of animals and people, barking thunder at her as they stretched through the night.

Diving into a bushy forest just on the outskirts of town, Maribel found herself sliding into a puddle of mud and greenery. Licking off the rain and wet dirt, she hid in a bush as she shook in fear. Golden particles from the dew-covered leaves dusted her fur and tickled her nose. Succumbing to the irritable sensation, Maribel sneezed. From the bush launched a plume of gold dust that was whisked away by the waves of wind and rain. Suddenly, Maribel heard a wail that climbed the trees, possibly from a large wolf. Then after, a crying howl, possibly from a small dog, lost and alone. Following that, a couple of croaks hopped about. Maribel had never heard such a sound. 

Curiously, she exited the bush with her head lowered and long tail tucked between her legs. She followed the pair of croaking sounds. Getting nearer she could see two wet lumps hopping around. They seemed to be upset.

“They have to be around somewhere!” the brown toad croaked in distress.

“Come back home! Come back to us!” the green toad wept.

Maribel was confused, “You can talk?” Shocked by her own voice, she yelped.

Surprised by the slender canine, the two toads croaked and croaked in fear as they hopped in circles and both yelled, “IT WAS YOU! YOU TOOK OUR CHILDREN!”

“No, I didn’t!” Maribel yelped back.

“Yes, you did! Just like that little girl!”

“It was dark but we know it was you! With all that gold in your fur, you can’t deny it!”

Confused and perplexed by the situation Maribel began to whimper, “I just want to go back home.”

“NOT WITHOUT GIVING BACK OUR CHILDREN!!!” the two toads began to strike Maribel with their stretchy and sticky tongues. Patches of her fur were torn off. In fear she sprinted away, deeper into the dark, wet forest of Galway.

In every puddle and drop of dew floated little golden dust particles. Maribel was thirsty and there were puddles everywhere, as she leaned over to take a lick. “Don’t drink that!” 

From behind a stalky tree stepped out a trembling young fox. “If you do, you’ll be able to talk like me… and that’s not normal,” warned the little fox.

Maribel didn’t say anything, frozen by the sight of the little fox. She had never seen one before. Maribel looked around in fear, maybe, the parents were lurking around.

“Oh, it’s you!” Terrified, the fox hid behind her bushy wet tail. 

“I know you can talk. I see it in your fur. Where’s my mommy? And my daddy? BRING THEM BACK!” the little fox began to howl a somber cry.

Backing away, Maribel was saddened by what she saw. It reminded her of when she was young. Sprinting further into the forest, Maribel was being watched and followed. Suddenly a large beast pounced on her with a deep and heavy growl. She barked repeatedly, shocked and afraid. Maribel begged for her life.

“How could I let something like you go!” spoke the bloodhound. “You took those children! You took those parents! You took that little girl! And worse, you took my lover!”

The bloodhound sunk its large teeth into Maribel. As she let out sharp cries begging for her life, a bolt of lightning cracked a large tree in half near the two dogs. Alarmed, they both ran. Wounded, Maribel ran deeper into the forest and dove into a bush. 

Peeping out to see if the coast was clear, Maribel looked up to see if the clouds still loomed over her. But all she could see was the thicket of trees that hung. She could feel the rain falling onto her.

“That was a close one!” squeaked a voice. Maribel jumped out of the bush, spooked out of her paws.

“Wh-who was that?!” she questioned.

“I’ve been following you. I’ve been pretty lost too…” From out of the same bush, a glowing butterfly emerged, unaffected by the rain. Maribel began to bark at the golden figure.

“You’re a due-Duende! I’ve only ever heard of you from other strays!” she barked.

“It’s ok, it's ok, it’s ok, I promise I won’t yell at you like the others did. I’m a fairy, I know you’ve never seen something like me but I really am lost. I was separated from my family because of this storm... My name is Fae. Our family has been trying to escape this storm but… It keeps following us, wherever we go. Then the other night things got so dark and the rain was so heavy, we couldn’t see each other’s glow. I got lost… Where are you from? How’d you get here?”

Maribel jumped at the opportunity to share her story. She explained how she’s from Madrid, Spain. Her parents were strays, so she believes. Maribel also expressed that when she and her siblings were born in a park, dog catchers had discovered them. Maribel was taken to a nearby bush. Her crying jowls were stuffed with pebbles and grass to pacify her. Shortly after, her family disappeared. Maribel expressed how she was raised by a wandering duck until she was old enough to take care of herself. Then, the tale of a catchy whistle, that got her on a boat, came up, which then led to the current situation.

“Sheesh, that was a lot,” Fae listened, then proposed a deal. If Maribel helped Fae back to its family, it would help her back to her new home. Maribel agreed. Fae whistled an Irish tune in happiness. This startled but then relieved Maribel. On their way through the woods, Fae led. Maribel expressed her fears of running back into familiar faces. However, the whistling fairy insisted that they persist through those obstacles.

Traversing through the forest, both Fae and Maribel became very fond of each other. They played games like hide and seek, fetch, and capture the bug. All the way through the treacherous storm and thick forest, Fae whistled⁠. Until…

“Something is following us,” Fae warned.

“I can smell him,” Maribel shared.

“Who?” asked the fairy. Maribel knew exactly who.

“The bloodhound that bit me…”

“Why is he following you?” 

“He thinks I took his partner away,” answered Maribel.

The two continued onward towards the town of Galway. Eventually, they could hear the whimperings of a baby fox, cold and alone. Suddenly a snap of a twig, beneath Maribel's feet alerted the child. Out of the trees darted the wet fox, attacking Maribel and nibbling on her paws.

“Tell me where they’re at!” bit the little fox.

Flying in his face, Fae shouted, “Hey, whoa, whoa! Calm down there, little orange shrub.”

Fae promised that if the little fox followed them, they could find his parents. The fox let go of an unfazed Maribel and squinted at the fairy.

“I saw a little girl and a dog earlier in the rain. It was you she was following.” He pointed his snoot at the podenco. “And you were following a bright light, JUST, like you are now. My family told me never talk to strangers. If I do, I could get lost… So I won’t go, I WON’T!” The little fox darted off.

“What was that all about?” Maribel questioned.

“I dunno,” shrugged Fae, “Kids see things when they get scared.”

The two continued through. Maribel expressed her worry about the wandering bloodhound. The fairy swore to protect her no matter what. This calmed her nerves. 

“Do you hear that?” asked Fae shortly after. The two could hear sloshing in the mud, followed by ribitting. Suddenly the fairy was snatched out of the air and lodged between the slimy lips of a very angry toad. The podenco was then attacked by another toad, whipping her with its tongue. 

Quickly, Maribel snatched up the toad that was attempting to swallow Fae. “If you eat her I’ll eat you up too!”

The other toad pleaded with her not to and begged the dog to return their children. Maribel began to slowly close her jowls. Finally, they let go of the fairy and the toad leaped out of Maribel's mouth. The two toads hopped away crying.

The two continued forward. However, Maribel began to get curious and felt like they were going in circles. But the fairy promised if they continued to follow the path they were trekking, they would be out of the woods in no time. Except, Maribel was unable to discern the supposed path.

“You must know this forest well to see the path,” the podenco pointed out.

“You’re right, I do,” whistled the fairy.

“But I thought you were lost…like me.”

Fae shouted excitedly, “No we’re not. We’re found!”

Maribel looked around to find they were in the middle of the forest, in a wet and muddy field surrounded by trees. She looked above and saw the eye of the storm looking right back at her. In the field, Maribel could smell an awful funk. 

Laying all around were small dead toads. The lifeless body of two adult foxes laid over one another. A mountain of a corpse rested: it was the bloodhound's partner. Finally at the center of the field lay an unconscious and muddied little girl. In her hand was a torn collar.

“Thank you for helping me find my home, Maribel,” the fairy whistled, “And just like I promised, I helped you find your home!” Fae pointed down at the girl.

Confused and angry, Maribel argued that this place was not her home. 

Fae pointed at the torn collar that donned a shiny bell. “Well sure it is, isn’t that your bell down there? Isn’t your name Mari-BELL? Didn’t you show up here with a new family? I was told to find the dog that belonged to this little girl.”

Maribel was even more lost than before. Trying to escape, she began to run again, but the eager fairy whistled to the stormy heavens above. A rain of lightning shot down all the trees that surrounded them. Maribel stopped in her tracks. She could see the dead that lay around were decomposing quickly and could feel herself getting tired.

Then, out of the forest trees, a swarm of fairies flew out and danced around Maribel. Surrounding them was a cloud of gold pollen. They were all whistling a tune that was putting the dog to sleep, until out pounced a bloodhound and many angry adult toads. 

Even the little fox ran up with a high-pitched howl. They all snatched as many fairies as they could and ate them. Many more fairies appeared and swarmed the group as they all cried a terrible whistle. The commotion pierced the booming sounds of the thunderous storm and had caught the attention of the wolfhounds patrolling the streets of Galway which were still in search of the little girl and her dog. 

Shortly after, the authorities followed their dogs to the center of the forest. But before they appeared, the nasty fairies dispersed, in fear the adult humans would see them. There, the police found a dehydrated and unconscious little girl and a dog, barking at the trees.

That morning the little girl was returned to her family, telling tales of fairies and talking animals. She denied that the podenco was ever her dog and that hers was still missing. Maribel was found at the pound by her new owners.

She seemed terrified. Being handled by the dog catchers, Maribel refused to leave her cage. Oliver extended his warm happy hand to her, smiled, and whistled a charming Irish tune. Alerted by this, Maribel bit her new owner. Shocked and upset, the dog was deemed too dangerous to allow on the streets and could be rabid. Everyone agreed; she was a stray, however. Shortly after, Maribel, the podenco of Madrid, was put down.