Shinwa no Ochiba:

Suzaku’s Story

By D.Doberman

(Based off of a story by Raven. Used with permission.)

Chapter One

Life

Seven years ago

Mary Ann Carter bounced in her seat as she waited anxiously for any news from either of her parents. The family’s dog was having her first litter of puppies and Mary Ann couldn’t wait to hold and take care of the little dogs.

“Stop it.” Her older brother, Andrew, said without looking up from what he was doing on the floor. “You’re making too much noise, and if you don’t stop, I’ll get father.”

“He wouldn’t come!” Mary Ann retorted, sticking her tongue out at Andrew. “He’s helping with the puppies!”

Andrew tried to think of a response, but he couldn’t find one. He finally muttered. “Idiot.”

“DAD!” Mary Ann cried out loud.

There was a few seconds of silence, then the sound of approaching feet from the closed kitchen door was heard. The door opened, and Mr. Carter poked his head through the doorway.

Mr. Carter was a tall skinny man, with short hair, and wore a pair of round glasses. His hair was messed up, and the button-up shirt that he wore was disheveled.

“Children, please stop. Your mother and I are trying to help Lyda deliver the puppies.” He waited a second then added, “If I help you, the puppies might not make it.”

Mary Ann stopped in her seat, and sat very still. She put her finger to her mouth. “Shh… I won’t make a noise.”

Andrew agreed not to make Mary Ann scream, and Mr. Carter turned and closed the door.

Ten seconds later, Mary Ann was bouncing in her seat. It was very easy for five-year old girls to forget what parents asked.

They heard their mother and father talking, but nothing they could make out. They were talking in whispers.

“How many puppies do you think there’ll be?” Mary Ann asked.

Andrew looked up. “I don’t know. Be quiet.”

“I hope there’s a bunch of them.”

The clock on the wall ticked on, and thirty minutes later, Mr. Carter poked his head through the door again.

“Okay kids. The puppies are here.”

Mary Ann jumped to her feet and ran into the kitchen. But Mr. Carter blocked the doorway.

“Whoa, you sled dog,” he laughed. “You need to be quiet, and careful not to touch the puppies yet. Okay?”

“Okay.” Mary Ann crossed her fingers behind her back.

Mr. Carter allowed one person at a time into the kitchen, and since Mary Ann was first in line, she went in first.

Her mother, Mrs. Carter, was sitting on a chair with her arms folded, looking down near the furnace where Lyda, their Doberman pinscher was lying next to. Lyda was looking down at five puppies, all of which were making peeping noises.

Mary Ann squatted down to look at them.

“Don’t touch them, Mary Ann,” Mrs. Carter warned. “Just look.”

“I won’t touch them, mother. I promised father,” Mary Ann smiled, and pointed to a puppy. “Is this a boy or girl?”

“That’s a girl.”

“Then her name is… Maura.”

“I think Maura is a beautiful name,” her mother replied, smiling.

Mary Ann pointed to the next puppy. “Boy or girl?”

“It’s a girl as well.”

“Well then, her name is… Rae.”

“I like that name.”

Pointing to the next one, Mrs. Carter replied, “Girl.”

“Gosh, there’s a lot of girls in this family. I wish I had two sisters.”

“Don’t worry, the other two are boys.”

“Oh, okay. Her name is Juno.”

Mrs. Carter smiled. “Now what about the boys? Is Andrew going to name them?”

“No. I will. If Andrew names them, he’ll end up calling them something stupid, like: Killer,” Mary Ann pointed to the first boy puppy. “His name is Flynn.”

“Flynn?”

Mary Ann blushed. “It’s the name of the boy I like in school…”

Mrs. Carter laughed a stifled laugh.

Mary Ann pointed to the last puppy, which was smaller than the rest. “His name is… Adyn… yeah, Adyn. I like that.”

“Mary Ann,” Mrs. Carter said softly. “He’s the runt. Adyn might not live for very long.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s small.”

“I’m small compared to daddy.”

“Yes, but that’s different.”

Mary Ann shrugged her shoulders. She stood up and looked down at Lyda. “You should be happy. Five puppies,” she pointed at each and every one of them and said their names in order. “Maura, Rae, Juno, Flynn, and Adyn.”

“Wonderful, darling. Now you better leave, and let Andrew have his turn to look at the puppies.”

Mary Ann turned and waved good-bye at the puppies and walked past her father who stood at the doorway. He let her pass than allowed Andrew to come see the puppies.

Andrew wanted to name the puppies, and Mrs. Carter allowed him to change the name of one puppy. Flynn was renamed Hunter, as Mary Ann predicted.

A couple of months went by, and all of the puppies began growing up quickly. Maura had fawn colored fur, Rae had white colored fur, Juno grew blue fur, Hunter red, and Adyn the normal black and rust.