Skip to main content

BARRY DER MENSCHENRETTER

 



The snow was blinding, a total whiteout as Barry trudged on with his heavily padded feet. He was on a mission as usual. A troop of travelers had gone missing, buried under the treacherous avalanche which had come cascading down with a relentless fury. 

Barry with his highly sensitive senses to sniff out frozen bodies went about his task with great devotion. His handlers followed close behind him, every hope pinned on Barry as he dug out chunks of snow with his strong paws. The Alps resounded with his victorious howls when he succeeded. 

Barry belonged to a breed of Alpine Mastiffs, who later came to be called as the St. Bernard after the St. Bernard Hospice where the injured or unfortunate travelers were brought in to be bundled up in warm clothes and to be fed steaming broth.

Barry, in this fashion had saved over forty lives. He was a cuddly pup who was brought in from a nearby farm and adopted by the St. Bernard monastery. Watching a long line of mastiffs rescuing people, he had grown to love his job. 

Sporting a saddle pack of bread and a barrel of water tied to his collar, this valiant canine hero set out everyday, scouting for potential pilgrims in an ill fated accident of their carriages or infamous avalanches which came without a warning. 

His gorgeous pools of eyes, a well rounded bear-like appearance and friendly demeanour appealed to children and grown ups alike. 

A great furore arose one day at the hospice, that a child had been failed to be brought in from a group of rescues. The parents were frantic and inconsolable. In a trice, the mastiff rescue team set out, Barry taking the lead. Innumerable digging attempts drew up a naught. 

Barry bounded ahead of them.Huffing and panting, Barry brought down his burly and robust legs, prodding and jabbing at the heavy snow, a stream of icy spray flying in all directions.

Whimpering at a possible failure to bring out a human alive, Barry yelped when he struck a tiny frozen body. The team rushed to the spot with as much speed as they could muster, but Barry had done the unimaginable. 

The rescue team couldn't help but watch in awe, for, Barry had surpassed his duty and performed a deed which he wasn't familiar with or trained in. Hauling the puny toddler on his back, Barry had raced down slope and back to the hospice to the amazement of all.

But what's a hero without the sacrifice of a martyr? Barry met the razor sharp steel blade of a bayonet valiantly when he was mistaken for a wolf in the frosty blindness by a soldier he had set out to rescue.

Scarlet pools spread fast on the pristine snow and Barry lay torn and ripped in the cold. With every breath leaving his body faster than an inhale, Barry soon succumbed to an excruciating end…

Holy are the grounds stained with the blood of a hero.

(496 words excluding the title)

©️ Sangeetha Kamath 

Pic Courtesy:Image by Šárka Jonášová from Pixabay

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

GROWN, FLOWN AND HOME ALONE!

      GROWN, FLOWN AND HOME ALONE! The scent of sweet spring is here! Buds and blooms add dashes of color as the grayscale backdrop bids farewell. While the hush of icy twilights were a sweet lullaby and hazy halos of the winter moon sparkled away, our tender snuggles under the downy, weighted quilts were cozy and warm spaces. Dreams floated in and out—whispering their nostalgia and wistfulness. They hummed a timeless tune of a sacred and cherished bonding of a mother and her cub. The sunlight shone a pale peach behind my closed eyelids before they fluttered open to a bright eve of a spring dawn. The rush of warm breeze rustling the pendulous Silver Anne pothos, heady fragrances wafting from rosemary sprigs and the calming lavender stalks roused the lethargic bear in me from my hibernation.  A well deserved wintering later, life is once again a delectable stew bubbling away. Of a different flavor this time.  **** My den these days is a no sound zone. All day. Un...

ANAM CARA

The waves are soft and frothy. Laced with gossamer frills tenderly kissing the tips of my toes covered with the grainy sand of the rugged seashore where I'm sitting, wistful. A gust of briny breeze tousles my hair as I gaze as far as my eyes can see.  A flock of terns wheel overhead, their sharp, shrill cries punctuating the air as they dive and swoop over the surfs. A lone frigate bird, its crimson belly dazzling like a jewel skims majestically above, its long, slender wings outstretched as it rides the thermals high above the ocean. I absorb the sights and sounds of the late afternoon while absentmindedly scooping seashells beside me. As the afternoon phases, the furthest rim of the ocean is fringed in a gilded hem and the sleepy sun yawns, its dipping glow streaking the sky in a mellow tangerine and warm cherry. As I continue sitting there, the ships and yachts appear --specks of light from the portholes glimmering in the distance, reminding me of the phrase “That ship has saile...

A-Z Blogging Challenge Theme Reveal

Hey everyone! April is almost upon us and it reminds me of my childhood summer vacations, visiting my cousins in different cities, playing with them and watching movies late into the nights, brunches, more outdoor skips and hops and when the boiling sun drove us indoors, how the tangy, icy lemonade pitchers awaited us.  April is also about April showers, new beginnings and of late —the month of blogging! I'm excited to announce that I'll be participating in the A-Z April Blogger Challenge, starting on April 1st! This challenge is all about pushing myself to create new content, connect with fellow bloggers, and have immense fun while doing it. Throughout the month, I'll be posting daily(except on Sundays) on a variety of topics, ranging from personal reflections to mixed random bags of thoughts especially bordering on memoirs and non fiction. That's something I excel in apart from writing fantasy and the paranormal.  2025 will see my blog Sanguine Allegory bustling with ...

BOKETTO

  In my quiet moments, I pause the world from its frantic pace. In that stillness, I wistfully gaze into the distance and just let things unfurl as they please. I let my thoughts flow, absorbing nothing. Internalizing nothing. And just like that, the strands of tightly woven twine untangle and the knots come loose. Today, as usual, I found myself caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily grind. I was rushing to get things done, stressing about deadlines, and feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tasks on my to-do list. But then, I took a deliberate pause. With a deep breath, I stretched, stepped away from my desk, and walked out onto my balcony. Leaning on the railing, I looked down at the familiar lanes of my neighborhood, twirling around the corners behind the blocks of apartments.  The park and playground stood deserted at noon amid the cluster of flowering trees and surrounded by the hedges lining the curbs. I gazed at the sky, feeling the warm sun on my face and ...

CHẠ̀WKHRĀW (Chxw̒kh rxw̒)

  As usual, at the dot of 8 pm, the Guzheng plays its stirring chords, the haunting notes beginning a slow sweep, rising to a powerful crescendo and alternating with a tranquil ebbing of melody surfing me along the waves of soul-stirring, yet a serene stretch of an hour every day.  I make it a point to sit right beside my dining room window to bask in this lulling sound therapy as my neighbor downstairs diligently plays on this zither, oblivious to my admiration. What a luxury it is to have a live orchestra while I savour the last meal of the day. It's a welcome distraction to the otherwise jarring squabbling of the playful neighbourhood children.  The Chạ̀wkhrāw of this– that the musical household might move one day is a foreboding thought. Foreshadowing this, deeply ingrained in me is the shattering news I had received upon returning to Singapore after an 8 month absence here.  The Ramadan festive season was fast approaching at the end of March but the apartm...