I.

Alyssa knew that the next few hours of her life would be tough, but she held her head high and walked toward the front door of the Barnes’ house. After the first ring of the doorbell, the beast started barking wildly and clawing at the door from inside. Alyssa stood rigidly, took a deep breath, and heard anxious footsteps approaching her.

The door opened a couple of inches and the dog’s snarling nose poked out at Alyssa. An excited Mrs. Barnes spoke through the crack, “Hello, hello! Let me put her in the back room and I’ll let you in.”

“No,” interrupted Alyssa. “She has to meet me now.”

“But she could bite you! I don’t think it’s—”

“I must meet her now,” Alyssa insisted. “Please let her out.”

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She nervously opened the door and Missy, a 120-pound lab, came growling out the door, darting swiftly for the guest.

Alyssa glared at her and spoke, “Missy, stop! I’m not going to hurt you or your family.” Missy halted at her guest’s feet, made a moment’s eye contact, and then proceeded to smell her hand. Alyssa looked over and chuckled to Mrs. Barnes. “I probably smell like meat,” she said. “My girlfriend, Christy, waits tables at the Outback.”

II.

Alyssa had wanted to be a dog whisperer for as long as she could remember. She loved all animals and possessed a special talent for communicating with them. However, her favorite part of the day was coming home to Christy. Christy was usually home first, and tended to always have an elaborate night planned, ending in love-making, which often endured the long hours of the night into dawn. Although the two were polar opposites in many ways, they were practically inseparable.

“I’m home,” sang Alyssa cheerfully. She laid down her coat and started talking, assuming Christy was hearing her. “I had such a productive day today. The dog had so much to get off her chest, the poor thing.” Alyssa froze upon walking into the living room, seeing Christy on the couch and in tears. “Oh my God, honey, what’s wrong?” She rushed to console her.

“What is wrong with me?” she sobbed. Her cheeks were as red as Alyssa’s hair.

“Nothing’s wrong with you. Look at me, Christy. Talk to me.”

“Today, when I was leaving work…there was a group of guys dressed like cowboys that were in the parking lot. They were coming in to eat…and they were riding—hoh—hoh—”

“Christy, stop! You don’t have to say it.”

“Yes, I do, Alyssa! They were riding horses! It’s just so stupid. Every other little girl wanted a pony for Christmas or to take riding lessons, and all I wanted was for horses to go extinct.”

“I’m so sorry, honey.” Alyssa knew that her partner had been diagnosed at a young age with acute equinophobia.

“Now I’m going to have to get another goddamn job again.” The two broke eye contact, both thinking of their difficult financial situation. Then Alyssa spoke, more nervous than she’d been all day.

“I think it’s time that you face your fear, Christy.”

At the top of her lungs, “Are you insane? What kind of thing is that to say to me?”

“I think that it would be good for you, and for us. You know you love your job at the steakhouse, right?”

After a sigh, “Right.”

“And you know that we both need jobs right now to pay for this place, right?”

“Yes, Alyssa, but—”

“And you know that I love you, and that I’ll be there to help you the whole time, right?” The two exchanged looks, smiled, and fell into each other’s arms until dawn.

III.

The next morning was a Saturday, and the grey clouds made it impossible to guess whether or not rain would seep out of them. Christy sat clutching Alyssa in the back seat of the taxi as it drove them out of the city. As the spaces between houses grew, so did Christy’s shaking. After about 45 minutes, they arrived at an old horse farm at which the two had made an appointment the night before.

Alyssa saw an older man in the back of the barn. “Hey, sir,” she called out. “Who do we see about getting a horse?”

“Oh my God!” yelled Christy. “I can’t do this. I can’t. I won’t. I can’t. I won’t—”

“You will, Christy.” Alyssa took her firmly by the shoulders. “It’s going to be fine. I’ll talk to the horse before you get on it.”

Christy didn’t really believe that Alyssa could talk to animals. She admired her love for them, though, and so she decided to trust her. Suddenly, from the darkness of the stables, there was a whinny and Christy began shaking again, but just as Alyssa was about to offer more comforting words, she stopped herself.

The old man approached them in flannel, chewing on straw, and the two cosmopolitan girls did everything they could to keep from laughing at his appearance. He mumbled, “You girls both wanna go?”

Alyssa opened her mouth, but Christy stepped in front of her and boldly said, “Just me, sir. She’s going to walk around next to me on the ground.”

The three started walking and the old man spoke, “Alright, then. Well, since ya called yesterday, she’s all ready fer ya. Stable four, thoroughbred. Ain’t she a beaut? She’s all saddled up so let me help ya up there.” With her eyes closed and her trust in Alyssa, she mounted the horse. Once she was up, she opened her eyes and Alyssa gave her a reassuring smile. The old man finished, “Got three hours. Hope it don’t rain on ya.” With that, the old man disappeared into the depths of his barn.

Alyssa went to the horse’s face, looked into its eyes, and started lecturing it. For the first time, Christy let herself believe that Alyssa might actually have the ability to communicate with animals. She had to believe it. That’s when it happened.

From out of nowhere, the horse gave a menacing cry and threw its two front legs into the air, kicking wildly. Christy started screaming and froze, keeping a dead-man’s grip on the reigns. Alyssa panicked and ran for the old man. She only made it a couple of steps before the horse broke out of the stable, running into the open yard. All that Alyssa could think about was how mad Christy would be at her for suggesting this day trip. In the middle of the yard, the horse grew more frantic and kept leaping into the air, letting out terrifying noises. The old man ran up to Alyssa, spitting out his straw.

“Get her off that thing!” Alyssa cried. “She’s so afraid of horses…Oh God. Get her off!” The old man started running in Christy’s direction. All of a sudden, as if time itself came to a pause, the beautiful brown horse raised its front legs toward the sky triumphantly, throwing its occupant into the air. Christy flew about 15 feet and landed on her back in a pile of wood. The horse relaxed and pranced casually toward the stables as if it knew it had won a victory over its rider. The old man ran inside for the phone as Alyssa sprinted toward Christy, but it was no use.

The clouds gave up and it started to rain.

IV.

A month passed. Alyssa still felt so alone. As she sat watching a movie to keep her mind off of things, the phone rang. She reached over slowly, without motivation, and picked up. “Yes?”

A voice spoke rapidly. “Hello. Hi. Is Alyssa there? I need to speak to her, please.”

“Just a minute.” She leaned over and coughed. “This is she.”

“Oh, hi there! This is Mrs. Barnes. You helped my dog about a month ago. Remember? Yes. Well, here’s the thing, see—the day after you left my house, she became a completely different dog. She acted very quiet all the time, and still does. But she doesn’t come out of the back room anymore. No barking, no nothing. She just sits in there and won’t let us touch or play with her. I took her to the vet, but nothing’s wrong with her health. Please! You’re the only one who can help.”

Alyssa decided that a trip would do her some good. She’d only worked once since Christy’s funeral. Alyssa pulled up to the Barnes’ house. She walked to the porch lethargically and rang the doorbell. Silence. “What the hell was the dog’s name?” thought Alyssa carelessly. Mrs. Barnes opened the door and looked relieved.

“Come in! Come in! She’s in the back. You might not get anything out of her, though. Can I get you some tea or coffee?”

“No, thanks. Just leave the two of us alone for a few minutes and I’ll see if I can help.” Mrs. Barnes rushed upstairs. Alyssa yelled after her, “Wait. What’s her name again?” but she’d already vanished. After giving the door a nudge, a blast of warm air poured out. Alyssa walked in slowly and saw the still, dark outline of a dog curled up in the far corner of the room.

Alyssa thought she’d open with polite conversation. “Hey there. Can you tell me your name again, honey?”

After a moment of silence, the dog looked up at her with and said with a viscious snarl, “I thought you only called one person honey.”

Alyssa was confused and frightened. “I—I’m not sure what you’re—”

“Oh please,” it interrupted sarcastically. “You don’t know how terrible it is, Alyssa. Everyday I sit here, unable to communicate with anyone but the person who led me to my death.”

And then Alyssa knew. “Cah…risty?” she pushed past her teeth.

“Who else? It’s too ironic that reincarnation turned out to be real, knowing your abilities. I thought it was all crap when I was alive. I’ve been acting like this since the day I took over Missy’s body to lure you here.”

“Christy, please,” Alyssa begged. “I can’t be here right now. Something’s terribly wrong.”

The dog stood up. “Oh, you’re not going anywhere, honey. I’ve waited long enough.” And upstairs, an old man sat smiling with Mrs. Barnes as they listened to the faint screams of a middle-aged woman, accompanied by horrific growling sounds, through the hardwood floor.