The Blue That Sparkles (Working title)
an excerpt

Andrew woke up slowly and his first thought was that he must be dead.
He was warm and comfortable, floating in a sea of softness and warmth. It was an experience he had never had and so, he assumed he must be dead and this was heaven.
“I didn't think I was that good” he thought, followed by, “If I'm thinking like that, maybe I'm not dead. Come to think of it, I'm sore. I don't think you're allowed to be sore in heaven.”
That decided it, he was not dead. But it was very hard waking up and he had a feeling that, once he did, he would have wished to stay asleep.
But he was curious. He remembered the river, the girls, being sick, and, with a pang that almost brought on tears, his dog and how she had disappeared.
He had heard once that an animal, when sensing it was their time, went off on their own, to die alone. The thought of his beloved Freya no longer being with him brought tears to his eyes and, in desperation, not wanting to cry, he opened them. The first thing he saw, was his dog. She was streatched out next to him on the bed. That was why he was so warm.
Throwing his arms around her, he did cry, a little, squeezed as tightly as he could. She nuzzled him, her tail half wagging, a puzzled air about her. She had been here, next to her master this whole time and he was behaving as though he hadn't seen or smelled her in a long time. But, she was a simple dog and was only happy he had woken up again. She had been worried for a little bit, he had been shaking so hard, and so cold. That was why she had left, to find help.