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The moon hung low in the Brisbane sky, its pale light spilling through the windows of the empty classroom. Shadows stretched across the desks, dancing softly with the rhythm of the night. The silence was thick, unbroken except for the faint hum of distant city life and the occasional creak of the old abandoned building.
In the center of the room, bathed in the silver glow, sat an ethereal figure, a Blue Heeler, her translucent form perched on the edge of a desk. Bluey. Her fur, once vibrant, full of life, now seemed dull, like a memory fading from the edges of someone’s mind. She stared out the window, her gaze locked onto the glowing full moon that seemed so close yet forever out of reach.
Her voice, barely more than a whisper, filled the air.
“Good job Bluey, you screwed the only friendship you’ve had in years, He’s gone and you’ll be back… alone.”
The words hung in the room, heavy with sorrow, as if they carried the weight of all the years she had wandered these empty halls. Bluey holds herself as she relives arguably her worst mistake; one she cannot take back.
20 Minutes Ago
Ethereal heeler was wandering aimlessly through the corridors of the old Brisbane Secondary school, she was bored out of her mind and desperately wanted to leave. Then it dawned on her:
“I bet Kenzie is up to no good, I think I'll mess with him a little bit. He’s always fun to prank, mate I can already see his face hehehe.”
It doesn’t take much for her to locate Mackenzie since he always carries a small piece of Bluey’s old favorite stuffed animal Polly Puppy, something she had deep emotional ties to when she was alive. As Bluey was flying high above the illuminated city, thinking about the possible pranks to pull on her friend she began to notice that she wasn’t going the way to Mackenzie’s house; matter of fact she was not even heading to the vicinity of her neighborhood. As Bluey was approaching where Mackenzie allegedly was she was met with the roof of the hospital.
“Thi…this is the hospital… if he’s here then…no it can’t be.”
Bluey zip down phasing through all the floors of the hospital until she was one floor above him, she phased her head through the floor and saw Mackenzie with his parents, Bingo and her parents. Mackenzie was the one laying in the hospital bed looking more frail than usual, Bluey tunes into the conversation being held below.
“The doctors say he probably won‘t make it through the night… We've tried everything and yet we‘re being told he‘s going to die. Isn’t that fucked up? Parents should never have to bury their children.” Maria, Mackenzie's mom , choked out as she dove into the embrace of her husband Joshua.
Bandit and Chilli gave the Border Collies a melancholic look, they knew this feeling all too well, Chilli clears her throat to offer some words of comfort but nothing comes out as she was reminded of her own daughter’s death. Bandit see‘s his wife struggling and decides to help her and chime in.
“Look Joshua, Maria, Chilli and I know this feeling all too well mate when we lost Bluey to the Brisbane secondary fire incident four years ago. I would love to tell you that it gets easy…but it doesn’t, at least not after four years… *sniff* Sometimes Chilli and I still set out an extra plate when making dinner. They say time heals all wounds but this one in particular cuts deep, now I won‘t say we all won‘t overcome this but it will take time. In the meantime please take time to grieve, hell cry if you need to and just remember me and Chilli are here for you.”
Joshua simply nodded and mouthed out thank you to Bandit and Chilli, Mackenzie stayed silent during the whole ordeal and stared out the window contemplating his own mortality. Bingo, who was also silent, suddenly felt a spike of emotions, she knew it couldn’t be from anyone but Bluey.
“She‘s here.” She declared to the room.
Mackenzie looked in front of him and there she was, faded like a memory of the past but her beauty remained untouched; yet her face was that of a sad one. A weak smile tugged at Mackenzie’s lips and his tail wagged a little under the sheets, even if he was dying Bluey was always a sight to behold.
“Hey Blues, glad I could see you.”
Bluey remained silent for a bit before answering “Mackenzie…you promised you’d never leave me.”
Mackenzie, hearing Bluey’s pained voice gives her a melancholic smile, “Yeah…that’s something I should’ve never said being terminally ill. Heh, it's really funny if you think about it, because of my supernatural abilities I was an outcast so much that my parents moved all around Australia to find a place for me to fit in; and the icing on the cake was me dying slowly. I knew this day would come, ever since I was 10 I became the butt of the joke for this hellscape we call life… maybe a cursed child like me deserves a fate like this.”
Mackenzie falls back onto the hospital bed in exhaustion, just speaking was taking a toll on him. Before Bluey could say another thing Bingo interjects with tears rolling down her face, “No! That’s not true Mackenzie, you might see yourself as cursed but me and my family see you as a blessing. Thanks to you we got the closure we needed with Bluey, you helped me understand these random surges in emotion I experienced and my connection to Bluey, *sniff, sniff* and you helped us grow as a family. Bluey I know you're here in this room with us, you have to agree that Mackenzie was and still is a blessing, so please Mackenzie don’t ever say that about yourself.”
The hospital room was quiet, the kind of silence that swallows every sound, even the faint hum of the machines on ever being broken by the sniffles and sobs of Bingo and Maria. Mackenzie lay pale against the sterile white sheets, his breaths shallow and labored, each one harder to draw than the last. His gaze found Bluey, her ghostly form watching him with eyes wide, as if she could somehow pull him back from the brink.
“I… I wanted you to know…” His voice was barely a rasp, the words scraping from his throat like it took every ounce of life left in him to say them. His lips trembled, and for a second, she could see it there — the words he’d been too afraid to say, but now, in this moment, he was trying to give her, as if he owed it to her, or perhaps to himself.
But his strength was waning, and his voice faded. His mouth formed the start of a word, “I lo—” but the rest slipped away into the stillness.
Bluey’s hand, translucent and trembling, reached out as if she could touch him, hold him, stop the inevitable. But there was nothing she could do. Nothing but watch, helpless, as his breathing grew ragged, as the rhythm of his heartbeat staggered into silence. Horror washed over her, cold and merciless. A lump rose in her throat, and with one last look, she tore herself from the room, unable to bear it, her ethereal tears trailing behind her.
As she flew out of the room and into the night, the final sound she heard was the flat, unyielding tone of the pacemaker, echoing into the emptiness she’d left behind.
Present
Bluey looked down at her hands, feeling the weight of guilt crush her. She knew he was going to die sooner or later even if he wasn’t sick, so she was in the hospital room. She could’ve done literally anything else but she decided to be immature and be upset at him for dying.
“God, I’m such an idiot and an even bigger coward. I not only got mad at him for something he can’t control, but turned tail and ran in his final moments. I didn’t even get the chance to confess to him.”
Bluey buries her hand into her face and sobs, grieving over the loss of her only friend and crush.
But then, a soft rustling broke the silence. She sensed a presence, something familiar yet impossible. Slowly, she raised her head, peeking through her fingers at the figure standing before her.
Mackenzie.
“Boo,” he said, his voice light and teasing.
Bluey let out a startled yelp, scrambling back and clutching her chest, her translucent form flickering in shock. Mackenzie burst into laughter, a warm, rich sound that was unmistakably his.
“Aha, oh mate you should’ve seen your face!” he grinned, still chuckling, clearly enjoying his joke.
Bluey’s disbelief melted as the reality of him standing there took over. Her lips parted, but no words came. Instead, she ran to him, throwing her arms around him in a fierce embrace. For a moment, there was a quiet gasp of surprise between them as they realized — they could feel each other.
“Oof!” Mackenzie laughed, bracing himself as he hugged her back, his arms wrapped tightly around her.
Bluey’s hands clung to him, her fingers curling into his soft and fluffy fur, tears soaking into his chest fluff, grounding herself in his presence. They held each other in silence, the feeling of finally, truly connecting filling the spaces where words fell short.
After a long moment, they slowly pulled back, just enough to look at each other. Mackenzie’s eyes softened, and he reached up, brushing a stray tear from her cheek.
“I told you we’d be together forever, since I’m here,” he murmured, his voice tender, “allow me to finish where I left off, y’know before I died.”
Before she could respond, he leaned in, his lips brushing hers in a gentle kiss. Bluey’s eyes widened, her ghostly form going still as his warmth surrounded her. But as his lips lingered on hers, the shock melted into something else, a warmth spreading through her that she had never felt. She closed her eyes, leaning into the kiss, letting the sorrow and fear slip away.
With their kiss lingering in the cool night air, Bluey and Mackenzie stayed close, their foreheads pressed gently together, eyes closed as if trying to hold onto every fragment of this moment.
“I’m sorry,” Bluey whispered, her voice trembling and her ears folded over. “I’m sorry I left you… at the end.”
Mackenzie’s hand found hers, fingers entwining in a gentle reassurance. “Hey,” he murmured, his voice warm and forgiving, “I made a promise I couldn’t keep, so it's ok.” He paused, letting the words settle between them. “And we’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
A soft, warm light began to bloom around them, gentle and pure, like the first rays of dawn. Bluey’s eyes widened, and she looked up at Mackenzie, her heart pounding — or, at least, it felt like it was. She could see the same wonder reflected in his gaze as the light enveloped them, warm and inviting, wrapping around them like a long-awaited embrace.
They held each other close, the promise lingering between them. “Thanks Kenzie…for everything” she whispered, her arms tightening around him.
“No worries Blues, anything for you” Mackenzie replied, his voice filled with warm.
As the light intensified, Makenzie had one more quip up his sleeve, “Y’know, I gotta say this flying as a ghost sure as hell beats using that walking cane to get around.”
“Pfft, you're such an idiot Kenzie,” Bluey snorted.
They laughed, the sound mingling, bright and free, carried by the wind as the light grew brighter, lifting them gently. Their forms began to shimmer, merging into the radiance, as if they were becoming part of the light itself.
On the other side of town, the Heeler family decided to give the Border Collies some space to grieve over the loss of their son. As they pulled into the driveway of the Heeler residence and parked Bobo, the Heelers got out of the car, stood at the entrance of their home and took a moment to take all in on what just happened.
Before Bandit could open the door a gentle breeze passed him and his family, amidst the breeze was the laughter of someone all too familiar to him. His eyes widened and ear perked up, he looked to his wife and daughter to see if he was going insane. Chilli shared the same expression as he did and as he looked at Bingo she had tears streaming down her face paired with a smile.
“She's gone… I can’t feel her anymore… I think she’s moved on.”
Chilli looks towards the night sky and covers her mouth in astonishment as tears begin to flow , “Babe, Bingo look!” As she pointed to the sky.
Bandit looks towards the night sky and sees the clouds have parted around the moon to reveal the stars Castor and Pollux shining brightly in the sky. This brings a tear to Bandit’s eyes knowing his daughter is no longer a part of this world, but he smiles and opens the door to let his family in.
“Nice work, Bluey.”