On a cool November morning, Josh and his labrador retriever, Maxibo, set out for their morning walk along the forest trail near home. Josh wanted a change of scenery from the usual and chose a part of the trail they’d never walked before. He didn’t ask Maxibo, but his eager eyes and wagging tail hinted he was up for adventure. They were best friends after all, and most things remained unspoken but understood.
Josh delighted in the vibrant hues of orange, red, and yellow that clothed the trees in regal splendor—a last blaze of glory before the approaching winter. Maxibo happily trotted ahead, sniffing the air expectantly as he explored the crisp autumn landscape.
Twenty minutes down the unfamiliar path, Maxibo jerked on his leash, and rushed towards a thick wall of underbrush on the right. He pressed his nose into the tangled greenery and sniffed urgently. “Let’s go Max,” Josh prodded, as he gave the leash a light tug to move the dog along. “It’s just a rabbit or skunk or something.”
Maxibo resisted the pull and continued sniffing. “What’s up, buddy?” Josh asked. “It’s cold; let’s keep moving.”
Maxibo barked at whatever was in the thicket, and he strained against the leash. Josh gave the dog some slack as he crept forward, his body tense as he cautiously pushed his nose into the brush. He squeezed his body through a nearly imperceptible opening, pulling Josh through with him.
The opening widened into an overgrown trail lined with lush ferns, giant mushrooms, and gnarled, moss-covered trees that looked like a scene from Jurassic Park. The air hung heavy with an earthy scent of peat moss and damp leaves, tinged with a faint floral bouquet. Giant rainbow-colored butterflies the size of robins flitted by, birds squawked in the branches, and a gentle thrum pulsed in the dense foliage, revealing a hidden world of life beyond sight.
Josh stopped in his tracks, transfixed by the sight. He patted Maxibo’s head and said, “what have we here, buddy?” not expecting anything other than the usual bark.
“I heard a squirrel,” Maxibo replied.
Josh gasped, not that his dog seemed oblivious to the prehistoric surroundings but that he talked. “W-what?” he stammered.
Maxibo pulled hard on the leash Josh held, and surged forward. “Squirrel!” he barked.
They ran down the overgrown trail, Josh ducking and sidestepping vegetation, debris, and low branches. “Unbelievable,” Josh panted as he tried to keep up with Maxibo. “I have a talking dog!”
“Of course I talk, you big dummy,” Maxibo shouted. “I always talk; you just don’t listen.”
With Maxibo leading the way at breakneck speed, Josh didn’t see the exposed tree root. “Oof,” Josh winced as he stumbled and lost his balance and control of the leash. Maxibo continued running, unaware that Josh had fallen and was no longer following.
Josh groaned as he rose to his feet and brushed off his pants. He gaped at the tropical landscape—surreal and otherworldly—and he imagined terrifying dinosaurs or fire-breathing dragons lurking somewhere close by. As if to confirm his fears, he heard a distant roar that sounded unlike anything he had ever heard before. It didn’t sound like a lion, or bear, or any other animal he had ever heard, but exactly how he supposed a T-Rex would sound. Josh shivered as goosebumps prickled his skin, and an icy dread seeped down his spine.
Maxibo trotted back to Josh, panting from the exertion, the leash dragging behind him. “Oh, there you are,” he grinned. “Did you fall? I almost caught the squirrel.”
“Umm, sure,” said Josh, a little miffed that his dog seemed more concerned about a squirrel than him. “We’ve gotta get out of here, pronto. I don’t want to be some dino’s lunch.”
“What’s a dino?” asked Maxibo. “Are they big squirrels?”
“Ha ha, heck no!” Josh snickered. “Dinosaurs are enormous animals, much bigger and hungrier than any squirrel you’ve ever seen. They eat squirrels for snacks.”
“Cool,” said Maxibo, “that sounds fun; maybe I can chase one someday. But I gotta catch this squirrel first.”
“Yeah, no, we gotta go,” urged Josh, “just in case there really is a dinosaur…” Before the words crossed his lips, Maxibo took off at a dead run in pursuit of the elusive and apparently invisible squirrel, the scent of damp decay and wildflowers thickening until the trail ended abruptly at another wall of heavy growth. Maxibo whooped, “yeah baby, I got you now!” and lunged through the brush, dragging Josh behind as he hung on to the leash for dear life.
They squeezed through the opening and tumbled back onto the main trail exactly where they left off, the strange world disappearing in the thicket behind them like a faint dream. Josh looked back and saw no evidence of their passage as the thicket closed solidly behind them.
Maxibo stood firm, lifting a front leg like a pointer, sniffing the air in vain for the invisible squirrel.
“Whoa, there buddy!” Josh exclaimed. “What the heck was all that? How are you able to talk?”
Maxibo looked up at Josh and barked his usual staccato, unintelligible dog language. “Come on, Max, I heard you speak in English as clear as day. Don’t play dumb dog now.” Maxibo licked Josh’s glove-covered hand and cocked his head quizzically.
“You silly dog. I know I heard you talking” Josh shook his head and sighed. “Come on, let’s go. I think you’re as nutty as that imaginary squirrel!” They resumed walking down the trail, Josh leading the way as Maxibo happily followed behind as though nothing strange happened at all.
Josh wondered, though. How had this ordinary walk turned into something so extraordinary? Was the overgrown side trail a portal to an alternate dimension where plants were enormous, dinosaurs roamed, and dogs talked? Was he communicating with some sort of telepathy, where people and animals can read each other’s minds?
He scoffed at the notion. That’s fantasy, science fiction, it’s not real. Yet he knew Maxibo talked to him, as any man would talk to another. A more troubling thought crossed his mind. Maybe he had a break from reality. Maybe it was all in his head, and he imagined everything. He wondered if he was going crazy.
Josh didn’t have the answers. But he was going to find them.
He stopped in his tracks; Maxibo caught up and sat on his haunches next to him. Josh reached down and rubbed the thick fur on his head and body. “What do you think, Max? Who’s afraid of a little dinosaur? I think we need to go back and find that squirrel.”
Maxibo barked and strained against the leash, his tail wagging furiously with uncontained energy. “Yeah, I thought so,” Josh chuckled. “And after we catch the squirrel, let’s have a conversation.”
