Shownotes
A cat helps his bear friend deal with the loss of his wife by having a trip. But, the changes in the men's relationship complicate things.
Today’s story is “The painful yearning” by Cardigan, who writes adult short stories and interactive fiction. If you’re interested in a series, check out his Your Lancer stories; available on itch.io as a book and with an interactive reader. Otherwise, be on the lookout, he might be cooking up something new soon.
Read by Ta’kom Ironhoof, the Equine Charmer.
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https://thevoice.dog/episode/the-painful-yearning-by-cardigan
Transcripts
You’re listening to Pride Month on The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:This is Rob MacWolf,
Speaker:your fellow traveler,
Speaker:and Today’s story is
Speaker:“The painful yearning”
Speaker:by Cardigan, who writes adult short stories and interactive fiction.
Speaker:If you’re interested in a series, check out his Your Lancer stories;
Speaker:available on itch.
Speaker:itch.io as a book and with an interactive reader.
Speaker:Otherwise, be on the lookout,
Speaker:he might be cooking up something new soon.
Speaker:Self discovery has no age.
Speaker:There is no such thing as too late to come out.
Speaker:And sexuality can be fluid,
Speaker:with new unsuspected layers underneath,
Speaker:waiting their hour to emerge.
Speaker:Even in a life with apparently no way to move on, nothing but dead ends,
Speaker:any day may be the day
Speaker:that a new road forward opens up.
Speaker:It may be intimidating, but it is in these moments, by making one another’s lives easier,
Speaker:that we find that way forward
Speaker:together. Read by Ta’kom Ironhoof, the Equine Charmer. Please enjoy
Speaker:“The painful yearning”
Speaker:by Cardigan I awoke,
Speaker:confused at the golden sunlight on my face. The daze faded as my mind gradually rebuilt the previous hours.
Speaker:The provisions were ready, the children were in bed,
Speaker:and I stood outside my friend’s house at the edge of the village.
Speaker:Before I worried about anything else,
Speaker:louds steps approached me.
Speaker:A large she-bear, clad in a faded yellow dress and dirty apron, addressed me with a worried complexion.
Speaker:“They are right asleep now, cat-boy,”
Speaker:she said. ”And they won’t be up for a while.”
Speaker:“Thank you, Louise,”
Speaker:I replied. “And for letting the children stay. I doubt Ludolphe would even go if it not for you.”
Speaker:“No, it’s no bother.
Speaker:The tykes will spend more time with the twins than pestering me!”
Speaker:She sighed, before whispering to me.
Speaker:“Sam, will you tell him this time?”
Speaker:My first reaction came as a gulp, one that failed to ease my fears.
Speaker:“I don’t think… this trip is the right time to deal with that,”
Speaker:I murmured back. She pressed her frowning brows with a disapproving grunt.
Speaker:“Curses, Samson. This can’t go on and you know it.
Speaker:The longer you delay, the worse–”
Speaker:Another set of steps intruded on our hushed conversation.
Speaker:From the dark house, a large bear stepped into the crispy air of early morning.
Speaker:He came dressed for travel in robust leather boots
Speaker:and reinforced clothes,
Speaker:all tucked beneath a backpack stuffed with provisions
Speaker:and useful tools.
Speaker:I could only imagine the exertion the towering bear went through,
Speaker:given how I struggled with the satchels around my belt.
Speaker:The bear shielded his eyes from the rising sun blinding him.
Speaker:“We are all set,” he spoke in a serious tone.
Speaker:“Thank you, sister.
Speaker:This means a lot to me.”
Speaker:Louise shook her head while putting her palm on her brother’s right arm.
Speaker:“Not at all, Ludo. Take care, yes?”
Speaker:The ursine huffed and offered his sister a quick bow.
Speaker:“Let us go, Samson,”
Speaker:he continued, walking.
Speaker:“We have much ground to cover.”
Speaker:Through the developing morning,
Speaker:we walked steadily, not sharing a conversation longer than a handful of words.
Speaker:Ludo was never a talkative fellow,
Speaker:and I never minded that.
Speaker:As I had learned over the years,
Speaker:the bear had his own ways to express himself;
Speaker:ways I grew to enjoy.
Speaker:Regardless, the silence beyond the waking nature around us gave me more time to think…
Speaker:I had offered him the trip a week prior;
Speaker:at first, he just refused.
Speaker:Yet, I insisted that a visit to her grave
Speaker:—his first since her passing five years earlier
Speaker:—would give him the closure he needed.
Speaker:Still resistant, I ultimately had to reframe the story from a paternal standpoint,
Speaker:persuading him that without the burden of grief,
Speaker:he would act as a better father.
Speaker:His sister’s kindness to take in the children for the weekend proved a coup de grace for his resistance.
Speaker:Louise and her husband agreeing with me
Speaker:helped further push him to yield.
Speaker:Even then, watching him walk right in beside me,
Speaker:I could not quite believe how far he had come in his healing process over those years.
Speaker:Seeing him filled me with pride and joy;
Speaker:the sort of emotion that leaves one aching
Speaker:and yearning. Before I could stop it, my hand grazed his in a timid, silent plea.
Speaker:The ursine calmly turned to meet my blushing gaze.
Speaker:With a sigh, his own palm reached for mine;
Speaker:unlike my attempt,
Speaker:his grasp came with confidence and precision.
Speaker:The sight and touch of his large, rough, brown fur enveloping my mix of gray and white,
Speaker:weakened the ache until, finally,
Speaker:I grasped back. Another development during those years was how our relationship changed.
Speaker:It began as a need.
Speaker:Every year, most bears tend to get an intense rise in libido
Speaker:—known as a rut—if they don’t copulate with some regularity.
Speaker:After his wife’s passing, Ludolphe severely suffered during his ruts.
Speaker:It hurt to watch him struggling to that extent, so,
Speaker:after a year, I came to him with a solution:
Speaker:me. That did not completely surprise him, us three grew up pretty close,
Speaker:so only the bear siblings knew about my proclivities towards men.
Speaker:Even so, it still took a couple of gentle attempts for him to understand my point.
Speaker:And so, we began sleeping together once a year.
Speaker:For the first two years,
Speaker:the whole experience had been uncomfortable and insensitive,
Speaker:but by the third time, we had spent so much time together outside the bedroom,
Speaker:we both grew to enjoy each other in a new way.
Speaker:That night, after we, sweaty and gasping,
Speaker:had concluded our affair, instead of rising and going our own ways as usual,
Speaker:we lingered side by side on my bed.
Speaker:After some talking
Speaker:—the most I had ever made him talk
Speaker:—we decided to do more than just “the necessary.”
Speaker:Ludo and I began spending time together in secret.
Speaker:Sometimes we did have sex,
Speaker:but so many wonderful times, we just…
Speaker:lingered. Him and I,
Speaker:conversing or even silently enjoying each other’s presence.
Speaker:During that time, the effect our new relationship had on him became palpable.
Speaker:We all saw him let go of that sorrow and become happier,
Speaker:and more open in general.
Speaker:Louise herself figured it out in no time.
Speaker:However, as another anniversary of her death approached,
Speaker:he grew colder and more silent.
Speaker:And, once his sister told me he had never visited the grave after that day,
Speaker:I came up with this trip.
Speaker:A sudden lack of feeling broke my reminiscence.
Speaker:The forest reformed around me
Speaker:as I noticed the bear quickly let go of my hand.
Speaker:Confused, it took me some time before I noticed another set of travelers coming in the opposite direction.
Speaker:We exchanged pleasantries as they passed by,
Speaker:but inside, the encounter grimly reminded me of the hostility towards my kind.
Speaker:Especially during that trip,
Speaker:when we are all alone,
Speaker:we had to remain vigilant
Speaker:and careful. The painful yearning returned,
Speaker:but my hands could not reach what I wanted.
Speaker:We spent the rest of the day on the road absorbed in our own thoughts.
Speaker:Our minds engrossed themselves so deeply,
Speaker:the orange hues of sunset crept in on us.
Speaker:Not long after, we discovered a clearing in the trees along the road and made camp.
Speaker:A lingering uneasiness permeated the entire voyage
Speaker:and it only intensified when we realized we had only brought
Speaker:a single, cramped tent.
Speaker:While it had enough space for both of our bedrolls,
Speaker:we couldn't sleep there without touching each other all night.
Speaker:Remembering his behavior over the month,
Speaker:I feared such proximity would do more harm than good.
Speaker:So I tried protesting and looking for options,
Speaker:but the bear just retorted with the same answer.
Speaker:“It’s fine,” he said over and over in a monotone voice.
Speaker:Knowing him, he meant to soothe my concerns, but all
Speaker:I could only think of how distant he sounded.
Speaker:Regardless, we had a brief dinner by the fire.
Speaker:Only by his occasional hums and the slightest smile,
Speaker:I could tell he quite enjoyed the meal I had prepared.
Speaker:After we finished eating and putting away the used utensils,
Speaker:we simply sat by the fire.
Speaker:The flame’s warmth clashed against the wind’s coldness
Speaker:in a comfortable balance.
Speaker:Across from me, he looked at the dancing blazes with a satisfied smile.
Speaker:To anyone who saw him,
Speaker:Ludo came off as a stern bear without a trace of joy.
Speaker:He rarely smiled,
Speaker:especially after her passing;
Speaker:even during our moments alone he rarely revealed his grin.
Speaker:But, when he did, that sweetness on his face always captivated me;
Speaker:it urged me to reach out.
Speaker:“Feeling well?” I said, looking at him. “Hmm?”
Speaker:He said back without taking his eyes off the fire.
Speaker:“You have a silly smile on you. What’s on your mind?”
Speaker:“A good memory...” “Ah, I see.”
Speaker:Knowing his life’s many tragedies,
Speaker:there’s only one person whose memory could elicit
Speaker:such joy in his face.
Speaker:“Is it about her?” He snorted.
Speaker:“Aren’t you a nosey cat?” He went quiet,
Speaker:deep in nostalgia for a second.
Speaker:“Yes, it is. Remember that Harvest Festival… some
Speaker:ten years ago?” Confusion took me for five seconds; but then,
Speaker:I remembered with a guffaw.
Speaker:“Ah, yes! She insisted she could jump over the Great Fire, haha!
Speaker:You and Louise tried so hard to stop it,
Speaker:but I kept goading her!”
Speaker:Then, it came his time to chuckle. “Heh.
Speaker:Thankfully, it only singed her dress.” “Haha,
Speaker:indeed…” Our laughter died down into a wistful silence.
Speaker:An unique feeling draped over us; a mix of mourning, joy and shame.
Speaker:Soon, neither of us smiled anymore.
Speaker:Not long after, inside that tent
Speaker:and in our bedrolls,
Speaker:we struggled to rest.
Speaker:Unsurprisingly, our efforts to keep each other apart, led to continuous failure.
Speaker:So, after much rustling and discomfort,
Speaker:we resorted to lingering in the awkward situation.
Speaker:Him on his back and me on my right side,
Speaker:we brushed against each other from chest to thigh.
Speaker:Even through two layers of leather, his warmth
Speaker:easily made its way to me;
Speaker:a feeling that summoned the memory of a dozen nights when we embraced shamelessly.
Speaker:That pained longing returned.
Speaker:The severity of the emotion astonished me.
Speaker:My heart pulsated with anguish
Speaker:as I lied next to him,
Speaker:and I couldn't simply reach out.
Speaker:I found myself stuck in the chasm of having him within grasp but fearing that any effort might wound him.
Speaker:The situation did not let me sleep,
Speaker:but thankfully, someone else shared my plight.
Speaker:Ludolphe huffed a mighty sigh.
Speaker:“You should rest.”
Speaker:“And so should you,”
Speaker:I replied, doing my best to hide my own pain.
Speaker:We lingered in uncomfortable silence for an eternity-long couple of seconds.
Speaker:And yet, the bear found the strength to challenge that infinity.
Speaker:“Do you want to… sleep
Speaker:together?” Part of me wanted to break down right there,
Speaker:and tell him everything on my mind,
Speaker:hold him in tears,
Speaker:make stupid demands neither of us could fulfill.
Speaker:But I could not let those feelings make the situation worse,
Speaker:not during that journey.
Speaker:“No, I’m fine,” I spoke,
Speaker:failing to restrain all my thoughts.
Speaker:His face fled from the tent’s ceiling
Speaker:and finally met me directly.
Speaker:“You are lying.” Simply meeting the glint in his eyes put me at the verge of tears.
Speaker:“I am.” He grunted, sighed and put himself in deep thought for a few seconds.
Speaker:Soon, he began undoing his bedroll
Speaker:and, before I had the chance to question, he undid mine,
Speaker:exposing our torsos to the nightly air.
Speaker:Ludo wrapped his heavy arms around me and pulled us together into a comfortable embrace. That warm, ursine pelt burned away those constricted and shameful feelings,
Speaker:and lit a cozy and charming hearth instead.
Speaker:I desperately hugged back, with tears escaping my eyes.
Speaker:I tremble in his arms before speaking
Speaker:behind a sniffle.
Speaker:“Ludo… Are you sure?”
Speaker:“Yes,” he grumbled back.
Speaker:“I… wanted it too.” My mouth hiccups into a teary smile. “Heh,
Speaker:of course.” We spend the next couple of minutes sharing the smallest conversation.
Speaker:Nothing engaging, just a
Speaker:pleasant activity to tire us out.
Speaker:It didn’t take long for me to find myself talking to a snoring Ludolphe.
Speaker:A silly smile formed on my face as I watched his slumbering muzzle hiss out warm breath.
Speaker:My tired grin faded as adoration became desire.
Speaker:With his face so close to mine,
Speaker:my mouth quivered.
Speaker:Desperation made me imagine a scene where I would take him by the chin
Speaker:and plunge my tongue inside his cavernous mouth.
Speaker:One where, once he realizes,
Speaker:he takes me in his hands as well.
Speaker:I hear my lips smack against his,
Speaker:as my Ludo truly and finally proves his love for me. My conscience stopped me with only an inch between us.
Speaker:Stern words, his request to never kiss,
Speaker:echoed in my thoughts.
Speaker:I drew back, allowing myself to find satisfaction
Speaker:in the way he hugged me on his own volition that night.
Speaker:At that moment, as I drifted to slumber,
Speaker:something became quite clear to me.
Speaker:Louise was right,
Speaker:that situation could not continue.
Speaker:I made the choice then:
Speaker:somehow, I would tell him my feelings the following day.
Speaker:Morning, breakfast, and the time spent on the road passed me by
Speaker:as I calculated the best way to deliver what I had to say.
Speaker:Every approach I planted grew surrounded by a variety of uncertainties.
Speaker:In my mind, the slightest mistake
Speaker:could cause Ludolphe to misunderstand my words
Speaker:and possibly turn hostile against me.
Speaker:Still stuck in deliberations,
Speaker:we left the main road and dove into the forest.
Speaker:The dirt road gave way to crunchy leaves and wet grass.
Speaker:Our steps into the wild determined the start of the last stretch of our journey.
Speaker:After an hour, the bear’s large hand pulled on my sleeve,
Speaker:I turned quickly to find his usually stoic face
Speaker:in a cute mix of tiredness
Speaker:and hunger. “Okay,” I said after a chuckle,
Speaker:“we can stop for lunch.”
Speaker:The meal also did not affect me as every part of my brain concocted the perfect wording
Speaker:that would lead to a happy ending for us;
Speaker:all of my attempts still ended in some sort of failure.
Speaker:A gruff sound, a raspy exclamation from my partner’s mouth, stopped my thoughts.
Speaker:“Are you alright?”
Speaker:he said. I looked at him in a daze. “Hmm?
Speaker:I am. Why?” “You look…
Speaker:distracted. All day, actually.”
Speaker:“I don’t see what you mean.”
Speaker:He pointed his muzzle to the bowl in my hands.
Speaker:“You have been looking at your gruel for a while now.”
Speaker:My gaze went where the ursine pointed,
Speaker:and found the raspy mix of cereal and milk staring back at me.
Speaker:The untouched mush not only stared,
Speaker:but also spoke. “Tell him,”
Speaker:it said, “tell him now!”
Speaker:And I heard the command again and again in my mind.
Speaker:Tell him, tell him, tell him!
Speaker:“It’s nothing,” I finally replied with a smile.
Speaker:“I’m just not really hungry right now. Are you ready to go?”
Speaker:He grumbled. “I am.
Speaker:Let us go, then.”
Speaker:It took all of my strength to keep going after that.
Speaker:He led, and I lagged behind, my thoughts plummeting into despair.
Speaker:Shame, regret, anger at myself, and all the many other emotions all contributed
Speaker:to make any other thought unbearable.
Speaker:The sounds, the sights, the forest and the world itself faded
Speaker:until only Ludo and I remained.
Speaker:My mouth and my hands trembled
Speaker:with intolerable anxiety…
Speaker:Until a collision
Speaker:abruptly halted my stride and nearly knocked me to the ground.
Speaker:My senses returned one
Speaker:by one; the crunch of dead leaves,
Speaker:the damp aroma of the forest, a mild breeze slithering through the trees, and, lastly,
Speaker:the enormous bear standing still
Speaker:and silent. “Ludo!” I said after regaining balance.
Speaker:“What’s the matter?
Speaker:Did something happen?”
Speaker:He loudly inhaled
Speaker:and exhaled. “We… are here.”
Speaker:After a look around, the place grew perfectly familiar;
Speaker:just beyond the couple of trees in front of us,
Speaker:we would reach our destination.
Speaker:But then, why was he not moving?
Speaker:I surely did not expect elation or excitement,
Speaker:but I never imagined he would become so motionless,
Speaker:so hesitant right before her resting place.
Speaker:I approached him,
Speaker:looking for an explanation for his indecision;
Speaker:a close examination of his frame told me a thousand words
Speaker:Ludolphe would never say.
Speaker:His lower lip quivered with a strong desire to object to that last step.
Speaker:Led by dreadful anxiety,
Speaker:his breathing became uneven.
Speaker:And failing to grasp anything real,
Speaker:his hanging fingers twitched.
Speaker:Initially, I thought of telling him to forsake our mission,
Speaker:to return home and never speak of this place again.
Speaker:But, a realization snuffed that idea:
Speaker:he hurt and longed,
Speaker:just like me. Before saying anything,
Speaker:I reached for his yearning hand and anchored him to reality.
Speaker:My action drove him to jerk his head towards me.
Speaker:“Let’s go, Ludo,” I said with a weepy, proud smile.
Speaker:“She’s waiting.” My words almost broke him.
Speaker:I watched his complexion contort
Speaker:to hold back all those feelings.
Speaker:In the end, he responded by interlocking his fingers with mine.
Speaker:“You are right,” he said.
Speaker:And so, we walked forwards, together. The dense woodland gave way to open air as we were treated to a panoramic view of the surrounding grasslands.
Speaker:From that windy cliff,
Speaker:we saw the whole of the expansive forest,
Speaker:green mountains and hills,
Speaker:and, far in the distance,
Speaker:the infinite blue of the great sea.
Speaker:To look away from that gorgeous scene felt impossible.
Speaker:Yet, something else drew more of our attention;
Speaker:right by the edge of that bluff,
Speaker:a short stone slab stood,
Speaker:and on it, a life condensed into a name
Speaker:and two dates. There, by that fantastic landscape, she enjoyed her eternal rest.
Speaker:All the emotions the bear held back for years, made him shake.
Speaker:While I had guided him there,
Speaker:the journey belonged to him;
Speaker:I knew what I had to do.
Speaker:My hand escaped his iron grip,
Speaker:which prompted Ludolphe to face me.
Speaker:“Go,” I said in a whisper.
Speaker:Not a second later, the ursine threw his cargo behind and rushed to the effigy.
Speaker:He ran freely, leaving a trail of teardrops in his wake.
Speaker:Finally unbound by shame,
Speaker:obligations or dread,
Speaker:he fell on his knees before the tombstone and wept.
Speaker:Sobs and sniffles, the likes I never thought I would ever see coming from him,
Speaker:escaped his muzzle.
Speaker:“My Ada,” he said. “I’m sorry, Ada!
Speaker:I’m sorry!” I watched him crumble from a distance,
Speaker:and gave the space he needed to process the situation.
Speaker:Before I could hold back,
Speaker:a flurry of feelings came over me
Speaker:and I joined him in weeping for Adalaide.
Speaker:As he screamed her name, for the first time in years,
Speaker:my own grief manifested.
Speaker:By the time our coping turned silent,
Speaker:the late afternoon sky had turned orange.
Speaker:Still leaving him some more time to think,
Speaker:I went on ahead and put up our tent.
Speaker:The woods had gone dark
Speaker:when Ludo returned to me.
Speaker:He offered to help cook dinner,
Speaker:but, given the situation and the fact it was pretty much finished,
Speaker:I declined. That left him free to sit around the campfire and gaze at it once more.
Speaker:We remained wordless through dinner again.
Speaker:Aside from a couple of huff, groans and smiles,
Speaker:we ate our food without even acknowledging what had happened that afternoon.
Speaker:Then, after hours of quietness,
Speaker:the bear spoke up.
Speaker:“Samson,” he said in a tone still filled with melancholy,
Speaker:“thank you for this.
Speaker:I didn’t even know I needed it.”
Speaker:I smiled in response.
Speaker:“It’s my pleasure.
Speaker:Do you feel any better?”
Speaker:The ursine hummed in thought.
Speaker:“I think so. It… still hurts,
Speaker:but a weight certainly has been lifted.”
Speaker:“I’m glad.” A long pause followed those words.
Speaker:From his face, I could tell he attempted to formulate a sentence,
Speaker:to tell me something.
Speaker:After a while he groaned with a sigh.
Speaker:“Forgive me, Sam. I don’t have the words to tell you how grateful I am.”
Speaker:“It’s fine. I’m certain you would come here on your own eventually.”
Speaker:“Well, I am not. And,
Speaker:I’m not talking about just this trip.
Speaker:Everything you have done for me, before and after
Speaker:Adalaide’s passing…”
Speaker:He huffed and shook his head.
Speaker:“I have no words. Samson, I…”
Speaker:Another pause, a painful, long one where time stopped as we stared at each other.
Speaker:“I appreciate you.”
Speaker:Appreciate. The word flowed through the halls of my mind.
Speaker:I begged and screamed for that word alone to satisfy me;
Speaker:that his attempts proved his feelings
Speaker:and that “we” could keep going on appreciation alone.
Speaker:In the end, I failed.
Speaker:“I’m glad to appreciate me, I really am.
Speaker:But… I cannot do this anymore.”
Speaker:I rose, hiding my complexion in the darkness.
Speaker:“Ludo, what are we?”
Speaker:“Huh?” “What does our time spent together mean?
Speaker:Beyond sex, we have done things only lovers do,
Speaker:and I just can’t keep doing it;
Speaker:not if you don’t give a straight answer.”
Speaker:The ursine remained silent
Speaker:as I turned away from the fire,
Speaker:plunging myself deeper into darkness.
Speaker:“You still hurt over Ada,
Speaker:and I understand that;
Speaker:I don’t want to push you… But,
Speaker:Ludo, I want more from this,
Speaker:from us!” “Sam…” I heard him rise, but did not look back.
Speaker:Looking at the stars above, tears escaped my eyes.
Speaker:“I know it is hard for you,
Speaker:and I will remain your friend regardless of your decision.
Speaker:But I need to hear you tell me your feelings.
Speaker:That you can love again;
Speaker:I need to hear you say,”
Speaker:my trembling voice became teary,
Speaker:“that you love m-”
Speaker:In a single, sudden move he snuffed my words.
Speaker:During my spiel, he snuck behind me,
Speaker:wrapped himself around my body with one arm,
Speaker:and with his free hand, he clasped my chin to press my mouth to his.
Speaker:For years, I had imagined that moment; the sort of
Speaker:big, romantic gesture only dreams can conjure.
Speaker:My daze faded in an instant,
Speaker:soon, I kissed him back.
Speaker:I welcomed his tongue in
Speaker:and dove into his muzzle with my own.
Speaker:Sloppily, tenderly, loudly,
Speaker:I satisfied my thirst as his body bent mine into the ground;
Speaker:and the fall did not stop us.
Speaker:Our desire had made us drunk,
Speaker:and in the other’s mouth we found the sweetest liquor.
Speaker:We stopped, eventually.
Speaker:He hugged my lower torso while we spooned on the dark grass.
Speaker:Heaven dissipated
Speaker:and reason returned, a storm of emotions moved me to talk in whispers.
Speaker:“So,” I said, with his head on my shoulder,
Speaker:“what does that mean?”
Speaker:I expected a long, thoughtful pause would follow,
Speaker:but he replied with an
Speaker:arrow of an answer.
Speaker:“It means… I don’t know.”
Speaker:I tried to protest, but Ludo kept talking.
Speaker:“I want to keep being like this with you.
Speaker:I’m sorry I cannot give you the words you want right now.
Speaker:But if that is your request,
Speaker:I promise I’ll work every day to be able to do so.”
Speaker:“Ludo…” “You have been wonderful to me all this time,
Speaker:so I understand it is not my place to ask this but…
Speaker:Could you wait for me just
Speaker:a little longer?” Silence.
Speaker:Both around us and inside my mind.
Speaker:From that position, I realized I could see her dark grave before an endless sea of stars.
Speaker:Sharp pain and intolerable yearning took over me.
Speaker:I did not know how to respond.
Speaker:This was “The painful yearning” by Cardigan, read for you by Read by Ta’kom Ironhoof, the Equine Charmer.
Speaker:You can find more stories on the web
Speaker:at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Happy Pride, and Thank you for listening to The Voice of Dog.