Ebony, the Food Bank Dog
The elderly man had oversized knuckles on fingers that would not fully straighten out. Too much guitar playing and fighting had shaped, strengthened and lengthened his fingers. The guitar was his love and his living. He brought Ebony to the food bank. They gave Ebony some scraps.
“I know you folks are kind, and I’ve trained Ebony to find his way back here, because I’m old and I’m sick, and someday I won’t be returning.”
“Oh, don’t say that,” Sylvia said. “You have a lot of life left in you. But if you are sick, just go up to the hospital and they will take you in.”
“I know that,” he said. “But I prefer to live my final days with Ebony. He’s a very musical dog. He sings when I play my guitar.”
He laughed softly and caressed Ebony’s ears. He sat with Sylvia long enough to eat a bowl of soup, and took a bag of bread, snacks, sandwich meat and cookies when he left. He usually came on Thursdays. He did not come the following Thursday, but Ebony did.
Sylvia called the Emergency Medical Technicians to check up on him. Ebony showed them the way to the old man’s tiny apartment. They took him to the emergency room, but he had died in his sleep, propped up on his pillows with his guitar by his side.
Ebony was an independent dog, who continued to visit the food bank often, picking up scraps and burying them in his secret spot, to snack on later. Sylvia put a collar on Ebony, with a tag attached that said “Food Bank,” with a phone number underneath. She allowed him to run free, when he did not want to come into her house. He preferred to stay on the porch, so she put a doggy bed on the porch for him, a place for him to sleep and wander when he felt like it.
Ebony thought that food bank work would be a good job, so he began to find people in town, and some out of town who looked like they needed food. He let them read his tag, and sometimes they would call the phone number on it. Other times, they would just follow him back. He enjoyed chasing cars on the days when he couldn’t find hungry people.
He enjoyed walking out on the Homer Spit, and watching the boats enter and leave the harbor.
Ebony had been watching when a cruise ship pulled away from the dock, and he had the urge to chase the ship, as he so often had done with cars in the neighborhood. As he chased, he caught up with Jonathan and Mary running along the jetty, waving, trying to signal the ship to come back for them.
He picked up a stick in his mouth, and ran to Jonathan, dropping it at his feet. In the moment Jonathan and Mary breathlessly turned around to throw the stick for him, the ship was overcome by a wave. They turned around again to look for the ship, and it was no longer in sight. A tsunami warning, blasted its loud siren sound up and down the spit, as cars lined up to leave for higher ground.
The two children, Jonathan and Mary, had been left behind when the cruise ship pulled away from its moorage. They both wore backpacks that their mother had stuffed with snacks, extra clothing and rain jackets, so they were not completely unprepared. Jonathan, eight years old and Mary, age seventeen, had eight brothers and sisters, and somehow their own parents had miscounted and believed them to be among the group as the cruise ship left the port.
They were left behind, and this is actually what saved them. They dropped their backpacks at the base of the jetty and tried calling their family back. They watched from shore as the ship grew smaller and smaller in the distance, and other boats obstructed their view several times as they crossed in front of the ship. Once the cruise ship set its course to Kodiak, a pod of killer whales gathered on the starboard side of the ship and put on quite a show. As passengers rushed to that side of the ship, and the crew had underestimated the ballast needed to keep the ship upright in such an event, the ship listed. At that same moment, a rogue wave entered the inlet and sank the ship. On hearing the mayday call, the Coast Guard immediately sent out rescue boats and a helicopter, to save the survivors. Jonathan and Mary’s family were not among the survivors.
Ebony led Jonathan and Mary to a flatbed truck that was creeping along in stop and go traffic on the one road available to exit the spit. The driver did not notice the passengers who jumped on his flatbed truck behind the four foot high piles of fishing net. The truck driver had a dog of his own, who sat obediently on the front seat, but Ebony could smell cruelty, so he intended to guide the children to a more hospitable home, once they were on the mainland. When they reached higher ground, the driver kept on going for another twenty miles. He stopped to let his own pit bull relieve himself. When the driver’s dog caught the scent of Ebony and the children, he trotted toward the back of the truck, but the driver yanked on his restraining leash and pulled him back into the truck cab.
They were surrounded by forest, but Ebony believed the children would be safer jumping off here than they would be in the company of the truck driving dog abuser. Ebony hopped out before the driver could pull back onto the road, and Jonathan and Mary followed.
Ebony knew about Sigmund and Freda, six year old twins who lived in a tiny cabin. He knew they lived in the woods. He knew their parents had occasionally abandoned their children, rather than face the wrath of their community for bringing them into a world of poverty and homelessness. The parents didn’t speak a word to anybody about the twins or their cabin in the woods. They had raised them to be self sufficient, and they did not want them to be taken away and put in a foster home.
They fully intended to come back to the homestead, in a week or so, once they earned enough from the odd jobs that were plentiful during tourist season, and after they secured food for the family at the local food bank.
As they waited, Freda and Sigmund gathered wild cranberries, wild mushrooms and chickweed, which had survived their mother’s organic gardening. They dressed out a couple of rabbits that Sigmund got with his slingshot, and a spruce grouse Freda had knocked out with a rock. They knew this was enough to feed them until their parents came back, so after cleaning the game, fruits and vegetables in the creek, they put the food in a hole dug underneath the cabin, into the permafrost, covered it with planks and they waited for their parents to return.
Ebony led Jonathan and Mary to the twins’ cabin. It was late, and Sigmund and Freda were looking at storybooks. They heard a knock. Sigmund removed a moss plug from a hole in the door and peeked out.
“Friend or foe?” he asked the visitors.
“We’re only seeking temporary shelter,” Mary said, “until our parents return for us.”
Ebony barked, and the twins recognized his bark. Sigmund opened the door and let them in.
Ebony led Mary and Jonathan inside, wagging his tail and licking Sigmund’s nose, as Sigmund knelt and scratched Ebony behind his ears.
“Ebony!” Freda said happily. “You can keep us warm tonight!”
“Mom and dad left us a week ago, but they will be back soon with more food,” Sigmund said. “Are you hungry?”
Mary said, “We’re starving!”
She took off her backpack and began to look through it for a granola bar.
“We already ate,” Sigmund said. “We were just going to bed.”
He pointed out his sister, who was sitting quietly with her book.
“That’s my sister, Freda,” he said, “and I’m Sigmund.”
He offered some barbecued rabbit meat that was left on the bone and a handful of chickweed that he retrieved from a cooler his dad had built on the north side of the cabin.
“No, thank you,” Mary said, triumphantly pulling out the granola bar.
She shared half of the granola bar with her brother, Jonathan. Sigmund looked on, hungrily. Ebony was drooling, panting and opening and closing his mouth. Sigmund kneeled beside Ebony, gave him the leftover rabbit bone, and poured a bowl of water for him.
“I’m tired,” Mary said. “Are you tired, Jonathan?” she asked her little brother.
He nodded, yes.
“Do you have any toothpaste?” she asked.
“We use chickweed,” Sigmund said, “nature’s toothbrush.”
Mary accepted his version of food/toothpaste.
She gave some of the chickweed to her brother Jonathan as well. He began to chew.
“Tastes like corn silk,” he said, smiling at Sigmund. “Thank you!”
Mary said, “When my parents come back, they will pay me for babysitting. I babysit Jonathan and my other eight brothers and sisters when they leave us at home.
After a wide-mouthed yawn, Sigmund said, “My parents will be back soon. I’m going to bed. You can sleep in their bed.”
He pointed to his parents’ vacant bed. Mary and Jonathan took off their shoes and climbed in. Ebony took his place on top of the covers between them. He kept them warm for the night.
Jonathan woke up with Ebony licking his face. He was disoriented at first, and then he remembered where the door was, and he opened it. Ebony trotted outside and did his business. It was cold, so Jonathan shut the door behind Ebony. Ebony came back with a grouse in his mouth, set the dead bird down and leaned against the door. He was not an indoor dog, and he enjoyed the fresh air as he waited for the children.
The other children woke up and the first to step outside was Sigmund. He spotted the grouse, a gift from Ebony. He pulled a piece of kraft paper from a three foot wide dispenser that was just inside the door. Thank you, Ebony. We can have this for dinner tonight. Sigmund laid the kraft paper across the picnic table outside, smoothed it out, and began plucking feathers. Mary and Jonathan watched. Jonathan picked up a feather and rubbed it against his cheek, like a paintbrush. There was a spot of blood on it.
“That’s disgusting!” Mary said.
She grabbed the feather from Jonathan and threw it on the ground.
“Litterbug!” Jonathan teased.
“Wait! We need that,” Sigmund said. “Put it on this pile.”
He pointed towards a pile that was accumulating in a basket beside him on the picnic bench. Mary dutifully picked it up and dropped it in the basket.
“What do you do with them?” she asked.
“First, we wash them in hot soapy water and then we cut the fluffy parts off of the stem and dry them. These will be your pillow stuffings when mother and father come back to reclaim their bed.”
Mary gave him a blank stare.
“You can’t sleep in their bed forever!” Sigmund said.
“We don’t plan on it. We’re going back to town right after breakfast.”
“What did you bring for breakfast?” Sigmund asked.
“Two granola bars, but I was saving them for lunch. Don’t you have cornflakes or something?”
“We have some cracked corn that we can smash up for all of us, and simmer it until it’s soft, but that takes about an hour.”
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“We need to find our parents,” Mary said.
“Can you find our parents too?” Sigmund asked. “Father wears a Coonskin cap, one with a tail hanging from it, and a leather jacket with fringe all down the arms. Mother wears a long white dress with an apron, and silvery white hair in a long braid that hangs below her waist. Tell them we got some food for them.”
They set off towards town, with Ebony running ahead. After a few miles, they sat to rest on a mossy log. Jonathan looked in his backpack, and discovered a cob of corn that Sigmund had wrapped in brown paper and placed in his backpack. The husk and cornsilk had already been removed.
“We can’t cook this without any matches. Mmmm. It smells good.”
He took a bite of the sweet corn and offered some to Mary. She took a few bites and handed it back. They took turns finishing it off, as Ebony watched. Jonathan threw the leftover cob into the woods, and Ebony chased it. He gnawed on it for about five minutes, and then he buried what was left. Mary and Jonathan began to worry, and called out to Ebony.
Ebony came loping back, and they continued on their way. They could smell the autumn scents of town, the wood stoves, the fish smokers, the bakery and the rain on pavement. Ebony led them past the elementary school, where the buses were lined up, ready to take the children home when classes were over. The sight made them homesick.
The food bank was another two blocks away. When they reached the food bank, Sylvia was closing up and Ebony ran to her before she could close the door. When Mary and Jonathan introduced themselves, and said they missed the cruise ship, Sylvia became quiet and sad.
“Come in, and I’ll tell you what we know of your parents,” Sylvia said. “I’ll get you some food. We just put it in the cooler, but it should still be warm enough.”
Mary and Jonathan sat at a long table and ate everything Sylvia put on their plates.
“Can you send us back to our family?” Mary asked. “I’ll be turning eighteen on Halloween, and I want to be home to celebrate.”
“Me too!” Jonathan said. “I already missed the start of third grade.”
Sylvia said, “We can’t get you back to your parents. It’s such a relief that you are still here, and you didn’t go down with the ship and the rest of the passengers. There was a rogue wave, a tsunami, that overtook the ship and it sank. I will ask the local Coast Guard to check the ship’s manifest, but I believe there were only three passengers retrieved, and the rest, including your parents, went down with the ship.”
Both children were in tears by now, and Ebony sat between them, licking their hands, trying to comfort them. Mary turned away from Ebony, but Jonathan felt Ebony’s warm ears and tried to be brave.
“I’ll take you to my home for the night. You probably could use a warm bed,” Sylvia said. “I’ll sleep on the couch. We can call the Coast Guard tomorrow.”
The next morning Sylvia took the children and Ebony to the food bank with her. When she called the Coast Guard they said they were trying to notify the nearest relatives that the whole family was lost, but they will be happy to find out that Mary and Jonathan were not on the ship. They have not made contact yet.
As Mary and Jonathan waited tearfully with Sylvia for a reply from the coast guard, Ebony found a ball, and encouraged them to play with him. They sat on an outdoor bench, stunned that their family was gone and their whole life was about to change.
Sylvia’s phone rang. Sylvia went inside to take the call.
“Sorry, Ma’am. The contact name that the parents gave to the cruise line is the grandmother, and we’re still trying to trace her phone number. They provided a number that is no longer in service. Could you ask the children when they last saw their grandmother, and if they have any information about her or any other relatives?”
“Yes, I will ask them. They’re very well behaved, and I’m willing to keep them with me until we figure this out.”
“Thank you, Ma’am.”
“Sorry, could you call me Sylvia.”
“Yes, of course. I have never done this, and I hope you will be patient. A cruise ship sinking is a pretty unusual event. I’m usually tasked with rescues, not follow up. The rescues take priority. I hope you can step in and help me out on placing the children.”
The children went home with Sylvia after work.
The next morning, before Sylvia was up, they raided the refrigerator and cupboards, and put everything edible in their backpacks. They left a note for her: Dear Sylvia, Sorry we took all your groceries. We have something we must do, but we will be back tomorrow. Ebony is going with us.
They stopped loading groceries, when Sylvia’s snoring stopped. They sneaked out the front door with Ebony in the lead. They all took the path back to Sigmund and Freda’s cabin. When they arrived, Ebony barked, and Sigmund’s dad immediately opened the door. He was tall and thin, and he held a rifle in his hands.
“Sigmund told us about you two. Come on in!”
The children hesitated, and then they followed Ebony’s lead, as he trotted right in.
“The twins are studyin’, but I’m gettin’ ready to harvest a moose. I seen a big buck on the path ‘tween here and town. I gotta hurry an’ get ‘im, ‘fore the ammo starts flyin’ from all the other hunters.”
Dad turned to Sigmund and Freda, “Go on you two! Take a break. It ain’t that often we get company.”
A white haired lady in a long white dress appeared from behind a cloth room divider.
“And you can call me Mama,” she said, shyly.
“Yes Ma’am,” Mary and Jonathan said. They all ran outside and threw sticks for Ebony.
“We might have to live with foster parents,” Jonathan said. “The ship our family was on sank, and they all died.”
“Sorry,” Sigmund and Freda said, as they surrounded him with hugs.
Jonathan began to cry, and Ebony nosed in to break the circle of grief. Jonathan knelt down. Ebony dropped the stick, and licked Jonathan’s tears. It tickled, and made Jonathan laugh. He picked up the stick and threw it for Ebony.
They were away from the house and Mary asked, “Did your dad ever go to school?”
“He ran away from home when he was eight years old…same age as Jonathan. I don’t know how he could do that, but I think I could do it if I wanted to, but me and Freda, we like it here, and Mama and Dad are nice to us. Mama’s our teacher, and she home schools Dad too, but Dad lived in a mean house. They weren’t his real parents.”
“I miss my mom and dad,” Mary said.
“Me too,” Jonathan said. “Your dad talks funny.”
Sigmund turned around and went inside.
Mary said, “That was not kind, Jonathan!”
Before following Sigmund inside, Freda finally spoke up.
“Tell Sylvia, we love her and we’re doing fine. Our father is learning to speak better and he loves us. He would never leave us behind if we had to depend on strangers to take care of us.”
It made them sad, but Mary took this as a righteous retort to Jonathan’s comment. They needed their backpacks for the trip back to the food bank.
The door suddenly opened and Ebony ran up to the family with his stick.
Sigmund and Freda’s dad bent over and picked up Ebony’s stick.
“We’ll save this for next time you come to see us,” he said. “We enjoyed your visit.”
As the four family members stood there, Mary let out a sigh of relief that they were still welcome.
“Thank you for having us,” Jonathan said.
They picked up their backpacks, and Ebony led the way back to the food bank and Sylvia.
When they reached the food bank, Sylvia was sitting inside the door, waiting. She hugged them as if she would never let go.
“Please don’t leave me again without telling me where you’re going. I might lose my job, and I might lose you.”
“Why?” Mary asked.
“I’m applying to be a foster parent, and I need to show I’m responsible for the children left in my care. That means I need to know where you are.”
Jonathan volunteered, “The man with the coonskin cap and the lady in the long white dress. And Sigmund and Freda. We took them your food.”
“Sorry, we thought you could get more at the food bank,” Mary added.
“They told me about Sigmund and Freda, but I didn’t think they were real.”
“Please don’t tell anybody else,” Mary said. “We thought you already knew. They’re very nice, they’re healthy and smart!”
Ebony approached them. He needed and ear scratch. Sylvia was the one to reach out to him.
“Ebony is an orphan too. He was adopted here at the food bank when his owner, an old man who played guitar for a living passed away. We love him here.”
“So do we!” Mary and Jonathan said in unison.
