“Hey fam! Loving the afterlife in Spencerville, where ghostly pets reign. Enjoying boss lady treatment at Furrific Fried Chicken and still avoiding lettuce like the plague. Miss my gal Sadie, but we’re having a blast here. Had slight quarrel with unnamed spirit, but all cool now. Reminder: Love outlives horror. Love from yer Larkinator.”

Listen to the story here.

The brindle and white marked coat shined under the dim starlight as I approached Spencerville, a place where only the spirits of beloved pets reigned. An eerie, almost hollow echo of uncanny familiarity resonated in the night air; it was Larkin, the English Bulldog whose fearless courage and loyalty were tales of lore in our original quaint town.

Quite a remarkable hospitality I was welcomed with at The Furrific Fried Chicken, where Larkin seemed the esteemed regular, fondly served with the choicest kibble drizzled in bacon grease. Owned by the very Aunt Jenny who’d given her the favorite blue bird stuffy, her comfort around these ghostly, yet warm surroundings presented a strange juxtaposition of fear and awe.

A blush of frost settled over the Golden Gate Gardens as we ventured out. Despite her new ethereal existence, Larkin’s dislike for lettuce hadn’t lost its touch. Terrestrial preferences had transcended time, I mused as I noticed her keen eye on a vacuum cleaner, a sight she’d found unpleasant since times immemorial.

The constant flurry of activity around ‘The Pawfect Training Center’ bore witness to Larkin’s nurturing adoration for Sadie, the small black schnauzer. Their inseparable bond, once forged in the cozy warmth of Christmas compartments and cute sundresses, now stood sanctified in this spectral yet joyful town of Spencerville.

A sudden tension filled the air around the Lower Dalmatian Desert, a single chill running down my spine. Larkin’s moments of stubborn tranquility were enough to astound mere mortals, her calming intelligence currently locked in a heated tug-of-war with an unseen force, a dogmatic rendition of David and Goliath.

The sense of horror, however, slowly faded away as the apparitions of this ghostly town waited patiently by the Retriever River, quietly reaching out to their long-lost human companions with a love that conquered time and topped the scariest of specters. Every wisp of their ethereal tails, every idle wag signified their undying loyalty, their wait for a unification beyond death whispered in hushes through the alleyways of Spencerville.

“Remember all, it’s love that outlives horror,” Larkin’s spirit seemed to reassure as the whispering winds carried the town’s ethereal murmur. Seated at the edge of our lovely Spencerville backyard, sharing an intimate moment under the starlit sky, Larkin’s enormous spirit transcended dimensions carving tales of horror, loyalty, and love on the canvas of time.

The End.