The rumor of their existence went from ear to ear. It caused a rustle like wind going through leaves. I, too, had heard the murmurs about the extraordinary contestants. Being one of the judges in this year’s dog show, I was thrilled. One does not often get to be on the panel that officially recognizes a new breed. With a spring in my step, I set out to find the hounds that put an invigorating zest in this year’s pageant.
Even though dogs were yapping everywhere, I instantly knew I drew nigh. The sounds I’d dived into became more menacing. A deep growl that resonated in my entire being rushed the beat of my heart. An instant later I was taken hostage by a stench reminiscent of a tin of cat food I once had forgotten on my porch over a hot summer weekend and that even the famished neighborhood stray wouldn’t touch. Finally, in the heart of a maze of kennels, I found the mystical beasts.
One shot at me right away and dug its plate sized paws into my chest. He was a titan of a dog with a grotesquely large head, out of which stuck a driveling tongue. Instinctively, I turned my face away, but he struck my cheek nonetheless with the clammy tip.
I turned into a pillar of salt, holding my breath and hoping against hope the beast would not be able to smell the funk of fear spilling out of me like out of a cracked rotten egg.
“This is not how we say hello, Lucky”, a woman’s voice good-naturedly reprimanded, followed by a tiny old lady who stepped out of the dog’s towering shadow.
The beast was not so easily convinced and braided his teeth at me.
“Now, that’s better”, said the woman in a tone like a pat on the back, “a smile always makes for a good first impression.”
The old lady gently pulled back the dog on a collar that was not only hand-braided from delicate threads, but was by any standards also far too weak to hold back an animal like Lucky.
Anmerkung
Dieser Text ist das Ergebnis der Schreibübung: Mit allen Sinnen Schreiben. Die Übung stammt aus meiner Artikelreihe “Stil verbessern (1/4)”, die dir das wichtigste Handwerkszeug zum Schreiben vermittelt. Die Reihe basiert auf der Coursera-Spezialisierung: Kreatives Schreiben.
Lucky ist für mich ein besonders wichtiger Übungstext gewesen, denn er war die Inspiration für mein Buchprojekt “The Marvelous Misfits of Westminster”.
