I'm writing this to tell you that my mother passed away recently. She was always fond of you for some reason, even though you are much disliked by the rest of the family. But none the less, I have an obligation to fulfill and I intend to do so. She wanted me to tell you how you came to be so disliked by the family and once you hear my story you will understand perfectly.

It was twenty years ago or so that my mother first met you. At first she was very put off by your gruff appearance and demeanor but being the kindhearted person she was she decided not to let that influence her behavior towards you. She was working as a short order cook at a fast food joint that you used to frequent before the change. I do realize that your memory of these events must be hazy by now, which is why I'm telling you this in such detail. But to continue the story: She was, at the time, very lonely. My father left a few years earlier and she was struggling to get by. She didn't really have time to socialize with other people since she had to get back home to take care of me after work.

You, however, became a fixture in her life. You came to the diner every day at about the same time and got food from my mother. Her supervisor asked her many times to stop feeding you since you had the tendency to scare off other customers but mother always said no. Then one day you didn't show up all day. Mother got very worried but couldn't really do anything because she didn't know your name or where you lived. When you didn't show up for the third day in a row she went looking for you after work. And she didn't find you. Three days after that you finally appeared at the diner again but you were changed, so much so that mother didn't recognize you straight away.

Your appearance had changed dramatically. You no longer elicited fear from the other customers just from the way you looked. And you suddenly had manners appropriate for your age and purpose. It actually took some time for mother to realize who you were. But once she did she set out on a mission to find out what had happened to you. And to tell you the truth that mission consumed her for the rest of her life. This brings us back to why you were so disliked by the family. No one could understand why mother was so obsessed about you, who you were and where you came from. It was not like her to invite a strange person into our lives like she did with you. And the questions, the endless questions. She never gave up finding the reason for your being. And she never really found it. Oh, don't get me wrong, she found some clues, but never the definitive answer. There were some in the family that thought she must be insane, and they blamed you for it.

It didn't help mother that she never told anyone why it was so important to her to find out what had happened to you. She never told anyone except me. And she only told me the full story after she was told by the doctors that she wouldn;t survive her lung cancer. And to tell you the truth, I understand completely why she kept it to herself. The fact that I'm actually writing this down on paper makes me wonder if I have gone mad all of a sudden. Which isn't entirely implausible. Especially if mother was insane herself. They say insanity is inheritable.

You have to realize how difficult this is. It's not every day that you are told that a person you know, a human person, is or was in fact a dog. A big dog but a dog none the less. That is the reason for that mission mother undertook all those years ago. She was convinced that you were the homeless dog that she used to feed behind the diner every day for some months before it disappeared. And she based that on the fact that you didn't remember anything when she talked to you that first day you came to the diner in your current form. And you looked like that dog in some strange way that only mother could see and describe. You also shared some unique characteristics with that dog; you were both large and hairy, your scar across the face, over the bridge of your nose, looks exactly like the one the dog had across its snout and you have the same limp as the dog had.

So you can understand why you were so disliked by the family. You, in effect, took our mother away. She was never the same again and now, after she told me, I have to continue with her mission. I have to know if it's true and possible. And if so, then how and why. Why change a dog into a human. I just so sincerely hope that I will be able to keep my sanity; I can't bear the thought of not being in full control of all my faculties.

Still, I hope this letter finds you well and healthy.

With regards,

Elize Ragnok

***

“Doctor Mathers, Elize has been writing on the walls of her room again and is acting like she doesn't know where she is.” The orderly said into the phone.

“Well, we'll have to increase her dose then and probably give her another electroshock therapy.” The doctor replied.

END