Bea & Copper vs the Seasons' argument

You won’t believe what happened today! But I’ll tell you anyway because I know it’s all true. It’s not even the first time something like this has happened to me… 

For a bit of context, back when I was a kid, I could literally speak to my dog, Blacky. He was my twin. We had this special connection, so he basically asked the Dog Kingdom to give me permission to speak to all dogs. As I grew older, this gift started to weaken, but I can still communicate telepathically with the dogs who want to communicate with me. That’s how Copper writes his blog articles: he tells me what to write, and I type it up. Easy! 

However, this morning, I could hear Copper loud and clear, just like I used to hear Blacky! He was talking at a million words per minute:

  ‘Guardian-B, you have to Wake Up, and we need to get going Immediately!!! Guardian-B! Bea! Guardian-B, can you Hear me? Something Terrible has happened, and I got Dog-Mail from the QUEEN OF DOGS HERSELF to say that You are the Only One, You and Me actually, We are the Only Ones who can Fix this. Guardian-B?!’

  ‘Copper, Copper, Copper! I can hear you loud and clear. Louder and clearer than ever, actually. Now, slow down and tell me what happened.’

  ‘I had another Dream with Blacky. The Connection was not very good, but since it is his Remembrance Day, he managed to open the Portal. By the way, Guardian-B, I am all in for some Puppy Cuddles later if you need a little Paw to cry on! 

  ‘Thank you, Cop. Back on topic.’

  ‘Yes. Blacky told me that You and Him used to be Summoned to Help the Seasons?’

  ‘Oh, yes! We used to do a lot of that.’

  \Well… The Dog-Mail says that the Seasons seem to be Arguing at the moment. I believe you can tell by the Weather these Days. The Queen would like Us to have a Word with them. Let us go! Oh, but first, may I get some Nom-Noms, please?’

V (or Guardian-V as Copper calls him) was also up by now. I explained this whole shenanigan to him and he went straight to Copper’s food to prepare his breakfast noms. When he finished eating, I put Copper’s harness and lead and off we went. Copper led the way with very few sniffing stops. I truly commend him for how focused he was on our little quest. We went up through the streets of Greenwich all the way to the wonderful Point Hill, a lesser-known place where you can see the whole of London. Turns out there is also an entrance to the Seasons’ Palace on Point Hill, which somehow makes so much sense. Of course, the entrance was visible only to Copper, and he had to telepathically show me where the door was. 

When we got in, we were ushered quickly by the Ghost Pups at the Palace. *

* All Puppies who pass away young are immediately adopted by the Seasons to help around the Palace. They get loads of love and super delicious food, and they help welcome all the guests. If you are wondering, Kitties who pass away young are adopted by Mother Nature and they get to do all sorts of little mischievous tasks, such as a raindrop falling right underneath your collar or tripping on the most even surfaces.

When I last came here, many years ago, there were formalities to complete before you could go anywhere, like signing your name or stamping your paw, giving a few treats to the Pups. There was also a tour of the place (I did that tour 4 times, no matter how much I insisted I had already done it). None of that happened this time. The Pups were in a great hurry. They kept whispering something about Bees, but I couldn’t quite get it. I still gave them treats; that was one formality I felt obliged to do although they forgot to ask. The Throne Room was in an absolute state! Flowers and fruits and leaves were thrown all over the place. There was a cloud in a corner, ready to rain. There was a gust of wind in another. And Winter was by the wall, sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth, crying her eyes out, whispering “make it stop… make it stop, please… make it stop…”. She was one wrong move away from a full breakdown. The world wouldn’t be able to cope with a snowstorm in April. In the middle of the Room, by the Throne, Spring, Summer, and Autumn were pushing and pulling at each other. The Pups tried to get their attention. I tried to get their attention. Nothing. Then, Copper barked! 

  ‘EXCUSE ME!’

They stopped. I paused too. Copper barely ever barks. 

  ‘Oh! My! Flowers!’ screeched Spring. ‘This is the most beautiful dog I’ve ever seen! Who are you?’

  ‘I am Copper K, Ma’am. This is my Guardian-B…’

  ‘BEA! I remember you!’ shouted Summer. ‘My bestie! I remember when you and your old Blacky convinced sister Spring over there to let me get to my throne.’

  ‘I also remember when Bea and Blacky helped me get you off that throne, you loser!’ said Autumn.

  ‘Wait, so… Blacky is no more?’ Winter asked quietly. ‘It’s been years since I last saw you… Sadly, it makes sense… I always forget that doggies have such a limited time with you, humans. But how lovely it is to meet Mr Copper over here! You seem like a fine gentleman!’ 

  ‘Oh, thank you!’ said Copper, wagging his tail. If dogs could blush, he would’ve. 

You know, sometimes all it takes to make some people (or Seasons) stop arguing is a cute dog barking at them. It was now or never, trying to figure out what to say next before they started arguing again. These moments used to make me so nervous back in the day. However, the Seasons are basically teenagers, just storming about something. I decided to go full youth worker on them. I seized the moment and asked them all to sit down in a circle. Copper and I sat down as well. I didn’t have any props with me, but I had a roll of green bags with me, so I made that our ‘talking piece’ (only the person holding it could speak). I introduced it and then asked simply:

  ‘If you were a colour today, what colour would you be? For example, I would be orange because I like the sun and feel pretty good to be back in the business of talking to the Seasons,’ I passed the roll to my left, to Copper. 

  ‘Hmm… I would be Blue because I like the Skyline from up here in Point Hill. Also, it is not like I have too many Colours to choose from’, said Copper and passed the roll to his left, to Spring. 

  ‘I feel pink because of the Cherry Blossoms. And I will not let Summer take them away from me this year!’ she passed the roll on to Autumn. 

  ‘Yellow. I don’t know why’, and then she passed the roll to Summer. 

  ‘Red. Red. Red. Red like the cherries that will not exist unless I can do my job and get the trees from flowers to fruit.’ 

  ‘Oh shush, you! Everyone wants to take pics of the beautiful trees in Greenwich Park now, not when they’re fruity and gross…’

  ‘Spring, only the person holding the roll can speak. Please’, I intervened. ‘Pass the roll to Winter.’

  ‘I choose dark grey like the slushy, melted snow. I am so upset that my Sisters keep arguing, I cannot even begin to explain. I have the most difficult job, dealing with most people’s seasonal depression, plus the constant pressure of snow on Christmas, which is virtually impossible because the elves who make gifts and the ones who make snow are one and the same, and with the world population growing and capitalism making kids ask for more gifts, they are overworked anyway, so I am not going to ask them to go the extra mile just for some snow. And then everyone can’t wait for me to leave and let Spring in, but she is so lazy, and she is always late. And then Summer wants to get on the Throne immediately because she is just super passionate about this whole Weather thing, and loves that she can freely flirt with the Sun for a few months. And then, there’s Autumn. Always trying to get them to get along, but always somehow ending up caught in the middle, to the point where she gives up a month or even two months to Summer… Bah…’ 

  ‘Thank you all for sharing and for being honest. Winter, I appreciate your summary of everything going on. I understand that there is an issue with the cherry trees.’

  ‘YES!’ Spring and Summer answered at the same time.

  ‘Since when do you get to decide what happens with them?’ I asked. ‘I thought it was the Bees who were in charge of that?’

As soon as I said that, a swarm of Bees buzzed into the room. The Bees split in two and made way for the Queen to come forward. 

  ‘It is indeed we who are in charge of that! We have been on strike as we could not arrange a meeting with the Honourable Spring and Summer to discuss pollination, but they were just too caught up in arguing about issues that are not even theirs to argue about. They did not even realise we were on strike, they just assumed they could take over Tree Management. We have been trying to request more wild flowers, but no one is listening, and we cannot do this alone.’

  ‘Queen Bee, could we not help with That at all?’ Copper asked curiously. ‘You know, we carry Seeds through our Fur all the time. I am sure the Dog Pack can do Something.’

  ‘What a clever idea, Copper’, Summer chimed in. ‘Why did I not think of that? Of course, you can help! All you need is a few seeds each and to shake them off in strategic places.’

  ‘I can also ask the Foxes!’ Copper added. ‘I am Best Friends with all of them. I am sure they would be glad to Help.’ 

  ‘But what about my Cherry Blossoms?’ asked Spring. 

  ‘Sis, there’s enough time for you to enjoy them. You can’t give people too much of a good thing; they’d just get bored of it. I know it too well…’ said Winter. 

  ‘Maybe you’re right…’ said Spring. ‘By the way, Bea, Copper, did you have a chance for a Tour?’

As soon as I heard the word tour, we dashed! This Palace is literally a hallway and the Throne Room, plus the Seasons’ rooms, which we cannot enter anyway. We’ve seen it all already. But the tour takes about two hours simply because inevitably the Seasons will start arguing about some minor detail. That’s how they always are. Hence, the Weather changes all the time based on their moods. 

Copper and I made it home by noon. On the way home, he already spoke to a few of our neighbours about the pollination task, and they were more than happy to help. I wonder if their Humans will be as happy when their pups are rolling around in the grass? At least I know what is happening!

As I am writing this, Copper is napping. He seems to be dreaming. I have a feeling that Blacky is in his dream. It is, after all, Blacky’s Remembrance Day. I miss my old bud, but oh, how much I love this little Copper too.