Before Christmas Tuesday, 24 December 2019

It had been more than four months since Luke, the owner of Dulcimer, had a heart attack. It took three months for him to fully recover and he'd been back at Dulcimer for a month. Work didn't pile up, all thanks to his twenty-five-year-old nephew who kept the club organized and swarming with customers every Tuesday Acoustics. In a way, he was grateful to have that heart attack. Otherwise, Andrea, Apollo's mom, wouldn't have given him attention. She had visited him in the hospital twice with the garlic vegetable soup that he missed occasionally; she made the best soup that was good for the heart. Since Gabriel was her son's best friend, he had given him a Tuesday gig that he didn't regret because the dude could sing. In fact, he was the best acoustic singer out of three that he had hired. Tonight, he was running late, and it was very unusual because he was always early and excited that he'd come an hour before his session. It was five minutes before 9pm and he was supposed to be prepping up ten minutes ago. He decided to call him, something that he never did. But just as he was about to, Gab was already squeezing himself in between the crowd. He quickly got on the left corner of the stage where Luke was standing behind the midnight blue curtain. "You're just in time." He said.

"I'm sorry. I got stuck on something. " Truth was, for the first time, he forgot his session. He and Leslie were busy looking for spells and other ways to turn Apollo back to his human form in case he didn't come back on time. Although he knew that he would and he kept on saying that to himself, he was still anxious just like his sister was. They both cared a lot about that dude as if he were family. He was now tuning his guitar in front of the audience, but he couldn't stop thinking about what was taking Apollo so long when it had been almost two hours. He didn't know how long it should take to find a banshee, but it felt like two hours was too long. He greeted the audience with a slick smile; that almost melted the panties of the girls whose eyes pleaded for him to look at them. Then he sang. And they all screamed.

~

After a long endless walk, Apollo was nothing but a lethargic dachshund who had sore muscles. He felt cold, and weak, and deadbeat. He thought to himself, "Maybe if I was a rottweiler I would've had more strength." Then, he brushed off his complaint and thought about Betha. As soon as he imagined her smile, he got his energy back and his pacing had returned to its normal speed. He was in a woodlot outside Summerland Townsville. The minute he neared a giant sequoia or redwood, Betha's scent was somewhere near him; somewhere in that massive tree that Apollo never knew existed. He looked up, as if he was seeing a giant beanstalk, just like in the story. He thought his neck was going to break as he tried to look further up where the moonlight shined. Betha's scent was somewhere near, so he sniffed around the tree. He swore to himself, Betha's scent was not anywhere in front or behind him; it was underground. He was 100% sure; he could smell that Betha was under the giant tree, so he started digging with his big paws.

~

Betha could sense that something was up. She couldn't hear quite clearly, but she was sure that somewhere, she could hear a dog barking. She got up and followed that sound. No matter what time it was, it seemed like it was always afternoon where she was. She had no idea where she got her dress from, but she was wearing a green maxi dress with halter top, matching her surroundings. She was about to take another step when a goddess-looking creature materialized in front of her and she was bewildered. "What the…" She looked at her from head to toe. "Who are you?"

"I'm the keeper of this tree."

"Tree?! I'm in a tree?"

"You're under it."

"Oh my gosh, so that's why I couldn't get out. I was underground."

"Your dog is waiting for you."

"I have a dog?"

She smiled. "Your repentance is over. You are now given a chance to start anew. Clear of evil. Clear of that part of you that wasn't the real you. You are yourself now. Come." She led her to a portal that was camouflaged against the hanging leaves of a tree branch that she thought was a wall.

She didn't understand what was happening, but she couldn't bring herself to question what she meant because deep inside, she knew. Or at least, she felt it. She was reborn. She heard a barking sound and bid the beautiful creature goodbye as if it wasn't the first time that she had seen her.

~

Apollo's dachshund form was smiling like a human would. Betha's scent was stronger. She was there. He stopped digging when he saw light radiating from below the ground. Then a hand that was very familiar to him appeared, then another, and soon enough, Betha climbed up to face him. She sat restlessly, but with a big smile on her face. It was exactly how he had picture it to motivate him. "It's you, Apollo. Why would you do this to yourself, you silly dog." She patted him and Apollo swore to himself he could faint anytime, but he wouldn't. The extreme joy he was feeling was dangerously overwhelming because he had never been as happy like he was at that moment.

~

Mrs. Rodriguez was worried because it was almost midnight and he found out that his son had not returned. There was turkey with stuffing, roast beef, chicken, mashed potatoes, spaghetti, and vegetables on the dining table. They normally celebrated Christmas at midnight with Gab and Leslie. When she called Luke to check up on Apollo and Gab, he said he had not seen Apollo. Then, he was cut off and Gab was suddenly on the line. He told her not to worry because he was out with Betha and they will both be coming tonight for the Christmas dinner. Two minutes before twelve, she heard a car parking. She promptly looked through the window and was relieved to see Leslie, Gab, Betha, and Apollo coming out of the Toyota Prius Prime. She opened the door to welcome them. "Merry Christmas, you kids. Where have you been?"

They all looked at each other innocently. "We found Betha." Apollo uttered. The joy in his voice was indescribable.

Mrs. Rodriguez was happy to see his son smile like that. "Well, I'm glad you did." She said, unaware of the real story behind Betha's disappearance and how Apollo had found her. If she knew his son had turned into a dog to find a banshee who got stuck under a tree for several months, she wouldn't have believed them. "What are you waiting for, kids? Come in. Welcome back, Betha."

"Thank you." She smiled as they all went straight to the dining room and drooled over the delightful dishes that await them.