The Reincarnation Of Ward Johnson

This is a very short story I just wrote as part of a flash fiction challenge on my friend Carl Sinclair's site. I enjoyed writing this one.

THE REINCARNATION OF WARD JOHNSON

His dreams of being stabbed were happening more frequently. He used to get them a few times a year, but now he was getting them almost every night. The dreams were always the same. He’d walk into a darkly lit bedroom and suddenly get tackled from behind. He struggled on the floor with his attacker, but he never saw the man’s face. The only thing he saw clearly was the knife in the man’s hand – right before it entered his stomach. Then everything went pitch black for a few seconds before he woke up in a panic.

Other than those horrible dreams, he led a pretty happy life. He was young and healthy and did just about everything he wanted to do. Plus, he had a fantastic roommate named Carl, who despite being an old man and different from him in just about every way, was undoubtedly his best friend. They got along great.

Until the day he remembered everything.

He had walked into Carl’s bedroom and saw him lying asleep in his bed. When he looked at Carl’s face, his mind suddenly filled with visions from the dream he’d been having over and over again. Only this time, when he saw the knife in the man’s hand, he looked up and saw his face. It was Carl.

Then it all came back to him. He and Carl had been best friends and business partners for many years until one day when he discovered that Carl had been embezzling money from their company. He told Carl he’d be going to the police the next day to turn him in. It was that night when Carl showed up at his home and attacked and murdered him.

In that previous life, his name had been Ward Johnson. As Ward, he’d never believed in reincarnation. He would have thought someone was crazy if they told him he’d die and one day be reincarnated. He’d think they were even crazier if they said he’d be reincarnated as a pit bull terrier.

But there he was. Reincarnated as the pet dog of the man who had killed him.

He jumped up on the bed and then looked down on Carl’s neck. His revenge would taste very sweet.