Lonesome

Lonesome: Part One

“You Lord will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You” Isaiah 26:3

Chapter One: Lonesome

He was sleepy. The sun felt warm on his body as he slowly lowered himself onto the cool green grass. Yellow wild flowers squashed under him as he settled himself down. He went to sleep quickly with his tongue hanging from his opened mouth and flies buzzing around his ears. Nothing could stir his tired body until he felt rested.
As he slept his feet moved as if he was running. Soft moans and squeals escaped from his mouth. He jumped in his sleep, almost waking up, but soon he settled into a deep sleep.
The day wore on. People walked by. Cars honked and buses roared. Children laughed and played. They tossed a ball that rolled within inches of his nose. Nothing disturbed his sleep.
Later hunger pains began to wake him. Quick little jabs started on one side of his stomach and moved across to the other side. He whined, still half asleep.

2.

Slowly his eyes opened and he looked down his long nose to see a pretty yellow flower tickling him. He rubbed his paw across his nose to push it out of the way. He was confused, not quite awake, and he wondered, “Where am I?” Then he remembered. “Oh my, how could I be so careless? Here I am in a strange town and I fall asleep in the middle of the park.” He jumped up and quickly shook himself awake. He looked around to see if he should be concerned.
It was early evening and people were hurrying home from work. Children were going home for their dinner. He was confused, not sure what to do.
He was rested after his long nap but hungry. It was almost dark. He walked toward the street as the street lights came on. A cool breeze blew. That meant another cold night with no place to keep warm. He had thick hair which helped, but it would be nicer to have a warm place to stay and a blanket to curl up on.
He hoped it wouldn’t rain. When he got wet it took forever for him to dry and be comfortable again.
He reached a brightly lighted store. He wondered what to do next. The door flew open. A woman and small boy rushed out almost knocking the door into his head. It startled him and he let out a yelp! The woman brushed by him ignoring his cry as she clutched her grocery bag in one hand and pulled the boy along with the other.

3.
“Mama…Mama. The dog…You hit that dog.” The boy cried as he tried to get away from his mother’s hold to see if the dog was hurt.
His mother tightened her grip and kept on walking. “It’s just some old stray, Willy. He’ll be fine.” The dog heard what she said. He watched as they hurried up the street.
The cheerlessness in the little boy’s face made the dog sad. “He looks so lonely,” the dog thought. “Just like me.” He didn’t know why he felt compelled to follow them but he did. He ignored his hunger pains which were getting worse. He knew the mother didn’t want him around but the boy, Willy seem to need a friend. The dog crept after them staying far enough behind so they couldn’t see him.
The further they went the slower the boy and his mother walked. The dog was tired of the slow pace. “Will they ever get to where they’re going?” he wondered. Should I wait a while and then run to catch up?” On and on they went. What a long way they lived from the store. No wonder the mother seemed to be in a hurry. She knew they had a long walk ahead of them.
When they reached the edge of town it was almost dark and there was only one house to be seen. The house stood all by itself on a small hill. It looked huge, black and frightening against the rapidly fading sunset.

4.
The boy and his mother followed the long driveway leading to the front door. The closer they got the bigger the house seemed. It was two stories high with a cathedral roof which made it look taller than it was. The yard was unkempt while trees and bushes covered every window. Along porch covered the front of the house. The boy and his mother scurried around the side to the back of the house. They went through a dimly lit back porch and disappeared inside.
The dog listened nothing could be heard from the house. It was so quiet he could hear his rapidly beating heart. He was afraid. He wondered how a little boy could be happy in such a gloomy house.
His stomach made noises and the dog knew he needed to eat. His last meal was that morning but it was only a scrap he’d found in an abandoned camp site. He hadn’t eaten a decent meal in several days and he felt weak. That’s why he slept so long in the park today.
Looking around, he knew the chances were slim he would get anything to eat here so he started to move off. The back door suddenly flew open an old woman threw something outside. It barely missed the dog but as he got out of the way he caught a whiff of the food.
The door stood open long enough to for him to hear the woman say. “I will not eat slop you’ve thrown together in a hurry. I buy the food and I want it prepared right and on time. If you insist on going to church at all hours of the day you had better have things taken care of first!! “

5.
The door slammed shut with a bang. There was a mouth-watering odor in the air. He put his nose to the ground sniffed, and ate his way to the container. Much of what had been in it had fallen on the ground but the dog didn’t care. He gulped it down and was licking the bottom of the pot when the door opened again.
He looked up to see the little boy slip out of the house. There was no sound. They strained to look at each other in the shadowy light. The dog wondered if he should run. The boy wondered if he was seeing a ferocious animal that was ready to eat him for supper. Recognition lit the boy’s face.
“Hey, you’re the dog from the store. How’d you get here?” He approached the dog slowly then knelt to stroke the dogs back. The dog felt good to be full of food and have a warm touch. If he’d been a cat he’d have purred, instead he wagged his tail to communicate his pleasure.
The dog’s tail was his pride. It was long and wiry with a bush of hair at the tip of it. People made comments about it. It was so long he had to keep it held high when he walked so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. The hair at the end was like a cheerleader’s pom-pom. Most of all he was proud of the strength in his tail.
The dog wasn’t tall, just medium. He wasn’t fat or lean, just medium. He was brown, not dark brown or light brown, just brown. He was different because of his big head and long nose and then there was his tail, of course.