Find the Way Home | Chapter 3: A Talk in the Park

It was Mary’s time to go to the park.

Luanda and Henry knew about her dream and Henry told Jake about it.

When she got to the park, Henry and Jake were hopping towards her.

“Are…are you okay? You look very…tired!” Jake asked carefully.

He saw that Mary’s fur was not shiny any more. It looked dirty and messy, and Jake was concerned.

Mary cried, “Nooooooooooo!!! I…I…had the dream again!”

Tears fell from her eyes and bounced to the ground.

Jake and Henry were shocked. They never saw Mary cry before.

The dream really DID frighten her.

Luanda came and jumped beside Mary. She was shocked too. She found Henry and Jake looking at Mary strangely.

Luanda shouted, “You two made her cry! Pay for it!”

They were horrified, “We…We are only shocked!”

Mary sniffled, “It is not their fault. The dream…..the dream, it scared me.”

Luanda was angry, “That foolish, stupid and crazy dream? Oh goodness! What the heck!”

Jake and Henry were shocked again.

Luanda never said that kind of words!

Luanda knew what she said was wrong, breathed in and out, then calmed back down.

“Maybe I should go take a sip of water.”

She went back to her owner to drink some water.

Henry said to Mary, “Are you alright now?”

“Yep…”

Mary stopped crying, but she still whimpered.

Luanda came back and looked at Mary.

She said, “Poor Mary… Does the dream appear once a week now?”

She knew that Mary would be frightened again, but she needed to ask to know how bad it has become.

“NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Of course and absolutely NO!!!” Mary yelled, “If yes, I would REALLY be hysterical. It is TOO scary.”

“So how often do you have the dream now, sweetie?” Luanda asked her, fluttering her cute rabbit eyes to lighten the atmosphere.

Mary laughed bitterly, “Once a month.”

Luanda smiled, “Better.”

“Mm…so, Mary, are you okay now?” Henry asked carefully.

Mary nodded.

Soon, they all had to return to their owners.

Even after expressing her feelings to her friends, Mary still felt very uncomfortable. It was like a stone couldn’t be lifted from her heart, no matter how hard she tried.

Mary and Kelly travelled back home, and Mary slept in the car. When she woke up, she searched for her food like a hungry tiger.

Mrs. Filjune had a glimpse of what Mary was doing.

She asked, “What’s wrong with Mary? She stood up all of a sudden.”

Kelly really understood Mary.

“Oh, she is just hungry and searching for food. Come on, buddy.”

Kelly got some food and Mary ate the food off Kelly’s warm hand. She saw Kelly smile. Kelly had the kind of smile where you could only see her teeth but not her eyes.

Mary was very happy to have this kind, good and friendly owner. She was proud too. She always thought the dream could not be true because she knew Kelly would never let go of her. She always told her new friends, like Jake, about her excellent owner.

Certainly, she would never tell new friends about her dream. She only told her good friends, including Jake.

She always wondered why she considered Jake, this new friend, as one of her good friends.

Why was she so comfortable around him?

Sometimes, she felt like Jake really understood her too.

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©Yolanda Yip (Wintsarye)