Asherpark

In My Opinion

by  • 

Finn

In case you’re wondering, there’s gonna be more from Nellie’s diary. I’ve been going through her papers and found that she didn’t always finish her stories. Sometimes there’s a gap between what just happened and her next adventure. That leaves me trying to fill in the empty spaces and that takes some time.

Mom suggested I take a break and post a bark about what’s been happening at Asherpark. Believe me I got a lot to say about that. What happened here on New Year’s Eve was awful and I’m still really mad about it.

You all know we live in the country. Our neighbors have horses and chickens and dogs are everywhere. And you all know us dogs hate fireworks and we suffer through the night until the blasts are over. But the poor dumb horses – they can get so riled up they hurt themselves or even colic.

The people on our road fall into two categories – fireworks lovers and fireworks haters. Yep, you’re right. Me, Mom and Journey are in the fireworks haters group. The fireworks lovers don’t have horses to worry about, but they all have dogs they don’t mind torturing hour after hour with horrible booms, blasts, and shrieking whistle bombs.

The fireworks started on New Year’s Eve around 8PM. Mom had already given me and Journey some medicine to help us stay calm. It helps a little, but in reality it barely takes the edge of our misery. With every boom, crackle or pop Journey sounds off like it’s the end of the world. She kinda looks like the world is ending too.

At one point I was lying real close to Mom. She had her arm over my shoulders. Every time a blast went off Mom could feel me flinch. “Oh Finnie,” she said “I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”

Me and Journey were sorry too. None of us got any sleep until the fireworks finally stopped around 2AM. We fell into a deep sleep when some jerk set off one last fire cracker at 5AM. We all woke up and not in a very good mood. I could tell Mom was really steamed.

“Let’s get up you silly mutts. At least you can enjoy an early breakfast,” Mom said. Aussies never say no to food, so we hopped off the bed and quick headed into the kitchen. Mom handed us a chunk of frozen meat and we wandered outside to eat on the grass.

Suddenly we spotted a rabbit in the far corner of the yard. We took of like we were shot out of a cannon, chomping on our breakfast as we ran. Once our mouths were empty, Mom let us run around barking like fools for twenty minutes. We don’t usually get to bark like that in the morning, but she said we could pay back the neighbor for all his fireworks the night before.

We hope the neighbor heard us. We hope he got real mad that our barking woke him up. We hope next year he thinks about us dogs and the horses and the wildlife that have to suffer because he likes to make things go boom. Most of all, we wish he would find another way to celebrate the new year. Me and Journey are gonna ask Mom if she will take us someplace where there aren’t any fireworks next year. We’re just looking for a little peace and quiet.

Nellie

I Am Nellie Part 4

by  • 

Nellie

As my first day of freedom comes to a close, I begin to wonder if I made the right decision about leaving home. Where would I find dinner? Where would I sleep? I can still taste the sweet donut I’d eaten several hours ago. A drink of cold water would be nice to wash the last sticky crumbs down my throat.

I keep walking down the sidewalk. I’m in a tired old neighborhood on the outskirts of Tacoma. Some of the houses look worse than where I had lived the past ten years. Broken toys, McDonald’s wrappers and beer cans are scattered like lawn ornaments. Of course I check the wrappers for leftovers, but no luck.

Then I hear a faint noise behind me. I turn and see a woman coming out of her house. She has a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I can smell the cigarette ten feet away. As I begin to move away from her she spots me.

“Hey little doggie,” she says in a surprisingly soft voice. “Whatcha doin’ out here all by yourself?”

As I turn to face her she sees the big ball on my hip.

“My god. You poor little thing. What the hell is that piece of crap hanging on you?”

Good question, I thought to myself. I know it’s not a piece of crap.

“Come here, you little stinker. Let me get a look at you,” she says not unkindly.

I stand facing her for several seconds, not sure whether to approach her or run away. As I watch she puts out her cigarette and sets her beer on a rickety table. Then she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a half-eaten piece of beef jerky.

“Come here sweetie. You gotta be hungry. Looks like you don’t belong to nobody and if you do, you deserve a hell of a lot better,” she says quietly.

Her words cut like a knife through my heart. Do I really deserve better? Do I dare hope that someone would see me and want me? Is there a safe place for me in this world?

The woman waits as I stand frozen with indecision.

“It’s okay, honey. You take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

Fear and hunger are going at it in my brain. I can almost taste the beef jerky. But what if it’s a trap? What if she grabs me? And if I do nothing, then what? Does she walk away leaving me alone and hungry?

The woman sits down on her front steps and puts her hand out. She looks away from me. How does she know this makes a dog feel safer? She starts talking to me.

“You’re a good doggie. It’s all good. Nobody’s gonna hurt you. You’ll be okay. You and me, we’re just a couple of old throw aways. Come on sweetie, take the jerky.”

I carefully walk towards the stairs and take the jerky. It’s salty and sweet and tastes like heaven.

The woman quietly turns towards me. A tear meanders down her cheek. Why is she crying?

Suddenly it hits me how tired and scared I am. Running away from where I used to live started out as a grand adventure. Now I realize what I’ve done and there’s no going back.