I sat at the edge of the pond , scraped and bruised knees drawn to my chest . All around me , the birds chittered , as if daring me to dive into the cool , clear water . Not that I needed to be dared ; I always felt more at peace in the water than I ever did on land . It was easier to pretend in the water . When I was underwater , my bruises were invisible and my muscles didn 't hurt . But as much as I longed to swim , I knew I couldn 't take the risk . Mother ordered me to stay dry , and punishment for disobeying was always swift and harsh . Anyway , I was lucky to even be allowed to come out by myself , no way would I press my luck by swimming . I laced my hands behind my head and laid back in the soft grass . Even though it hadn 't rained in a couple of days , there was a vibrant rainbow overhead . I closed my eyes and imagined sliding down the colorful arch , hair flying behind me like a mane on a wild horse . Of course I knew it was impossible to slide down a rainbow , but the thing about imagining is it doesn 't have to make sense . In my mind , I slid faster and faster until I flew off the edge of the rainbow and into the middle of the impossibly deep pond . I swam until my lungs burned , before finally breaking the surface of the water with a gasp . I floated on my back letting the rainbow bathe me in soft warm light . The colors healed both my broken skin and my soul . The bell 's measured ringing pulled me from my daydream . I didn 't want to leave the rainbow and the pond , but when Mother rang the bell , I had just a few minutes to get home , no matter how far away I was . Without hesitation , I turned from the water and light and raced home through the dark forest . Posted by I took a deep breath before turning the knob and pushing through the front door . There was going to be hell to pay , no doubt about it . But I really didn 't care . In fact , I welcomed it . I was as excited for the backlash as a starving man for a cheeseburger . It 's not so much that I was looking forward to getting yelled at or punished , I was just eager for some sort of reaction . My whole childhood had been spent trying to get their attention by doing good things , positive things , and my efforts had always been met with disappointment or criticism . Nothing I did was ever right . No matter how hard I tried , I wasn 't trying hard enough . No matter how good I was , I wasn 't good enough . So screw it . I knew it was immature and totally predictable from a psychology standpoint , but I didn 't care . If they were going to treat me like a rotten kid , I might as well just be a rotten kid . Maybe then they 'd wake up from their dream world and see that I 'm actually a really good person . Mother was in the kitchen , literally pulling a tray of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven . Put her in a poofy dress and a pair of heels , and she 'd be a regular June Cleaver . Mrs . Mary Housewife , that was my mother . She was so perfect , it was borderline insane . People weren 't really supposed to be like her . Never a hair out of place or a smudge of lipstick on her teeth . Always gorgeous . Always smiling . Always pushing me to do and be better . God , I resented her . " Hey , Susan ! " Mother 's name sounded foreign in my mouth . Mother set the cookies down on the cooling rack and turned to look at me , Barbie smile glued to her face . " Hello , dear . How was your sleepover ? " " It was good . Leslie and I had a great time doing each other 's hair . " Maybe baiting her was immature , but how could she ignore the fact that my once long , strawberry blonde hair was now short and Smurf blue ? " I see . Well , perhaps Leslie can come over here next time . Maybe she can help you study for your biology final . " She put another tray of cookies into the oven busied herself removing the finished cookies from the pan . " Would you like a cookie , honey ? They 're still hot and gooey . " " Hey , Regina , nice hair ! " Greg was the hottest guy at school , and though his locker was just three down from ours , he 'd never said a word to me . " Thanks . " I felt heat rising to up my neck to my cheeks , and I brought my hand up to my head . I really did love it , even if it was totally different . Leslie smiled like a dope and busied herself pretending to look for something in the locker . " Why the sudden change ? " Greg slammed his locker and sauntered toward ours . He reached out his hand and stopped just short of touching my hair . Electric currents ran from his fingertips to my head . When he pulled his hand away , disappointment gnawed at my heart . " I just got tired of my usual look , thought it was time for a change . " I pulled books out of my locker and hugged them to my chest . " I also thought it 'd tick my parents off , but it didn 't . " " You 're kidding , right ? Regina Cabot , honor student , yearbook editor , and student council president actually wanted to piss off her parents ? How 'd that work out for you . " " I thought they 'd flip their lid , but neither one of them mentioned it all weekend . Not one single word . Even when I left blue stains on the shower floor . " Oh , God ! Did I really just talk about taking a shower in front of the most gorgeous guy in the world ? " Why were you trying to upset them ? " He leaned on the locker next to mine and bent in toward me a little , as if he had been my best friend for years instead of a hot guy who completely ignored me . Is there a word for feeling flattered and uncomfortable at the same time ? Unflattable maybe ? " It 's dumb , " I hesitated , but he waited patiently . " Nothing I ever do is good enough for them , and I 'm just sick of it . It 's like they see me as some major screw - up , and if that 's what they think , then I might as well show them what that looks like . I mean , I 'll get in trouble either way , so what do I have to lose ? " The words rushed out like a flood before I could moderate or weigh them . " Maybe I can help . If you go out with me , you 're sure to piss them off . " A crooked smile raised one corner of his lips and his green eyes danced with mischief . It was true . Going out with Greg would definitely drive them up the wall . Greg with the attitude . Greg with the leather jacket and motorcycle . Greg with the 80 's rocker hair that was so retro but absolutely perfect on him . " Yeah , " I tried to sound casual , " I think that might help . " The bell rang but neither of us moved . " We 're going to be late , Geen . " Leslie slammed our locker . " I 'll catch up , " I said without looking at her . She sighed and sprinted down the hall , leaving me and Greg almost alone in the nearly deserted hallway . " So , I 'll pick you up at seven ? " His hand came back up , and this time he ran his fingers through my short hair . I tried not to shiver when his finger brushed against my ear . " Yeah . Seven is great . " The bell rang . For the first time in my life , I was late for class , and I didn 't care . At ten after seven , Greg rumbled his motorcycle up my driveway . I had spent the last thirty minutes watching for him from my bedroom window . I hadn 't told Mother or Daddy that I was going out . I wasn 't allowed to date because they thought boys would distract me from my studies . If I had said I was going out with Greg , I 'm sure I would have been met with the expected lecture about rules and responsibility , but the expected lecture was not what I was after . No , I wanted full - on World War III . My reflection smiled at me . I looked fabulous ! Since I knew I 'd be riding on the back of Greg 's motorcycle , I decided against a skirt and went with a pair of black skinny jeans and a fitted hot pink tank top . The pink shirt contrasted sharply with my Smurf hair and the whole outfit made me feel powerful . My parents would hate it . I ran down the hallway and past the living room where my parents sat reading the paper . No joke , my parents still subscribed to and actually read the town newspaper like it was 1965 or something . " I 'll be back later ! " I shouted as I neared the front door . " Just a minute , young lady . " Daddy 's voice was stern . " Come in here . " I rolled my eyes and went to the living room , ready for a fight . He pressed his lips into a thin , white line and I braced myself for the incoming nuclear attack . Outside , Greg revved his engine and honked his horn . Oh , that was sure to get my parents . Anytime we watched a movie with a guy picking up a girl by just honking the horn , I was always lectured about how they would never allow such a disrespectful punk to take me out . " You 're going to let me go ? " As excited as I was about the idea of riding off into the sunset on the back of Greg 's bike , I never expected to actually get to go . I thought for sure this would freak them out enough to lock me in my room until I was twenty . " Okay . Good night , then . I don 't know when I 'll be back . " It was a last ditch effort to rile them up . " Then you better take your key with you . " Mother laid the newspaper in her lap and smiled at me in a way I hadn 't seen in about a million years . " Your dad 's right . You look lovely , dear . Now , don 't keep your young biker friend waiting . " Without another word , I turned and left the house . Tears burned my eyes and I blinked them back . What was I upset about anyway ? Wasn 't this exactly what I had always wanted ? Mousey Regina Cabot was going out , on a school night , with the most gorgeous guy in school . And my parents didn 't even give me a curfew . It was more than amazing . It was a miracle . And it was scary as hell . Did they not love me anymore ? Had I done something to disappoint them so much that they decided the best thing they could do was write me off ? I hated them for trying to ruin my night like this . " Wow ! You look amazing , Regina ! " Greg held a helmet out to me . I considered turning it down , but I wasn 't stupid . I slipped it over my head and climbed on to the back of his bike . The vibrations rumbled up my belly and into my head . Greg backed down the driveway and as we roared past my house , I took a final look to see if my parents were peeking from a window or the front door . They weren 't . I held onto Greg 's waist more tightly than I needed to and rested my head against his back . I don 't know why my parents suddenly stopped caring about what I did or how I did it , but maybe that wasn 't such a bad thing . I was in charge of my own life . I could make my own decisions . And maybe , if I didn 't have to worry about getting yelled at for a bunch of stupid crap , I would have more energy to do the things I really enjoyed . Greg pulled into a parking spot and helped me off the bike . I took off my helmet and handed it to him so I could try and fluff up my plastered down hair . " This place has the best burgers . Let 's eat and figure out what to do with the rest of the night . " Greg pulled me to his side and wrapped his arm around my waist as though it was the most natural thing in the world . I knew exactly what I wanted to do . I wanted to skip the burger , get back on his bike and leave everything behind . I wanted to see the world with him . I wanted to kiss under the stars . I wanted to be wild and reckless . But that 's not what I was going to do . " I have a Lit . test tomorrow , and I really need to review . Could you take me home after this ? " We were settled into a booth in the cafe . " I do . Or I did . I don 't know anymore . But yeah , I 'm serious . I want to make sure I do well on my test for me , not for them . So , even though it makes me sound like a hopeless nerd , I do want to go home after we eat . " He smiled and took my hand from across the table . " If that 's what you want , that 's what we 'll do . But maybe we can eat slowly ? " " Are you serious , " he asked . " Regina , you have to know you 're like the most beautiful girl in school . I 've been wanting to find a way to talk to you since I moved here , but I figured you wouldn 't give me the time of day . I didn 't even think you knew my name . " " Wait , what ? " I bit my lower lip and stared at him , trying to find a crack in his lie . Only , he didn 't seem to be lying . He was sweet and nervous and sincere . " You didn 't think I 'd go out with you ? Why in the world not ? " " Because you 're so . . . you . So smart and busy and , well , sort of perfect . And look at me . You have to admit , I 'm not the preppy kind of guy I figured you 'd go for . But when you changed your hair , I realized that maybe there 's a side to you that I didn 't know before . " " This is so weird . " I took a long drink of water and tried to think of the best way to say what I was thinking . " What is ? Me ? " " No . This whole situation . I 've been crushing on you like a fan - girl for months now ! But you never so much as looked at me and I figured you were just way out of my league . " I blushed . " I can 't believe I just told you that . " " Scoot over . " He came around the table and slid into the booth next to me . " This is a weirdly poetic situation , isn 't it ? We could have been coming here , together , for months if either one of us had just gotten past our fear and said something to the other . " His arm was heavy and comforting around my shoulder . Heat radiated off his neck . I looked into his green eyes and my heart soared . " Yes . Definitely . " This time , I lifted my face to his and kissed him . My second kiss . Our food came and we ate slowly , nibbling and laughing our way through the night , until we both agreed it was time to go . " You 're gonna rock your Lit test tomorrow , " Greg said , helping me off the bike . " Let me know how it goes . " " Nothing to understand . You have to do what you have to do . I 'd be a jerk not to support you . " He hugged me tighter and I felt safe and warm encircled in his arms . I didn 't want him to let go . But eventually , I had to . " See you in the morning ! " He swung his leg over the seat and the engine rumbled to life . " I 'm not leaving until I see you 're safely in the house . I 'm a gentleman like that . " In the house , I leaned against the door and listened to him ride away until I couldn 't hear him anymore . The television was on in the living room . My mother was lying with her head in my father 's lap as they watched some crime drama . " Did you have fun ? " Mother asked . I never figured out what made my parents let go of the reins so suddenly , but I 'm glad they did . I aced that Lit test , by the way , along with all the rest of my finals . And the best part is , I did it for myself , not to try and please them . Greg and I have been going strong for nearly a year now , and sometimes he still looks at me like he can 't believe I picked him . I know exactly how he feels . We are wordsmiths . Say that word aloud . Wordsmith . Feel it form in your mouth and think about what it means . We are in the business of using words to create worlds . Words are our tools . We wield them like weapons , we wrap ourselves in them like a grandmother 's quilt . Probably , most of us prefer writing to speaking nearly 100 % of the time . I 've known plenty of writers who prefer to handle business via email but few who prefer to actually pick up the phone and have a conversation . Words , reading them and writing them , are as necessary to me as drinking water . Words have given me escape in times of turmoil and stress . They have given me comfort in times of fear . They have given me an outlet when I felt trapped inside my own head , and perspective when I felt like everything was spinning out of control . Unfortunately , being a wordsmith isn 't glamorous or sexy . It 's hard work . The words don 't always cooperate . Sometimes they run away and hide . Or they stand there , defiantly just out of my reach . Or they run all over each other and I can 't seem to put them in any kind of order . Sometimes , instead of a writer or wordsmith , I feel more like a word wrangler . I imagine myself , dusty and hot , standing on the edge of the Rio Grande , trying to wrangle defiant words safely across the river so they can take shelter and grow fat on the other side . I 'm not sure that non - writers understand that writer 's block happens at all stages of the writing process . If you ask someone to visualize it , I think the most common image of writer 's block is that of the frustrated writer , staring at a completely blank screen or a fresh page in a typewriter , unsure of where to begin , unsure of what 's about to happen . But it can happen twenty - five thousand words into a novel . It can happen when you 've outlined , it can happen when you think you know the ending . Hell , it 's happening to me right now , and I 'm just rewriting the thing . I know all the major plot points , I know how it 'll end , I 'm almost halfway through the re - write and I know what needs to be done , I just don 't know how to make it happen . It 's not so much writer 's block as it is mental constipation . I know that stuff is in there , working and churning , it 's just not ready to come out yet , even though I 'm bloated and trying to force it . It 's awful and somewhat terrifying . I worry I might explode . I worry that I 'll never find relief . I worry that if I push through , what comes out will not be at all satisfying . That it will , in fact , just be a half digested pile of crap . So I look for something else to write . Something that will maybe loosen up the works . I do writing prompts or I work on a different project . Or I come here and make metaphors about cowboys and shit because being a writer at least gives me the ability to make ridiculous metaphors to entertain myself . I 'm going to try something new . Every Monday , I 'm going to post a writing prompt and the resulting short story . This week 's prompt came from Reedsy Prompts . The story is actually a mash - up of two prompts because fiction is slippery and even when you think you know what you 're going to write about , the story has other plans . 2 . You decided to read a book about hypnosis . After reading the book , you realize your spouse / parents have been using hypnosis on you for years . I waited for the garage door to clang shut before peeking through the living room curtains to watch my parents pull out of the driveway . It hadn 't been easy to convince them to let me stay home alone , even though I was twelve and was , like , the most boring kid I knew . They were just so protective of me . The heater kicked on and a gust of wind rattled the windows . The blizzard hadn 't hit yet , but it was supposed to blow in by six o ' clock . The clock in the living room read three thirty - seven . They said they 'd be home by five , but the way my dad drove , I could easily cut half an hour off of that time . I had to hurry to make sure I covered all my tracks . Christmas was a week away , and I was on a quest to find my gift . I don 't know what possessed me to lie to my parents so I could go snooping around , but now that they left me alone for the first time , I sure as heck didn 't want to spoil the opportunity . Who knew when I might get this chance again ? Santa Claus is Coming to Town was playing on the home audio system my dad bought for himself last Christmas . A small pang of guilt hit my heart like an icicle , but I shrugged it off and made my way to the den . The den seemed like a stupid place to hide a gift since I was in there all the time , but then again , my parents often said that the best place to hide something was in plain sight , so who knows . Maybe something would be hidden in there after all . The book I had just finished reading , The Barking Dentist : How to Hypnotize Anyone , was still on my favorite reading chair . My parents tried to make me return the book without reading it because they said it was nothing more than pseudo science . " Woo , " my mother had said . " Pure , ridiculous woo . Just like auras and palm reading . You 're too smart to waste your time with such nonsense . " But I held my ground and they eventually gave up , though every time they saw me reading it , they made snarky comments . I searched the top of the bookshelves , inside the family desk that was used mostly for paying bills and writing thank you cards , and in the antiques hutch . Nothing . No sign of a gift anywhere . Okay , so much for the " in plain sight " theory . Next stop : my parents ' room . The song on the streamed radio station changed to I 'll Be Home for Christmas . I don 't know why , but that song always made me sad . I blinked back my tears and pushed my parent 's bedroom door open . The room was huge , and there had to be about a zillion places to hide presents . If I had been smart , I would have come here first instead of wasting time in the den . The clock on the night stand warned me that it was ten to four . I had to pick up the pace . My best bet would probably be to work from the back of the room to the front . Their bathroom had a ginormous walk - in closet that they both shared . Seriously , that closet was bigger than my bedroom . Not only did that seem like a great place to hide a new laptop or karaoke machine , but it was in the very back of the room . If they came home while I was in there , I might not hear them in time to get out . Then they wouldn 't trust me to stay home alone again until I was thirty . The built - in drawers reminded me of a dozen pale mouths refusing to open up and share their secrets . They were easy enough to open , though , and in the end they had no secrets to reveal . The shelves were as dull as the drawers . After ten minutes , I had to admit that the closet contained absolutely nothing of interest to me . My parents were so boring ! Back in the main part of the bedroom , I felt myself pulled toward the four poster bed . Like everything else in the house , the bed was huge . From nowhere , a memory of when I was about six hit me . My mother had strung rope between the posts and then hung sheets from the rope , which made a cozy fort out of the bed . I used to pretend I was in the Captain 's cabin on a pirate ship . Every now and then Mom would knock on the wood footboard and ask if the Capt ' n was ready for a snack . I 'd shout " Aye ! " and she 'd pass crackers and juice to me . She was so different , so fun , then . Now all she did was volunteer to every committee under the sun . And she totally flipped her lid if I even took a single step out of the kitchen with a snack . Food in bed was like the biggest sin I could commit as far as she was concerned . I got down on my knees and peeked under the bed . Two long , shallow storage containers rested like little coffins in the dark . I pulled them both out . My heart raced . This was it . One of the two containers had something for me . The green clasps on the first opened easily . I pulled the lid off and cast it to the side . Shorts , tank tops , bathing suits . Nothing but summer clothes . I straightened out the clothes , so it looked like I hadn 't been rifling through them , and slid the little coffin back into the mausoleum . After the continued disappointments of the afternoon , I didn 't hold out much hope for the second box , but I had to check . My heart thundered in my ears as I removed the lid . More summer clothes . Darn . I carefully moved the clothes around , and my hand brushed against something papery . A manila folder . My throat went Sahara dry and I licked my lips . My hands trembled as I pulled the folder out of its hiding spot . This was no present . It was also none of my business . I should just put it back . I looked from mysterious file to the clock . If my dad drove as fast as he usually did , they 'd be home within ten or fifteen minutes . I really should put everything back the way it was and settle myself into a book before the garage opened . But I couldn 't will myself to tuck the folder back into its resting place . I opened the file and gasped when I saw my own face staring up at me from a newspaper clipping . I dropped the folder and dozens of articles and fliers , all with my face , fell to the floor . I picked up the nearest one and stared , stunned thoughtless . It took a moment for my brain to decipher the words on the paper , but when it finally did , something in my mind clicked and I understood . Oh my God . It was me . It was a younger me , with a different name , but it was me . There was no denying it . " Marcie Snow , " I whispered to my younger self . " Not Emily Whitmore . " Tears burned trails down my cheeks as I gathered the articles and fliers . I shoved them all back into the folder and carried them to the den . I picked up my hypnosis book and hugged it and the folder , to my chest . No wonder they had pitched such a fit about me reading that book . They were afraid I 'd find out the truth , but they couldn 't forbid me to read it because they never forbade me to read anything , even Stephen King . But why wouldn 't they just hypnotize my desire to learn hypnosis out of me ? They were clearly skilled . They had me convinced I was theirs . They implanted all sorts of false memories , like the pirate ship bed . I didn 't have an answer , but I did know I only had moments to decide what to do . Should I put everything back and try to act normal ? Just carry on with my life like nothing was wrong ? Should I confront them ? Something else entirely ? I wished for some sort of sign . And then I got one . Sometimes , with streamed radio stations , different versions of the same song played within a few songs of each other . My dad hated it when that happened , but I liked being able to compare the styles . After Santa Baby ended , I 'll Be Home for Christmas came on again . Without thinking twice , I put on my snow boots , coat , and scarf . I took one of the missing person fliers and set it on the desk and walked out the front door . I didn 't bother to lock it . I gripped the folder in my gloved hands and walked as quickly as I could toward the next street . I had to get off of this street before they drove by . It was dark , and the roads were all mostly deserted . It shouldn 't take me long to get to the library . From there , I could get help . We had to make the heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to our sweet dog , Harvey , last weekend . It was the single most difficult decision I have ever made , but it was absolutely the right thing , even though it completely broke my heart . He had a degenerative neurological disease called Degenerative Meylopathy . It is incurable and ultimately fatal . He was a big guy , and his back legs were in the early to mid stages of paralysis . He fell down a lot and had a hard time holding a squat long enough to poop . He was in danger of falling and breaking a bone . If he didn 't fall , eventually all four legs would have become totally paralyzed . I wrote the following short story as a way to try and process my pain and grief . The last week of his life was spent getting yummy food and extra love and short trips to the front yard . We worked hard to make sure that the last day of his life was the absolute , very best day it could possibly be . We said goodbye to Harvey at home . In our arms , listening to our music . And I like to believe it was the happiest day of his life . I should probably add a trigger warning for this story . Spoiler , the dog dies . Mama and Daddy have been letting me sleep in their room lately . I have a big bed in the living room , but I only sleep there sometimes in the day . At night , I used to sleep in the hallway , so I could see Boy 's room and Mama and Daddy 's room . It 's a lot of work to protect everyone , but I think I do a pretty good job . But now they let me sleep all night long in their room . If I fall asleep when they 're watching TV , they even wake me up and tell me to go to their room to sleep . I like it a lot . They leave the door open so I can look down the hall and see Boy 's room . I can still keep the whole family safe , and I get to sleep in the big room . I only wish my legs would work the way they used to . I bet they would let me sleep in the big bed with them if I could still climb up . That would be the very best , but I 'm happy on the soft rug at the foot of the big bed in the big room . I 'm not sure why my legs don 't work so well anymore . I still try and do all the things I used to do , but I fall down a lot . My back legs especially get tired and they slip out from under me when I try to run . But the very worst is when I lie down on the cool wood floor and then try to get up . No matter how I try , I can 't make my legs stand up when I 'm on the slippery floor . Daddy and Mama went to the store one day and came home with lots of new rugs . They said they were just for me . Now there are rugs all over the house , and I don 't fall over when I walk from room to room as much anymore . That 's good , because even though my body doesn 't usually hurt , it sometimes hurts when I fall . Plus , the rugs are super duper soft , and they are good sleeping spots . Especially now that they smell like home instead of the strange rug store . I can 't even believe my luck these days . I must be the luckiest dog in the whole world , ever . At dinner last night , Mama cooked up some steak . I like it when she makes steak because sometimes they give me a little piece or they let me lick the juice off the plate when dinner is over . But last night was the best night . Mama sat down with a plate full of steak that she chopped into little pieces . That 's not how Family eats steak . They cut it up with a knife for every bite . That seems silly to me , but I don 't understand human things . I tried to sit down between Mama and Daddy . My legs slipped a little bit , so I layed down instead . Then , oh boy oh boy oh boy , Mama put some steak on the fork and she fed it to me ! She didn 't even start eating her steak yet , but she fed me right off the fork ! I love fork eating , especially if there is juicy steak on the fork ! Then Daddy fed me some steak , then it was my Boy 's turn . They all fed me steak right off the people plate with a fork . It was so delicious and it made me so happy ! I smiled and smiled and made sure to use my soft mouth so I wouldn 't accidentally bite them . It was still kind of darkish when Daddy and Mama got out of bed this morning . They have been crying a lot and I just try to let them know that I 'm right here . I don 't know why they are so sad , but I try to make them happy . Daddy walked over to me and petted my head . I panted and smiled at him , even though it was still dark and I was still very sleepy . " Do you want to go for a walk ? " Daddy asked me . Of course I did , but it wasn 't all the way day yet , so maybe he was joking . Mama came over and hugged me . " Where 's your leash , Harvey ? Let 's go for a walk to the field . " I tried to stand up but it took me a little while . Standing up was hard . But I finally got up and followed Mama and Daddy to the kitchen where I could smell coffee . They said " leash . " That always means I get to go out the front door . I like the front door more than the back door because there is more of the world out the front door . Boy woke up , and that was strange because he never wakes up so early . But he hugged me and that wasn 't strange , it was good . He asked me where my leash was and I wobbled to the front door . Daddy clipped the leash to my collar and we all walked out of the front door together . It was light now , but not hot . Just early light . When Mama or Daddy takes me out the front , they only let me go to the mailbox or , if I 'm really lucky , up the yards for three or four houses . They make me stay in the grass , though , because I can 't pick up my back feet all the way and the sidewalk scrapes my paws , and then they bleed . But on this day , Daddy took me across the street . My paws went scrape scrape scrape on the road , but I didn 't mind too much . He was taking me to the big field where they used to let me run without my leash . We got to the grass and the whole , big field was empty , so Mama took off my leash and , oh boy oh boy oh boy , I ran ! Well , I tried to run . I fell , but the grass wasn 't as slippery as our wood floor , so I was able to get back up . Plus I was on the trail of a rabbit ! I didn 't know where it went but I could smell it close by . I ran all the way up the field and only stopped to pee on some of the grass that the rabbit ran through . I almost fell over lots of times , but I was able to stay standing up . Mama ran up to me after a little while of chasing the rabbit smell . It used to be that she couldn 't ever catch me when I ran , but now she caught up to me easy peasy . She wasn 't even breathing hard . She must have gotten really fast , because I was running so fast I was almost flying . " Let 's go home , Harvey , " Mama said . I didn 't realize until she put my leash on that I was very tired . My legs didn 't want to walk at all anymore and I wanted to just rest in the big field . Maybe the rabbit would come and see me . But Mama handed the leash to Daddy and he said I was a good boy and it was time to go home for some ice . Ice is my favorite treat . It is crunchy and cold and I love it . So I walked home with Da " Hey , Harvey , " Daddy said . " Do you want to go for a ride ? Come on ! Let 's go for a ride ! Get your leash ! " A ride ? Really , really ? I don 't get to go on rides anymore because of my legs . Getting into the back seat is really hard , even with a ramp , so mostly I stay home and guard the house when they go for a ride . But not today ! Mama and Daddy helped me up the ramp and I stood up in the backseat of the car . The car is very little and I don 't fit in it too well , but that 's okay . Mama sat in the back seat with me and reminded me to sit down so my legs wouldn 't get hurt . I wanted to listen to Mama , but there were so many birds and I wanted to bark at all of them ! Daddy rolled down my window , and I stuck my head out . My tongue went flap flap flap and my ears went flop flop flop . It was the most funnest ride I ever went on . When we came home I got to even more ice ! Family cried a lot , but then they would hug me , and I made them feel better . Mama took out the toothbrush and brushed all of my teeth for me . I love toothbrush time . It tastes good . Then she got the fur brush and brushed me and brushed me and brushed me for a really long time . She sang The Harvey Song to me , and cried , but I just smiled at her and hoped she would keep brushing me . Daddy said that a lady was here . I heard him open the front door and say hello . Boy yelled and started to cry , and that was kind of scary . Mama hugged me hard and cried some more , but then she stopped and went to talk to the lady . It took me a little bit , but I finally got up to see her . The lady had a big brown bag that was full of strange smelling things . I didn 't like those smells , but I liked the lady . She scratched me behind my ears and told me I was a beautiful boy . She was very nice . Since she was nice , I didn 't have to protect Family from her , so I went to my favorite spot by the dining room table and laid down . There is a big window , but I didn 't want to look out of it , I wanted to watch Family and the lady . Mama and Daddy moved the table out of the way and everyone sat down with me . Mama looked out the window at the birds and squirrels , and I looked at her . The lady was talking a lot , and the whole family was crying some more . I wish I could talk to them and tell them that they don 't have to be sad because I 'm right here . But I can 't do human talking , so I just put my head down and looked at Family and hoped they knew I was right there for them . Then I felt a poke in the back of my body and that kind of hurt , but not for very long . After a little while the stinging feeling went away and I just wanted to lie down . The sun came in through the window and my back side was in the patch of sun . It was warm and it felt so good . I was getting very , very sleepy . Daddy picked up my head and petted me . Mama scratched my snout , just the way I always love . Boy was petting my back . " Mountain Dog , " said Mama . " Do you remember going camping in the mountains with Daddy and Boy ? Do you remember how you jumped right over the pile of logs ? You were so fast ! " " And remember hiking to the waterfall ? You would run ahead of us to make sure we were safe , and then you 'd come back and get us . You never went too far away . You always came back . " I had to , Mama . I couldn 't leave you in the mountains ! I had to keep you safe from all the things in the mountains . It was a big job and I was very good at it . " And do you remember playing in the river ? We 'd shout ' Search and rescue ! ' and throw the stick into the water . You would jump right in and bring it back . You would swim and swim until you couldn 't swim anymore . You loved being River Dog as much as being Mountain Dog . " " Buddy boy , " Daddy 's voice was sad . I tried to look up at him , but my head was so heavy . " We 're all going to go to the mountains . Right now . We 're all going to go and you can be Mountain Dog again . There will be a river and you can be River Dog and Mountain Dog at the same time . " He put my head in his lap and I sniffed in his Daddy smell . " Can you see the mountains , Harvey Doo ? Can you see the trail and the trees ? Can you hear the water ? We 're going to go play in the water now , Harvey . " I could see the mountains ! We really were going to go run ! And I could hear the river , too ! We were going to swim in the river again ! Oh boy oh boy oh boy ! From far far away , I heard the lady say that she was going to give me another shot but it wouldn 't hurt . I didn 't feel anything in my backside this time . I just felt the wind blowing down the mountains . I smelled the trees and the birds and the mountain lions . I smelled fish and the river . And I smelled my Family . They were with me in the mountains .