Falling For a Ghost? How Is That Even Possible?

I pulled the small key out of my pocket and opened the front door to Mrs. Green’s house. Instantly, I was met by an ecstatic long haired golden retriever.

“Well hello to you too,” I said patting her head. I wasn’t planning on staying here long; it’d just seem too weird to roam around a teacher’s house. Luckily for me, the dog leash was hanging on the wall right when I walked in, so I grabbed it and the doggie bags that were sitting on the small desk.

“You ready?” Bird jumped up and down, her tail wagging furiously. I hooked the leash to her collar and out we went.

The walk to the park wasn’t that far away. It was just two blocks. But Bird had already decided to take a dump on the sidewalk twice – good thing I brought allthe doggie bags. I held my breath each time I felt the steaming hot poop slid into my hand. Soft, hot, fresh out of the oven always guaranteed!

Finally we were in the park. Other dogs and there owners looked like they were having a swell time. Frisbee catching, tennis ball fetching, it looked great. There were even some families having picnics. They were laughing, smiling, talking to one another. A part of me slightly envied them.

My family and I never had picnics.

When Mom was “alive”, she was either busy with her work, or trying to not anger my father. Mine was always the latter. Though the older I got, the harder that seemed to be. Now, anything could set him off. That’s why I try to stay away as much as possible. Luckily for Mom, she got away. She ran away, but she forgot something. Me.

I sighed and looked around. A few feet away was a lonely green plastic Frisbee. I bent down and picked it up. Bird was practically jumping up and down, begging me to throw it. So I unhooked her leash and did.

Bird took off down the park and I watched her. I wondered if she could catch it in the air like the other dogs…

Then my face fell and I froze, not sure what to do.

Bird didn’t catch the Frisbee in the air. In fact, she didn’t seem concerned about the Frisbee at all ‘cause she just kept on going. She ran straight pass the Frisbee, ignoring it and everything else completely.

“What the hell?!” I yelled, getting a few strange looks from people around me. I thought about just not going after her; maybe she could find her way back to the house on her own. But how bad would I feel if she didn’t? So, I took off after her.

“Bird!” I yelled. She took a sharp right and ran across a bridge.

By the time I made my way across the bridge, Bird was nowhere in sight. I stopped running and looked around. I couldn’t lose her, I wouldn’t lose her. I was going to find that dog before I left here and I wouldn’t leave until I do. The whole park was fenced in so she had to be here somewhere.

After two whole hours (8:00) I was on the edge of giving up. It was like I was on the edge of a building and all I needed was a little shove from the wind. I sat down on the cold grass in the middle of an open area and put my head in my hands. God damn it! I just lost my teacher’s sacred dog…I should just kill myself now.

Bark BARK!

My head snapped up. Instantly, I was attacked and shoved to the ground. A wet and warm tongue slobbery smothered my face. I used Bird’s distraction to quickly snap the leash onto her collar. Happiness and relief washed over me like a tidal wave.

I stood up and wiped all the slobber off my face. Bird was wagging her tail excitedly at me. Yeah, I thought to myself, I’m just as happy to see you too, believe me.

“We’ve been looking all over for you.”

I looked up and allowed my eyes to focus. Approaching me was someone that I’d never thought I’d see again…Someone that I’d thought about uncountable times.

“Cale,” I stated. “You’re…here?” He nodded and was now only a couple feet from me. I could see his beautiful face clearly now.

“Yeah, I was just taking a walk about…oh, two hours ago? And suddenly this dog just shot past me. I didn’t have anything else to do so I went after it, figured I could help someone out. After I finally got her, we started walking around, and I was looking for someone who looked like they had lost a dog.”

I smiled at him and bent down to pet Bird. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t find her…Mrs. Green would kill me.”

“May I walk you home?” he asked suddenly.

I hesitated. YES! I screamed in my head. But what about Dad? There was no telling if he would be still awake, drunk, or if he was sleeping. He usually was drunk and it’d be about nine when we got home, so perhaps with luck he’d already be passed out.

“Uh, sure,” I said. “I’d really like that.”

Cale’s face lit up with a smile and we started walking.

“So, where do you go to school?” I asked trying to start up a conversation. “I’ve never seen you around...Are you new?”

He nodded. “I’ve been here for about a week, and I go to Winters Academy.”

“Oh,” I said. Of course he didn’t go to my school. That’d be just too perfect. Winters was a private school, one of the best. It was way too expensive for someone like me to go. “Do you like it here?”

“It’s great. I really like…the people.” He smiled. “They’re friendly.”

I shrugged. “Only on a good day.” Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. “You know, if you want to meet some actually friendly people, you should stop by The Diner sometimes. You can’t miss it, has a big yellow sign that says ‘The Diner’.”

“How about a date?” he asked.

I frowned. “Uh, they always have green chocolate cake on the thirteenths of every month. If you’re not sure which day to go, the thirteenth is always good-”

Cale laughed. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I meant to ask if you wanted to go on a date.Out, with me, just you and me.”

I blinked. My heart rate was increasing at an incredible speed. Oh. My. God! He just asked me out on a date! And I probably just made him think I was some stupid idiot… “Um, yeah…” I said breathlessly.

Cale grinned. “Great. What about Friday Night? I’ll pick you up at, say, six?”

An involuntary smile appeared on my face. “Can’t wait.”

We stood there for a moment until I realized something. We were standing in front of my house.

“Oh!” I squeaked. God! I probably sounded like an idiot! “I’ll um, see you Friday…Oh! Bird!” I had forgotten all about her! She was sitting a few feet away from us, her leash was in Cale’s hand. “I can’t believe I forgot all about her-” I started to reach for the leash but he pulled it away from me.

“No, don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll take her. It’s no problem.”

I eyed him for a moment. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to have to waste your time for something I did-”

He waved his hand dismissively. “I really don’t mind.”

I shrugged and reached into my pocket, pulling out the key Mrs. Green had given me. I trusted Cale. He wasn’t the type of guy who would steal something. “154 South Lance Street.” I dropped the key into his palm, but something weird happened… I missed.

The key fell to the ground with a loud PING! and I was instantly filled with confusion. What…How…But I didn’t…?

Cale bent down and picked the key up. “Good night, Amy.”

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “You too.”

I watched as Cale strolled away with Bird, and then disappear into the night.