Mia’s Memories
We take the boat out from Cook’s Bay, as we always have. But it’s just Mia in the bow. No Ranger.
The wind whips the tears off my cheeks.
I look over at Mike. “Does she know he was sick? Will she ever forgive us?”
“Yes. But she won’t forget.”
Thank you, as always, for reading.
You will see this theme of pets, love and loss appear in my fiction writing on occasion. Animals bring us such joy. Their companionship, adoring faces, and unconditional love can cause us to have such profoundly complex feelings for these little beings. We can give them great lives, and all the love and attention they need, but we cannot completely protect them. They are with us for only a time.
The dog in the picture reminds me of one of my dogs, long gone. I will tell you that if you are a dog lover as I am, you probably should not read the little anecdote that follows, as it did not end well. I once left a lengthy relationship, and had to leave behind my Akida, named Miso, because I was moving from our shared home to an apartment. Miso was an escape artist. She would jump the backyard fence and run off and do bad things. And so, without talking to me, my ex had her put down. That was over two decades ago, and I am still trying to find a way to forgive.
I wrote this story for the weekly 50-word short story challenge. This week’s prompt is “forgive.” It is a powerful word, and there are some amazing stories coming out of this challenge. We all have people to forgive, and we have all caused others pain, so the opportunity is certainly wide open.
