Paradise

She Expected The World

Every night, Grace would wish.

She would also dream, mostly about her mother, her daddy, and Patches.

Patches was a puppy, a scruffy brown mutt with white patches, and Grace loved him. She loved him so much, as almost any child would, but then he died.

Grace initially found him sitting outside of the school one spring day, when she was about five. The mixed pup had been wandering around, it didn't have a collar, and it seemed very hungry.

It must've taken an interest in Grace, if not the smell of sandwich crusts in her lunch box.

The little puppy decided to follow Grace, his little tail wagging as he passed next to her.

She turned, face twisted up in a frown. 'Go away,' She had told it. Her daddy didn't like dogs, or any animal for that matter, and she had decided that she didn't either. Of course, she really did like animals. It was like a secret desire she harbored, thinking her daddy would be annoyed if she told him. Mama would calm him down, but she didn't like it when he was annoyed.

'Go away,' She had repeated.

The puppy just sat. Staring at her with bright eyes, it's tongue lolling out of its mouth.

Grace already liked it. She opened her lunch box and grabbed her sandwich crusts, holding them out to the little dog.

She jumped as it wolfed them down, seeming to smile up at her as he licked his chops.

'I wish I could keep you!' Grace giggled.

They puppy barked, hopping up and following her home.

Her mother had loved the puppy, but warned Grace that they may not be able to keep it. Daddy had reluctantly grumbled that he had seen it before, and it was a stray.

They kept the puppy in the back yard for the night with some food and water. Grace went to bed, but she stayed up listening to mother and daddy argue about the new puppy.

Over the next two months, Grace became great friends with Patches. That's the name she had given him. He seemed to like it.

The two became very attached, and she was working on training him. He hadn't got the hang of it yet, and Patches seemed to aggravate daddy more and more each day.

One day, mommy and daddy had gotten into a big fight. Mommy left to spend the night with a friend. Daddy left that night for a long time, and he came home looking and smelling strange. He was carrying an almost empty glass bottle.

Dad had told Grace to keep patches outside that night, and Grace sadly complied. She liked it when the puppy would wriggle under covers and lick her nose, snuggling her to sleep.

She woke up several times that night due to his yelping and barking.

Mommy came back the next morning, and woke Grace up. Grace didn't even stop to say hello, she leapt out of bed and raced to the back door. Sliding open the screen door, she ran out.

'Patches! Come here boy!' He didn't run to her, as he normally did. 'Patches?'

Grace ran around, looking in the bushes and behind the shed. She finally found Patches sleeping under the porch.

'There you are!' Grace prodded him. He didn't move, and his fur was damp. 'Patches, wake up, boy.'

She pulled him out from under the porch. He still didn't move. He was cold, and his eyes were closed. 'Patches?...'

'Mama... MAMA!!!'