That goddamned thing

Chapter 21

The light breeze ruffles my hair as we stand in front of the little wooden door. Alex knocks again but there is no reply. He pushes the door but it is locked.

"That's weird." He says looking at me, his brow furrowed. "Granny is usually always home. She doesn't go out much because of her poor limbs."

I squeeze is hand, "Don't worry. Maybe she went to a friend's house." I say reassuringly.

He nods but I know that he is not convinced. Just as we are walking back the small path between the flower beds, I hear a dog barking and instinctively get alert.

"I think that's Snowball." Alex says, looking toward the opposite direction of which we came.

Sure enough, a white pedigree dog appears from the bushes running toward us. It's a beautiful, small creature, with a clean white, furry coat. It looks just like a Snowball as it is running toward us. The name suits it well. Alex leans down and it jumps into his arms.

"Hey Snow." Alex says as it is licking his hands.

"Did you miss me, boy?" Alex asks laughing and pats its head.

"Now, where are your manners? Say hi to Cara." Alex says looking up at me. I lean down and carefully pat Snow's head. It is a beautiful creature but I am not very fond of dogs.

Snow starts to bark as I touch his head and I pull my hand back quickly. "It's just his way of saying hi." Alex says soothingly. I just nod.

"You never mentioned that you have a dog." I say after a while. Alex is still playing with the Snow. Both of them seem equally happy to see each other.

"Oh Snow is not mine. It's Sally's. She lives further up the mountain and usually comes down to help granny." He says without looking at me.

I nod again and start to walk around. From my vantage point I can see a patch of the blue sky between the trees. It gives the perfect last touch, the beautiful scenery required. The house is just so beautiful. How did anyone even think of making such a perfect house?

While I am still staring at the house, I hear a woman calling out Alex's name.

I turn around and look at Alex who is staring at the spot from where the dog had emerged. A lady, most probably in her late forties emerges from the trees. She is short and chubby, wearing an apron over her skirt and a small scarf wrapped around her head. She slowly comes out of the trees and looks at Alex. "Alex, you are back pequeño."

Alex moves toward her and hugs her. "Sally, it's great to see you." He says excitedly.

I am still rooted to the spot but as Alex pulls away from her, I start to move toward them.

"This is Cara." Alex says looking at me as I approach them.

"And Cara, this is Sally." I smile at her, shaking her hand. She returns my smile but her slightly wrinkled face seems full of worry.

"Alex dear, I want to tell you something." She says gravely.

Alex lets out a chuckle. "Don't tell me that its one of your chickens again." He says taking her hand.

I look from Alex to her and I can see it in her eyes that it is not a chicken she is worried about. She has a terrified look on her face. Her slightly wrinkles become prominent as her face tenses up. Alex is still smiling slightly. There must have been some incident like this one which must have included Sally's chicken but I can clearly see that it's not about the chickens anymore.

"Alex, it's not about the chickens." She says and I can hear the panic in her voice. "Amelia.."

At the mention of his granny, Alex's expression turns serious. "What? What happened to granny?" He asks, all the amusement washed away from him.