You're My Brother

Day 712- A Comet of Luck

   "Hey, you!"
   Keith looked up from his notebook to find a kid directly in front of him. "What do you want?"
   The kid shrugged, "me and the boys were gonna go play basketball or something." He smiled and pointed to Keith. "You should join. We need an aggressive offense."
   "No thanks"
   "Aw come on, Keith! You never do anything!"
   "Because all of your games are boring, Steven." He shook his head in disappointment and looked back down at his notebook.
   "How is.... this..." he motioned to what Keith was doing, "more fun than playing games?"
   "It just is."
   "Alright fine... What do you like?" Steven asked him. "Four square? Baseball? Tag?"
   "Nothing really."
   Steven sighed, "fine. Be a lone wolf." And with that, he walked off.
'People are so weird....' Keith thought to himself. 'Can I never get a moment to myself...?'
   Being the lone wolf in a home full of nearly 200 children is quite difficult. Keith would rather spend his days walking around the premises of The Home than playing with the other kids.
   Minutes passed, and Keith slid his notebook into his pocket and walked to the far end of the field to sit under the oak tree.
   As always, he did his best to drown out the world around him. It must have worked a little too well, for Keith had dozed off.
   Blinking his eyes in an attempt to rid them of their sleepy haze, he felt something wet touch his hand. "What in the...."
   He trailed off seeing what had touched him.
   Sitting to the boy's right was a small black puppy.
   "Hey little guy.... Where's your mom...?" He asked, looking around their surroundings. "You stay here," he commanded, placing the palm of his hand in front of the pup's nose. "I'll find her."
   Keith sprinted to the fence and began clapping his hands and making kissing noises in hopes that the lost puppy's mother would show herself.
   But nothing ever came to the fence. He turned back to the tree to find that the animal was gone. "Oh... I guess you found her on your—"
   He was cut off by the sounds of whimpers behind him.
   "There you are..." he smiled, slightly relieved the dog had not left. "Why are you all the way out here?" He cautiously stuck out his hand, the way he was taught by his father.
   The puppy carefully sniffed the boy's hand. Instantly it began wagging its tail and whining at the same time.
   "You must be hungry. I'll take you to Miss Marry."
   Keith carefully picked up the little pup in his hands and ran him inside. "Miss Marry!" He called out once inside her office. "I found this little guy outside. He needs a home."
   Miss Marry quickly took the dog from Keith and placed it in an empty box. "You should not have touched it, Keith. It could have fleas." She warned him.
   "But he's all alone, Miss Marry! He needs someone to look after him."
   "We'll turn it into the shelter this evening. An orphanage is no place for a dog."
   "It's not place for a kid either!" Keith protested. "Please, Miss Marry! I promise I'll take care of him!"
   After much consideration, she only nodded her head. "I will discuss with the other staff members. For now, you have to go wash your hands and eat your supper. Go."
   Keith looked down, but did as he was told.

***

   "So?! Can I keep him?!" Keith asked eagerly. "You've had an hour to talk! Almost two!"
   Miss Marry handed Keith the whining puppy. "You get him for a week. If you fail to take care of him he goes to the shelter. Don't let Mr. Charles find any sort of leavings anywhere!"
   Keith nodded, smiling for the first time in years. "I promise!"
   "If you can get through the week, I'll take you to the pet store and get him a real collar. But for now, this will have to do." Miss Marry wrapped a piece of ribbon loosely around the dog's neck.
   "Thank you, Miss Marry!"
   Keith was beaming with joy. He had a dog! His father had promised him one for when he was older.
   'What am I going to name you....?' He though to himself.

***

   "Comet!" He shouted happily to Miss Marry from the back seat. "His name is comet!"
   "That's a good name for one like him."
   Keith smiled, nuzzling is face on the top of his dog's head. "Thanks for paying for the collar and food. I think he likes it much better than that silly bow."
   "I don't understand why you chose a blue one, though. I thought red was your thing."
   Keith shrugged, petting the puppy on his lap. "It looks better on him. Plus, his eyes are blue... sort of. It matches. And a comet looks blue."
   "He's very well behaved for a puppy."
   "I told you I trained him." Keith clarified, scratching behind Comet's ears. "He doesn't even need a leash."
   "Has he already replaced the hippo?" Miss Marry asked him.
   "No... It's a different kind of... liking... Comet does like my hippo anyway. So that's good."

***

"Comet...!" Keith whispered to the dog. "Come here."
The small pup turned its head around to face Keith and bounded clumsily over to him. He was wagging his tail so much he knocked himself off balance.
Keith giggled and scooped up his pet into his arms, gently placing him on his pillow. "I wonder if you miss your mommy...." he thought aloud to himself. "You haven't seen her in days. Do you miss her...?"
His companion simply made himself comfortable in the space next to his owner.
"It's okay if you don't. I don't really miss my mom either..."
Keith pulled the metal string on the lamp, turning out the light.
His room was pitch black except for the head of his bed where the moonlight shone through the blinds.
"I bet your mommy misses you."
Comet whined, he seemed worried by Keith's strange and sad mood.
"Sorry, boy. It's just.... I never will know if she loved me. But it's okay. Because I have you and..." Keith paused, feeling around his bedside table for something. "Mr. Hippo." He showed the plush to Comet who instantly took it from Keith and curled up around it.
"Maybe its just you..." he said, amused by Comet's love and gentle handling of his stuffed toy.
Keith scowled all of a sudden. He had just called his toy by a name. 'That's not his name. It's name! It has no gender and no name. It's a toy!' He scolded himself, taking a deep breath to rid himself of the idea of naming the hippo.
Comet began licking Keith's nose, he could tell something was bugging him.
   "Sorry... I keep worrying you." The boy wrapped his arms around the dog and pulled him into a gentle hug. "I'm okay. I don't really care all that much about not having a mom... I've come to terms with it now. But you won't leave. Not for a long time. I know that for sure."
   The pup curled up in Keith's arms, resting its head on the boy's shoulder. He gave one big yawn before settling down.
   "G'night Comet..." he whispered to his dog before shutting his eyes and falling asleep, his companion in his arms.