Unwritten

Prologue

    It was a humid night in mid July; the clouds above Lila’s old fashioned home were shadowy, but the lightning caused flashes of light to brighten the darkness. Lila sat curled up in her bed, the comforter pulled up to her chin as she stared at the wall inches from her face. It was nearly 2AM, and the storm was consistently keeping her awake. Her best friend, Michael, had fallen asleep about an hour ago. She hadn’t been in the mood to message anyone else.

Tossing and turning for another hour, Lila finally sat upright in her sheets. Her chest rising and falling quickly in frustration, she stood up and walked softly across the chilling wooden panels. The house was silent inside, her parents and little brother sleeping downstairs.

    As Lila approached the stairs, she slowly creeped down until she reached the bottom. The family dog, Augie, was sprawled on the floor, his dark eye wide open and watching her. She gave him a small smile, and leaned down to stroke his long, golden fur. Augie’s eye closed in comfort, as his body seemed to relax at her simple touch.

    Lila stayed there for a few moments, gently putting her pet to peaceful sleep. As the minutes creeped on, in the near pitch blackness, Lila’s eyes began to get heavy. Her strokes became slower, and less frequent. Slowly, she lowered her head onto Augie’s rising and falling chest. There she drifted off into a final, peaceful, sleep.