Coming Home (回家): A Rock Dog Short Story

Part 1

(Note: The Story takes place between Chapter 21 – To the End and Chapter 22 – We Are)

The squeak from the wheels of luggage could be heard inside Angus Scattergood's mansion as Bodi rushed his way downstairs. The Mastiff felt excited because today, he was going to coming home.

His new official girlfriend Darma assisted Bodi in carrying his own luggage down the stairs and towards the main entrance. Darma had ordered a cab for Bodi to return to his village to celebrate Chinese New Year with his family. It would arrive in about ten minutes.

Bodi checked everything one last time before resting on the couch while waiting for the taxi. As he checked his mobile phone for new social posts, Angus, Grem and Trey all joined in. Angus put down his signature pair of shades, his eyes facing the Mastiff straight on.

"Going home, Bodi?" the cat asked.

"Yup, but only for a few days. Of course, that means missing all of you..." Bodi lamented over the fact, his head tilting slightly lower.

Grem, Bodi's close friend and drummer of the band, felt unfazed over that. "Cheer up, Bodi. At least you get to see your family again!"

"Absolutely," Trey agrees. "I miss my family too, but once in a while, I made a Skype call to my Dad in Australia. We have a jolly good laugh over that!"

That made Bodi feel optimistic over seeing his family again, especially when his Dad finally allowed him to pursue his musician dreams. Darma joined in, her bags also packed. She, too, is returning to her family for Chinese New Year too. Her father had just arrived to pick her up.

"Well," Darma announced to the band members, "I'll be off then. See you in a few days!"

"Bye, Darma!" the band members waved her goodbye before the fox came and kissed Bodi in the cheek, resulting in Grem ecstatic over her kissing the young Mastiff again. Immediately, she carried her luggage and exited the mansion.

Bodi blushed again. "Oh, not again..." he cried out, scratching his head.

"It means she loved you, you silly dog," Angus joked to Bodi.

It would not be long before they heard the honk of a taxi, signalling the arrival of the taxi. Bodi stood up and made his exit. "Well, my taxi's here. See you soon, everyone!"

With that, as his other band members bade him farewell for a few days, Bodi carried his luggage outside of the mansion. Despite Mengcheng being cold recently as it was winter, that did not faze the Mastiff as he carried the luggage into the boot of the taxi.

And off he went, on the front seat of the taxi.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

The taxi drove off as Bodi witnessed light specks of snow falling gracefully from the sky. He wore slightly thicker clothes for the occasion, wearing a faux fur coat over his two layers of shirt. The pants he wore insulate his lower body, though he does not need to wear shoes (besides, everyone in Mengcheng walked on barefoot).