Lady...A Short Story

 Last week, the Weekly Writing Prompt went on hiatus, but now it's back! I did miss it, but I know and understand why they took a break...

The rules: 500 word max, must be finished before next Tuesday night, and the story must be linked to the website: HERE. In addition to these rules, the story needs to incorporate the above picture, and must use five randomly chosen words. This week's words are: 

Iron

Moon

University

Bee

Bench

Here's my story for the week. Enjoy!

Lady…

            When the phone rang, I knew something was wrong…somehow I knew. “It’s Lady,” my mom said. “She’s gone.”

            It was obvious Lady’s health had been on a downward slide for some time. The last time I was home from university my dog, the dog we got as puppy when I was 5 years old, was having trouble walking. She was already deaf and loosing the sight in her one good eye. Still, hearing the news made my stomach lurch. My dog, the first pet I ever had, the friend who never betrayed my trust, was dead. The news hit me harder than if I had fallen from the moon.

            “How’d it happen?” I had to ask, even though I really didn’t’ want to know.

            “Peter, the neighbor boy took her for a walk this morning. He said Lady started running after a bee and then she just stopped, laid down, and that was it. Poor, Peter…” I heard my mom’s voice crack. Though she said she always hated that dog, I knew different, especially after I went away for school leaving her alone in that big house with only the memories of my dad and I lingering in the quiet unused rooms.

            “Well,” I said trying to think of what to saw. “Where’s she now?”

            “Peter picked her up and carried her home, even though she’s bigger than he is. Right now I’ve got her wrapped up in a blanket on the iron bench in the back yard. I was thinking we could bury her under the oak tree where you two used to play.” Now I knew my mom was having trouble dealing with Lady’s passing.

            “As it turns out,” I said, trying to be comforting. “Tomorrow’s class was canceled—my professor caught the flu, so thanks to him getting sick, I can drive home right now and take care of everything.”

            I lied, but I was doing well in that class and the professor would understand.

            “So, looks like I’ll see you in a few hours.” I hung up the phone and thought of my dog. I loved that dog; I'm going to miss her…

Word Count: 358