A short story of a young girl and her puppy (Revision 5)
Every day was the same for Nikki. She would wake up, go to school, come home, and play with her puppy, Sprinkles. Nikki got Sprinkles as a present on her seventh birthday, a dog was the only gift she asked of for several years. When she came home from school she was greeted by Sprinkles with a leap and a lick. Sprinkles would sit by Nikki everyday when she did her homework, never once tempted to eat her math homework. When she would finish her homework Sprinkles would join her for dinner with the rest of the family. Nikki would go outside to play with Sprinkles and they played with each other for what seemed like hours in the everlasting sunset. Around 8:00pm Nikki and Sprinkles would go to bed, each hoping the next day would be just as fun together. Every day was the same for Nikki and Sprinkles.
A new day dawned that seemed to be just like the rest, but when Nikki awoke she didn’t think once to look for Sprinkles. Usually Sprinkles would be sitting in her doorway to remind Nikki of his existence, or still laying in bed beside her, but Sprinkles was nowhere to be seen. Nikki didn’t think once about it and headed off to school. Around 3:00pm Nikki returned home, but when she opened the front door there was no Sprinkles to be seen. This time she needed no reminder of Sprinkles existence. No usual bark of happiness or any hugs or licks, the house was completely dark and silent. Nikki dropped her bag on the floor and began to look all over the house for Sprinkles. Before she left the main living room she noticed a letter sitting on the large glass table:
Nikki,
Your father and I had to take Sprinkles to the vet because he swallowed a large bone this morning. We should be home by 8 tonight.
Love,
Mom & Dad
Nikki fell to her knees and squeezed the note tightly in her hands. Tears slowly fell from her eyes as she attempted to imagine the worst possible outcome. For the first time in three years Sprinkles was gone. Nikki was sitting in a house, alone and in the dark. She couldn’t even begin to recall the days of being home without Sprinkles. Three years of the same joyful days, all thrown so far into the air it felt as if they would never fall back down. Was this the end of her happy days? Nikki began to remember how fun it was to play with Sprinkles, and how every day wasn’t just the same old day.
“We always do the same thing…everyday we do the same thing…so how is today any different? Did I do something wrong? Did I forget to do something? What did I do wrong?” whispered Nikki. When she looked up she noticed the clock read 4:05pm, the clock hands blurred as her cheeks began to burn.
“Me and Sprinkles usually do my homework right now…” She got up slowly and headed back to the front door to pick up her bag. Coming back to the living room she plopped back down on the ground along with her bag. Slowly reaching into her bag she pulled out a red folder that read “MATH” in all capital letters. The assignment was half complete as a small dark spot appeared under the next problem. The first time Nikki and Sprinkles did her math homework together she tried to get Sprinkles to take a snap at her assignment. Sprinkles simply laid down and tilted his head to one side.
Nikki grabbed a pencil from her bag and brought it over the paper. As she placed the lead on the paper her hand trembled and felt light. She grabbed the pencil with two hands to try to write the answer as another dark spot appeared on the paper. One time, Sprinkles even helped her solve a problem by jumping on and off of her bed. The clock struck once, it was now 4:30pm.
“Me and Sprinkles usually…usually eat dinner around now.” She walked into the kitchen and saw half of a large bone treat, which was still fairly large, lying on the floor. It was clear Sprinkles had swallowed the other half and never gave it back. Sprinkles never cared for the smaller dog treats, he preferred to wrestle with treats that were nearly his size. Nikki tried to imagine how life was before Sprinkles came into her life. Would she still be Nikki? She began to wonder if life would ever be as cheerful as it had been, if Sprinkles never came back home. The house still silent, the refrigerator began humming quietly in the background.
“We did everything together, we spent all our time together. We always have…we always will. Right, Sprinkles?” She walked out of the back door and entered the yard. Nikki picked up Sprinkles’ favorite dog toy, covered in that familiar veil of slobber that never really left. It was in the shape of a boomerang, but a little too soft and lumpy for it to work properly. It was Sprinkles’ favorite toy and in the jaws of Sprinkles the boomerang would always return to the person that threw it.
“Everyday was the same…all the time I spent with Sprinkles was all the time I had—I never once played with my friends after school.” Nikki had plenty of friends at school, but when she got Sprinkles she dedicated most of her spare time to playing together. If dogs were allowed in school Nikki would have brought Sprinkles with her every day. She tried several times when she first got Sprinkles, but never made it past the front porch. She threw the boomerang across the yard watching as it flew in a straight line away from her, landing in the ruffled grass.
“Would I have been happier if I played with my friends more?” Nikki began to realize she was asking herself questions not even she entirely understood, and felt more sorrow building up within her. It was as if a knot had tightened in her chest, not letting go until she found her answer.
A full hour had passed and Nikki staggered into her room where picture frames of her and Sprinkles were hanging on the wall. Each one a still picture of a happy memory. Not a single frame in her room was without Sprinkles, and not a single frame brought forth a memory of sadness.
“I was always happy with Sprinkles. Even my friends couldn’t have made me happier.” Nikki sat on her bed and looked around her room. Over the past three years Nikki had matured into a sweet young girl, did she enjoy her life before her seventh birthday? If Nikki would have never gotten Sprinkles, would she be as happy and bright as she was now?
“Maybe Sprinkles is what makes me, me.” Nikki began to realize that losing Sprinkles wouldn’t change her, but never having Sprinkles would have. Nikki got up and walked into the main living room to sit on the couch. She was ready for the worst as her eyes began to dry.
Nikki looked at the clock and noticed the time was 6:07pm. A light shined in through the front window— Nikki’s parents were home. The knot in her chest tightened more, the answers she was looking for were far from her mind.
“Sprinkles, you better come home. I don’t wanna know what happens without you.”
The front door opened as a faint cool breeze blew into the house. Nikki was afraid to get up and look as her parents were chatting.
“…’new Pooh movie?’ And I said ‘yeah there is!’ in the front of the theatre.” Nikki’s mom entered the main living room, flicking a light switch.
“Nicole,” said Nikki’s father, “we brought Sprinkles home.”
“You did?” Nikki jumped off the sofa and ran towards her parents. Sprinkles was jumping up and down, shaking his new bell collar as Nikki picked him up and held him in her arms.
“Don’t you ever do that again.” said Nikki as she stared at Sprinkles’ face.
“Be gentle Nikki, he’s had a rough day today.” said Nikki’s mom as she walked over to Nikki’s father.
“Do you think she’ll notice, Joe?” whispered Nikki’s mom.
“She’s only a little girl, Jess,” said Nikki’s father as he looked over at Nikki. “She’ll be fine.”
Nikki began to play with Sprinkles and his favorite dog toy as the smell of dinner slowly filled the air. She completely forgot about her thoughts of changing her life. She forgot about thinking of life without Sprinkles and went back to her normal evening. It was the every day again, a happy and simple life. Nikki would never let Sprinkles out of her life, even if it wasn’t the same sprinkle of life.