Sunny is a very excitable thing, but Pauline Wayne very quickly decides that’s not a bad thing. She likes the dog, and the cheer is contagious. For a little bit, it’s even easy for Pauline Wayne to forget about the sweet, fresh grass waiting for her at home.
Of course, there are a few things that help. The fact that any time Sunny pauses to relocate the trail, Pauline Wayne is able to grab a few bites of grass? Absolutely helpful.
Before long, Sunny announces, “the path we took is just over there! I don’t know if we should go though! What if there are people there? They’ll get scared if we show up.”
“You go ahead,” says Pauline Wayne. “Wait until there aren’t any people, and then give me a call. I’ll wait here until then.”
Sunny, her eyes big with concerned, asks, “you’ll be okay?”
She’s a very sweet dog. Pauline Wayne promises, “I’ll be okay. Go on, now. Let’s see if we can’t get this figured out quickly.”
Sunny lingers for a moment longer, before wagging her tail, just once, and then ambling off out of sight. There must be people, because there’s no instant call for Pauline Wayne to join her. Which is just fine, really, because those few stolen bites aren’t nearly enough. This gives Pauline Wayne a chance to get a good lunch in.
The grass here tastes different from at home. It’s more wild, more tough but – it’s sweeter, too. Pauline Wayne wouldn’t mind having this for lunch all the time.
She’s only just found a good patch of it when something catches her attention. Tucked away in the long grass is a shiny piece of metal. It’s long, like a loose fitting collar, with a charm shaped like a heart on the end.
Very carefully, Pauline Wayne picks the necklace up with her lips, abandoning her lunch in favor of turning back towards the place where Sunny vanished too. She hopes that the dog clears the humans out soon. Pauline Wayne is absolutely positive that this necklace has something to do with whatever they’ve been called here for.
All they need to do now is figure out what. And for that to happen, well, this is just one piece in the puzzle, right? The other pieces are still tucked away, and Pauline Wayne is eager to find them all and get this whole thing solved.
And maybe she’s eager to get some more to eat but, well, in the long run, that part isn’t as important.
Katelynn E Koontz – Author
