Stray Dog
Today after class my friends and I decided to go to the mall and hang out. The architecture of the mall reminds me of nature, buildings are not square boxes with right angles, but rather they are curved like rounded rocks formed by many decades of clear water pushing its way towards the salty oceans. Inside each building are colorful cloth made from the hair and fur of animals weaved and sewed together to create different styles that will cling the human form. I wonder if a lost sheep would come to the mall smelling sweaters, the wool and cotton of it’s brother and sisters in the August winds.
When we left school sitting there waiting for me was this stray dog. I had seen him in the morning looking a bit lost and lonely so I took out some of my lunch and fed it to him. It seemed to cheer him up a bit, and he wagged his tail like crazy. It wagged back and forth with passion, well it was more like moving around in a circle so much I thought he was going to take off into the air like a helicopter. He then proceeded to chase his tail like it was some kind of little animal that was sneaking up on him but always outside his reach. Then I pet him a bit and headed onto class. Well, too my surprise there was that same dog waiting for me after school to greet me. I had to discreetly push his nose away from my legs so he would not greet me the way dogs do to each other.
He followed me to the mall, and he accepted each of my friends as his family sniffing them formally with much interest. He was so happy to no longer be lost and to be part of a pack again.
We all laughed and played at the mall, it was just so fun to be with the group. I called Waff on my cell to see if he was interested to come join the fun, but he was busy customizing his motorcycle.
It was kind of funny while we were having fun, another dog showed up, he seemed to know ‘our’ dog.
We ended up over by the fountain, actually standing in it. I think it was Spooky’s idea to take photos over there and Lan’s idea to stand in the water. I just had to laugh a little at the idea of standing in the fountain taking pictures and think it was Lan who stepped into the water first. It just seemed so out of character for her, out of all of us, she seems to be the one who follows the rules the most, maybe we are a bad influence on her, hehehe. Kekona showed up right at the end, she put the gum she was chewing under the railing and quickly walked onto the fountain with us for photo taking.
Kasami told me she had to leave soon, we took a few more photos then she left. I guess she wanted to get home to study even though it was friday. I wanted to go walk with her, but I had a feeling she had something to do. Soon after she left, we all went our separate ways. I swung by one of the stores in the mall and ended up buying some denim cutoff shorts. I went home and put them on and then went for a walk missing my friends. It was starting to get dark, but I saw another stray, this time a cat. I sat down next to it and is came over to me and rested her head on my leg. As I sat there looking at the cat I began to think about the happenings of today and about strays. I think everyone is a stray at different times of existence. I think next time I am alone at school, I will look around and search for a stray standing alone, be it an animal or a person, then go say hi to them or just go stand next to them.
SOMETIMES
Sometimes, I wonder what people think of us. Then times, I wonder if I should care. Does it really matter what others think?
We were hanging out Friday after school at the mall; you know the usual shopping and viewing the “scenery” that walks by, which this time it also involved Yumi finding a stray dog. After awhile we thought it would be fun to take some photos. We walked around for a bit thinking of a good place to take them. We did find a spot, even after a few short stops and a few small photo sessions. Spooky had suggested going to the fountain upstairs. We headed up then took some shots there and in the sitting area around it, until either Yumi or Lan figured it would be cool if we took a photo of us standing in the fountain.
When taking the pictures, for some reason it reminded me of an all girl music group and that it was we were doing a photo shoot for the cover of the CD. With that said what CD wouldn’t be without a back cover?
Yeah… ~.^
We were there for quite awhile when Kekona finally showed up. I bet she was working on an art project or something and lost track of time. She jumped right into the fountain with us without a second thought.
It is strange how one can lose all sense of “right and wrong” when caught up in the heat of the moment. We all knew we shouldn’t have been standing in the fountain, especially Yumi’s stray dog which she decided to bring along with us, but continued to do so. I could sense out the corner of my eye that people were looking at us, but at that moment we really didn’t care.
The day grew short and it was time for me to be heading home.
I left before the rest of my friends and as I sat waiting for the bus, I wondered what people were thinking of us, was it dislike or amusement, I don’t know. Heck now-a-days, people turn a blind eye to almost anything. A child being hit by their parent, because they are being bad; do you step in to stop it or leave it and hope it is as far as it goes. A kid being bullied by a group others, do you step in to help or leave it thinking that if I was to get involved, they might turn on me and hurt me.
Some days I really wonder if anybody is paying any attention to any of us.
School Times 