Lonely

It was a quiet night. No cars driving by, honking their horns. No sounds of little kids
yelling. No dogs barking. Just peaceful and quiet. A gentle breeze blew with an occasional
smell of spring in it. The air was just right, cool and fresh. Keith sat on his favorite porch
rocking chair. He was just relaxing and gathering his thoughts. He liked to think. He liked to
think. He thought about his dreams, he thought about his life and how it was going. He thought
about his dog and how it used to be a playful puppy full of energy. It sure grew up fast. Keith
thought about a girl he once fell in love with. He should probably get married before he turned
thirty. Who knows maybe he'll never get married.
As Keith sat there, now thinking about his new, red truck, he noticed his shoe was
untied. He stretched down to retie it and saw a small card beside his foot. Funny, he hadn't
noticed it there before. Maybe it blew up in the breeze. Yes that's what happened, the wind
had blown it there when he was off in dreamland. Oh well, he thought and then he picked it up.
The card had printing on it. It simply read, "go look in your mail box". Keith gave out a small
chuckle and thought about his mailbox. Was someone joking around with him? It was
probably that pesky neighbor boy, James. He was always coming up with something new and
unusual to try out on his neighbors. "What the hell", Keith said aloud. He then stood up and
walked over to his mailbox and opened it up. "Yep, another card", he said. The same small,
black print on it too. Except this card said something just a little different.
As Keith ran to his back yard where his dog house was, all he could think of was what
the card had said in his mailbox. "YOUR dog is DEAD". Keith suddenly stopped dead in his
tracks. He could see blood. The dog house, which he had just painted a nice fresh coat of
white, was now covered with red, blotchy stains. Blood everywhere. Who could have done
such a deed? The golden retriever that Keith had loved so much and raised for four years now
lay dead. There was hardly anything left of it. Its legs had been ripped completely off and were
thrown around the yard. Its head was nailed to the front of the dog house. The body of his
favorite and only pet was cut wide open and staked to the ground like some kind of science
dissection. Is this really happening, he thought. He then leaned over and vomited up everything
he had. He let it all go, then sat and cried for his dog and all the pain it must have went through.
Keith realized that the mouth of the dog had something in it. Another damned piece of paper.
He snatched it out with anger and read it slowly. The paper had some blood stains on it and
had been wrinkled by the dogs still sharp teeth. But it was still readable. It said, "Fools follow
clues, and you are no fool".
A few days later Keith got a call from the police which informed him that their where no
finger prints found except his own and not to worry about it. They said it was probably some
sick prank played buy some punk kids. Keith agreed and hung up the phone. He was still
shaken up buy the notes and his deceased dog, but he was doing better. He had cleaned up the
mess, burried his dog, and hauled his dog house to a trash pile. He decided that a country drive
would do him some good. He needed to get out anyway. He also definitely needed a wife
now. He might lose his sanity if things like this kept happening to him. He went outside and
smelled the air. It smelled good. Someone was barbecuing nearby. His mouth watered. He
loved barbecued anything. Keith got in his new truck and turned the key. The truck didn't
start. Keith frowned and thought that usually new trucks start when they are less than a week
old. That dealer was going to here about this one. Yes sir. He didn't like him much anyway.
The man was very loud and persuasive. He also smelled like a pine tree air freshener.
Keith popped the hood of his truck and walked around to have a look. Most trucks
don't start due to a dead battery or fuel flooding in the carburetor. But this problem was
different than that. On top of his new engine was another piece of paper and where his battery
had once been was the head of his dog he had buried a few days earlier. Keith grabbed the
note and ran inside. He read it aloud and it said, "You better run far away because you only
have a few minutes before your house blows up". Sure enough Keith smelled gas. He ran out
of the house and to the neighbor's house. As soon as he got to the door his house blew apart.
Why was this happening to him? Who was responsible for this madness? Why in the hell
would someone go to such extreme trouble? This was not the work of some kids gone rebel,
that was for sure. He used the phone and called the police. They arrived and took the dog
head in for inspection and examination. Again there was no fingerprints or no clues to be found.

The next day, Keith went back and replaced the battery in his truck and drove out of
town. He was still dumbfounded. He had no house and no dog. His favorite chair was
destroyed also. "What a loss", he thought. This must all be a bad dream and he was going to
get away for a while. Keith didn't get very far. About half a mile just out of town, his truck quit
running. He looked at his gas gage and it was empty. It shouldn't have been but now it was.
He started laughing. He laughed for a long while and then got out of his truck. He walked back
to town and went up to what was left of his house.
What was this? His rocking chair wasn't destroyed after all. It was a little burnt and
crispy but it still looked functional. He sat down in it just to think. He thought of his life and
how he should get married soon. He was going to be thirty years old next year. He thought of
his dog. He loved that thing. He thought of his note cards and how he a written those neat little
notes to himself. He thought of the police and how foolish they were for looking for clues. He
thought of the loud car dealer and the letter he was going to write to him about the trouble his
truck was giving him. He didn't need to tell him that he had cut his own gas line shortly after he
blew up his own house and killed his favorite dog. He thought of the cool, fresh breeze and the
smell of barbecue. He loved barbecue.