The Farm

It had been a long day of moving for Emily. Emily threw the last box full of kitchen ware on top of the counter to put away. Knives, forks, plates, and spoons soon found their new home. The weather turned just as Emily sat in her chair next to the fireplace. This farm was once owned by her grandparents. Her grandfather built the house with his own hands. Emily’s grandmother died first. Her grandfather followed a week later. After they died the bank bought the house and all the property attached to it. Over the years the property was sold off in chunks. Emily was fortunate enough to buy the last piece.

She remembered the house well. The ducks, pigs, sheep, and chickens were once constants here. It was eerily quiet without the clucking, honking, and bleating of the animals. Emily sat in her recliner chair next to the fireplace, just as she saw her grandmother do. Emily stared at the flames in the fireplace, getting lost in the nostalgia of the house. There was a crack of thunder that made Emily jump. The old house had been updated by previous owners but it still creaked and moaned, showing its true age. There was another crack of thunder following a cluster of lightning. The rain began to fall. Emily could smell the rain even though the windows were closed.

More lightning illuminated the room. Emily attempted to settle back in her chair, when she got a whiff of something more than the rain. It smelt like a wet dog. Emily didn’t have a dog or want one. The smell persisted and began to get stronger. Emily looked around the room but didn’t see anything. Not until another brilliant flash of lightning did Emily see a silhouette of a dog sitting in the doorway. She gasped, placing her hand on her chest. Another flash showed there was nothing in the doorway afterall. The smell seemed to have disappeared also. Emily decided it was time for bed. She put out the fire and made her way to the bedroom. Emily settled into bed, exhausted after the day of moving. It wasn’t long after pulling the blankets to her chin that Emily fell asleep.

Emily wasn’t asleep long before she suddenly woke up by a barking dog. She thought she was still dreaming. Emily flung the blankets off. The smell of a wet dog was back. Emily jumped out of bed and began running through the house searching for a dog. The storm raged on with the wind picking up. Emily looked out the window and saw a dog jumping up and down trying to catch the rain. Angry that she had been woken up by someone’s dog, Emily opened the front door to yell at the animal to go back home. When she opened the door however the dog was gone. Emily went out in the rain to the spot where she had last seen the dog. There was no sign of the dog anywhere. Emily couldn’t bear the rain anymore so she ran back inside. There was no more smell. Emily changed her clothes and went back to bed.

Sleep did not come easy after the night she had. Emily was grateful that when the morning came, the storm had finally passed. The sun shone brightly through the windows reminding Emily she needed to put up some curtains. The house was just as she left it when she went to bed. There was no evidence that a dog had been in the house. After a breakfast of black coffee and a bagel, Emily went outside to see if there were any tracks of the dog that woke her. She was ready to follow the tracks to its owner and give them a piece of her mind. Just as she expected, Emily found dog tracks. The tracks looked like they were heading toward the back of the property. Emily didn’t realize there was a house behind hers.

If there was a house behind Emily’s it was through the band of trees. Emily followed the tracks through the trees. The paw prints stopped in front of a cluster of brambles. This oddity puzzled Emily. She looked around and saw that the prints did in fact stop in front of this cluster. Her anger turned into concern, worried that the animal was stuck in this cluster. Emily began tearing the branches, and dried vegetation to try to expose more tracks. Instead there was a solid rock object under the plant life. Emily wiped away the dirt and excess. There were words that she could faintly make out. It read, Here Lies A Bad Dog Who Was My Best Friend. Rest In Peace Rowdy, Keep Chasing Those Rabbits.

Emily gasped and fell back against the ground. She turned on her stomach. In front of her were two pairs of furry legs. Emily followed the legs up to see a nose and finally two blue eyes. It was the same dog from last night. Emily saw a dangling charm around the animal’s neck. Engraved in the gold colored metal was Rowdy. Emily was fixated on the dog’s panting jaws. Without a second’s hesitation the beast licked Emily’s face from the bottom of her chin to the top of her forehead. Emily flinched feeling the hot breath of the animal. When she opened her eyes, Rowdy was gone.

This was too much for Emily to handle. She jumped up and started running through the woods back to her house. When she arrived, her father’s truck was in her driveway. When she made it back her father was confused and worried about Emily’s current state. Emily recounted her first night in the house, the storm, the dog, the tracks, and the headstone. Emily was shaking as she told her story. Her father smiled as he listened. This shocked Emily.

“Yup, that sounds like Rowdy. Glad to hear that even in death that darn dog is still chasing raindrops.”