Story 10

Story 10: Everything Happens for a Reason

Dalia was inconsolable. Her cat died and she felt alone. She felt as though she was being punished for something. She felt that life was unfair.

Everything she did reminded her of the cat. Boots was the cat’s name. She was a tuxedo cat with white fur on her legs and black fur on her feet making it look like she was wearing boots. On one side of her face, she had a black patch of fur around her eye with a white background and on the other side the opposite. When she perked up her ears and stared at Dalia, it was hard not to laugh. She was the very joy of Dalia’s life. But now Boots was gone, and Dalia was devastated.

Her sad pining was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was her friend Donald.

“I heard that you lost Boots,” he said. “So, I came over to see how you were doing.”

“Not well,” she said. “Everything reminds me of Boots. Every time I trip over one of her toys I forget and want to play with her.”

“You might want to put her bed away somewhere,” said Donald. “That is going to keep reminding you.”

“I can’t,” protested Dalia. “I feel like she might come back.”

“She won’t,” Donald assured her. “She’s gone.”

He put his arm around her and assured her further, “Everything happens for a reason.”

“What reason?” Dalia protested. “What possible reason could there be?”

“There is a reason for everything,” Donald assured her. “Even if we don’t know what it is.”

* * * * *

A few days later there is a knock at the door.

“Hello, Donald, nice of you to come by again.”

“I was talking to Bert next door, and he said that Boots was run over by a car.”

“That’s right,” replied Dalia.

“How did that happen?” Donald pressed.

“Well, Boots was out in the front yard and chased a squirrel. The squirrel managed to avoid the car, but Boots didn’t.”

“How did Boots get out?”

“Oh, I forgot to close the screen door.”

“Well,” Donald shrugged, “I guess everything happens for a reason.”

Dalia smiled without comprehension and shrugged. “I guess so.”

This story is a little over 400 words long. The recording is just short of 3 minutes.

Send an email to me at drjohnartz@gmail.com if you have a comment on any of my stories. And please check out my website at DrJohnArtz.com to see other things I have written.