Wow! Thatś really sweet! I am rooting for Lucky all the way!

The next morning, Holly sauntered down the corridor to the kitchen, avoiding her mums gaze. She has spent a restless night thinking about what could have happened if she didn’t stumble across Lucky on the way home from school. Lucky gobbled up his breakfast without a care in the world. Holly smiled at the little dog’s appetite.

“Holly, come here!” Mum called from the other end of the house. Holly picked herself up and ambled over.

“Good news.” Mum said, “My colleague at work is interested in adopting golden retriever puppies to train into guide dogs. What do you think?”

Holly didn’t know what to think. At first, relief overcame her and a smile broke through. If he was taken on as a guide dog, Lucky would be cared for and never abandoned again. Possibly even loved. But then a tinge of disappointment nagged at the back of her chest. Maybe, without even knowing it, she still had just an ounce of hope inside of her that Lucky would be a new addition to the family.

“Okay.” She said blankly. Mum looked taken aback.

“I thought you’d be more excited.” She said slowly.

“No, right. Yeah, it’s cool mum.” Holly shrugged. “You know what, it’s...it’s great.”

Mum smiled, doubtfully. “Well, I’ll give Mark a call and we’ll see if he’s interested.”

Two years later…

Holly Jackson sat in her room reading a comic and eating crisps. It is a known fact that any child who comes home to an empty house and waits for their parents to arrive has the fundamental right to junk food. She really should have been doing homework, but something died inside of Holly’s soul whenever she picked up a pen and tried to focus her mind on fractions. And something was reborn again whenever she shoved her crumpled up worksheets back into the bottom of her bag so they could spend the night with crushed cookie crumbs and banana peel. And a whole assortment of other overdue essays and uninteresting permission notes.

So there Holly sat, absorbed in the adventures of Tintin and Snowy, when she heard the door swing open. Early. Cautiously, she sat up and slipped out of bed. Holding her breath, Holly listened as hard as she could for any sign of noise downstairs. Relief flooded her system as she recognised the soft clip-clopping of mum’s shoes on the kitchen tiles. Holly flung open her door and dashed downstairs.

“You scared me to death.” She said.

“Sorry, Holl.” Mum was out of breath. “I came home as fast as I could.”

“Why?” Holly smile faded. “Is there something wrong.”

“Oh no, not at all.” Mum answered. “But there’s something I wanted you to see.”

Carefully, Mum fished out a cutting from the daily paper from her handbag. Interested, Holly glanced at the slip of slightly crumpled paper. “Hero guide dog saves blind owner from burning building” the headlines blared. Now that wasn’t something you see everyday. But why did mum rush home from work to show her this? Curiously, Holly stared at the black and white photo beneath. There, sat between a beaming child and a middle aged man with a cane, was the grinning face of Lucky, now a few months older, but there was no mistaking him. Holly clapped a hand over her mouth and tears of joy sprung into her eyes. “I - I can’t believe it.” she gasped. “Lucky saved someone’s life.” Holly thought back to when she had first found the little puppy in a drain two years ago. She remembered how she knew that her life would never be the same again. Somehow, Holly had been right. And guess what? That night at dinner, mum said they should go down to the animal shelter on the weekend to look for a golden retriever rescue puppy who might like the job of being their pet. Yes!

After that, life seemed less boring. It seemed as if miracles were possible and dreams could come true. At the very least, Holly certainly had something to write about in her next creative writing essay!

This was so sweet and touching.  You're an incredible author, Coroline!

great job, Coroline! beautiful story! absolutely heart touching! Love it!

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Zora