Paradise Lost

“Can I take Paradise for a walk by myself today?” Layla asked with a perky optimism. 

“You can, dear.” Layla’s mother stopped washing the dishes to make eye contact with her youngest daughter. “Under one condition—you do NOT let her off the leash.”

“But why?” asked Layla. She quickly followed up her question with a clarification. “I won’t, I just… want to know.”

“Because I said so, and that should be enough.” Layla had seen her mother’s face scrunch in just such a way before. She was trying to be stern, but was also worried that she gave her little girl too much freedom.

Layla decided that this time she would not let her mother down. She would prove just how grown up she could be.

Paradise, the little Jack Russell, popped up from her little round bed at the first jingle of her leash being taken off the hook in the foyer. She rushed right past Layla in search of a person with more authority who must be getting ready to take her for a walk. She then doubled back with a surprised bounce to see Layla bending down to attach the leash to her collar. Her excitement remained, but a cautious confusion crept up.

Layla opened the front door and gave a gentle tug on the leash for Paradise to lead her out. The small dog looked around one more time in surprise that no one else had joined them and then pattered out the door. 

Since Layla’s family lived on the last lot of the street, the yard butted right up to the forest beyond. The other side had relatively pleasant neighbors, at least as far as the people were concerned. But those people were the owners of a mean-spirited feline named Pumpkin, who must’ve gotten his name from having the color and charm of the inside of a rotting pumpkin. She would hiss and growl whenever Layla or Paradise walked past, and nearly foamed at the mouth that day as both passed at once.

Layla and Paradise walked in the opposite direction of Pumpkin with their heads held high and indignant, straight over the freshly mowed lawn to the chain-link fence that divided their property from the woods beyond. She opened the gate and stepped right onto the well-trod forest path.

“Hey, little sis, where you headed to?” came a familiar voice from up in a tree. 

“Just taking Paradise for a walk,” Layla paused for effect, “all by myself. Didn’t Mom tell you to stop climbing trees, Jake?”

Jake climbed down until he was hanging from a reasonably low branch and dropped into the grass with a thud. He rubbed his hands together a few times to get rid of the bark residue and looked back to the tree he had come out of. “I think this tree is fine, I climb it all the time. She probably meant I couldn’t climb any new trees. Still though, you won’t tell mom, right?”

Layla gave an obedient smile and shook her head from side to side. “Nope. Just wish me luck on the walk!”

“Hah, thanks, Lay. Good luck on your walk.” He reached down and gave Paradise some scratches behind her ears, one of her favorite spots. “Don’t forget to let her off the leash when you get to the clearing, she loves to run all around out there.”

“But mom said not to…” Layla wanted to say more but didn’t know what.

“Oh, well I’m sure mom’s just being bossy for no reason. I always let Paradise stretch her legs, it’s cruel not to if you think about it. There’s no danger, when have you ever known Paradise not to come right back when you call?” Jake raised his eyebrows to emphasize how ridiculous he thought it was to think Paradise would run off. He put his hands around the lowest branch of the tree and swung his legs up around another branch.

Layla walked down the path thinking about what Jake had said. She did know that Paradise was a very good girl, and always listened well when they were at home together. And she didn’t want to be mean to her poor dog by not letting her run around, especially if she really wanted to. It only made sense; mom didn’t even give a reason why she couldn’t. Or did she? Was “because I said so” enough?

Paradise’s little legs were a blur as she trotted alongside Layla down the flattened path. Every once in a while, she would dart off the path just a little to sniff a particularly interesting bush or tree. Only once did she yank against her leash. That was hardly her fault though; a rabbit had stopped right in the middle of the path and then darted away near where she was walking. You can hardly blame her for such a transgression.

By the time Layla felt that her legs needed a bit of a break, they had come upon the clearing in the woods. Layla’s heart began to beat faster as she thought about unhooking the leash. She saw Paradise look up at her expectantly, but she needed time to think. She sat against a nearby tree and placed the little dog in her lap. That seemed to satisfy both of them for the moment as Layla was giving Paradise all the scratches a pup could desire.

“Hey, Lay,” said Jake, emerging from the path. “I thought I would see how you and Paradise were doing with your newfound freedom. Wait, why is she still hooked on the leash, you didn’t chicken out, did you?”

Layla could feel her face getting warm. She was embarrassed, but even more than that, she was upset at her own embarrassment—certainly following the rules was no cause to be looked down on. “I just didn’t want to. It doesn’t feel like a good day for it,” she said, feeling rather grown up.

“Nonsense, she needs her freedom, Lay,” Jake said, and he knelt down beside Paradise and scratched her behind the ear. Then Layla heard the distinct noise of a metal fastener being undone.

Paradise sprang to her feet and pattered out into the clearing. Layla’s jaw dropped and she felt her hands get a little clammy. Then she saw Paradise dash into the field in a fit of joy and trace a large circle around the perimeter of the clearing and back to Layla, her whole body wagged with excitement. Layla quickly reattached the leash and scolded her brother while sounding awfully like their mom, “I told you she’s not supposed to be off her leash!”

In response, Jake motioned toward Paradise, who now had her ears flattened against her head and her tail between her legs. She looked up at Layla with sad brown eyes, pleading to know what she had done wrong to deserve being put back on the leash. As Layla looked down at the sullen pup, she could hear her precious doggy crying in a soft, pitiful whine.

“Look at what you did?” Layla said, “Now she’s upset.”

“What did I do? I wasn’t the one who put the leash back on her,” Jake said accusingly.

“You’re a jerk,” Layla said softly trying to hold back tears. She looked again at the wounded expression on Paradise’s face. Layla couldn’t help it, she would do anything to take away that look. She knelt down and removed the leash. Paradise wagged her tail with hummingbird quickness and licked Layla’s face. “I love you too” whispered Layla as Paradise darted back into the wide-open grove. 

Jake nudged his little sister with his elbow. “See, she loves it. You don’t always have to listen to what mom tells you to do.” 

“She does look really happy. I’ll give you that.” Layla turned and smiled at her big brother. 

The two of them watched in amazement at the limitless energy that Paradise seemed to have. She was running and sniffing, and occasionally urinating, all over the place. Layla can’t remember the last time she saw her dog so happy. She finally called across the wide expanse of grass, “Paradise! Come here, girl! It’s time to go back home, I promise I’ll bring you back again one day soon!” 

Paradise pulled her nose from the ground where an intriguing scent had been and trotted back toward Layla. She made it about halfway across the clearing when a flash of movement caught her eye. Her head snapped toward it to find a cat stalking a butterfly at the edge of the clearing. With a quick growl and a bark, she was on her way to intercept the fluffy feline.

Layla and Jake saw the hairy orange cat at the same time as Paradise, but no matter how quickly they moved, there was no way they would catch their speeding dog when she was in hot pursuit, and who could blame her for wanting to teach Pumpkin a lesson. All they could do was watch an orange blur disappear into the woods with their beloved dog disappearing after it.

It was nearly an hour before Layla and Jake returned home without Paradise. They could see their mother watching from the living room window as they approached and could tell they were already in trouble. The look on her face showed her suspicion and anger. Layla glanced down at the empty leash in her hand. Deciding to look anywhere but the window her mother occupied, Layla’s gaze landed on an outstretched orange blob on the hood of their neighbor’s car. Pumpkin. She was laid back, basking in the sun and licking one of her front paws without a care in the world. They walked into the house

“What happened on the walk, hmm? Where’s Paradise?” Their mother never raised her voice, but when she was angry her tone would lose all sense of love and warmth. She became a cold, glaring stranger.

“She ran away,” Layla managed to say while holding back sobs.

“How did she run away if she was on the leash, Layla?” her mother said. The words came out of her mom’s mouth in such a way, that even her own name sounded like a curse word.

“We thought that maybe Paradise would like to run around the clearing... She needs exercise and—” Layla didn’t get to finish her excuse.

“We thought? You put her up to this Jake?” Said their mother, her unblinking eyes now on Jake.

“No, I didn’t. I just went with her so she wouldn’t get lost. Layla took the leash off of Paradise!” said Jake. His tone was whiney and pleading.

“That’s not true!” said Layla. By this time the pool of tears welling in her eyes had overflowed and begun running down her face.

“So, you didn’t take Paradise off the leash?” said her mother, looking first at Layla and then at Jake.

“Well… I guess I did, but—” Layla started.

“That’s what I thought,” her mother said in a huff. “Layla, go straight to your room and get dressed for bed. There will be no dinner for you tonight. Jake, stay here. I need to talk to you.”

Layla’s chin fell to her chest as she shuffled off to her bedroom. She couldn’t believe how bad the day had turned out. She buried her head in her pillow, which quickly bore an imprint of the tears that covered her face. All she could think about was Paradise out in the woods all by herself. She pictured the little dog hiding in a bush from ferocious animals, frightened and alone.

After about ten minutes or so she heard the door to her room creak open. It was Jake with half a plate of food. “I brought you some of my dinner,” he said, looking down at the plate rather than at Layla. “I’m sorry I threw you under the bus, but there was no sense in Mom being mad at both of us. And you did take her leash off.” He looked up to Layla for a response, but she just stared at him with that pouty face that children her age sometimes have when angry.

“Well, I hope you accept my apology,” Jake said. Again, she was silent. “And mom said she wanted to make you wait until morning, but I just have to tell you now… Paradise is home. The neighbor brought her over well before we got here. Apparently, she had followed Pumpkin all the way back to our street.” 

Layla jumped from bed and ran over to her brother, embracing him with all her might.