Disappearances by Chris Rahe The October leaves had just changed when the rain started that fall. It was the third consecutive day of rain, when I looked out the window and saw the neighbor’s kid. In baggy shorts and shirt sleeves, he was way underdressed to be out in this cold, rainy weather. As he got closer, I noticed how distressed he looked. A white column of drool dripped from his chin and his face was crinkled up like he was crying. Concerned, I went out to the porch and called to him. “Are you okay?” “Uh huh!” he called back unconvincingly. His voice broke and confirmed that he was crying. The neighbors had just moved into the old Cranston place a couple of months ago. That was about half a mile away from us, but since they were our closest neighbors we knew them fairly well. Their son, Joshua, had never just wandered down to our place before. “What’s the matter?”, I tried again. “I’m looking for my dog”, he sniffled. I had noticed a young dog in their yard recently. It looked like a golden lab and retriever mix, very energetic—and he was always out playing with Joshua when I drove by. As a dog lover myself, I was very sympathetic. The wooded hills of Green Waters are sparsely populated these days. Apparently this had been a bustling little town when the railroad still came through, but now there is hardly a sign of the old ‘town’. The whole area is just a few houses, small farms and forests. The kind of place dogs love, but there’s also a lot of room for a puppy to get lost. The new growth forests are dense with underbrush and briars. There are quite a few logging trails that make hiking much more enjoyable, but off the trails it would be difficult to find a lost dog. Joshua had to be freezing so I talked him in to coming inside for some hot chocolate. I promised him that I would come out and help him look after he got dried off. -->Next Page