Ralph

• Olivia Barnes, Grade 6T
• Short Story
• 2014

My name is Mariam and I am 13 years old. I live in the city in an apartment but my parents decided to move to the country. I was having some trouble at school with these girls and they were going to the same high school as me so mum thought it would be better if we moved away.
I have a dog named Ralph. Ralph is an Australian Kelpie and he is 4 years old. I got him for my birthday a few years ago and he’s been my best friend ever since. Especially last year when times got rough. It was the first day of school and everyone had gone ballistic. I didn’t want to miss the bus so I ran outside to Ralph, gave him a hug and whispered in his ear “I’ll be back soon, ok?”
The first few weeks were ok, I didn’t really make any friends but no one was mean to me. However there was this girl called Vicki and she was really kind to me. I got off the bus and ran up to the oak tree where Ralph and I always went. He saw me running and sprinted up to me. He looked like he was going in slow motion as he galloped through the thick, green grass. We sat down against the tree and stared up at the clouds for hours.
It was Saturday and Ralph and I got up early like we did on most Saturdays and walked around the farm. We walked up to the river and before I knew it he had fallen in! “RALPH!” I screamed out at the top of my lungs. I ran along the bank as he got pulled further down the river. I ran till the end of the bank until I couldn’t see him anymore and burst out crying because I knew he was gone.
The next few weeks I spent in bed with about 1000 tissue boxes surrounding me. But mum said I should get back in the habit of things to try and get things off my mind. All my friends were very comforting and kind and they made sure I stayed positive.
The thing is I had the best dog anyone could ever have so the most important thing is to remember the good times with Ralph as those are the most precious ones.