07/12/2025
SHE WAS SO HUNGRY SHE COULD BARELY STAND đ BUT WHEN SHE SAW A LOST PUPPY IN THE GUTTER, SHE PICKED IT UP AND SAID, âITâS OKAY, IâM LOST TOO.â đž
Rain had soaked through her sweatshirt hours ago. Her shoes made that wet squishy sound with every step, but she kept moving, one block at a time. Maybe the next streetlight would bring warmth, or food, or something that didnât feel so cold.
She hadnât eaten since the morning before. That half-slice of toast she found behind the diner? Gone by noon. She kept telling herself the hunger would fade, but now it felt like something inside her was tearing. Her head spun. Her knees shook.
Then she heard it.
A soft, scared whimper.
She turned and saw the tiniest puppy curled in the gutter, soaked and shivering so hard its little ribs moved with every breath. One paw was stuck under its body, like it had fallen and didnât know how to get up.
She should have kept walking. She needed to keep walking.
But she knelt down anyway.
âItâs okay,â she whispered, reaching out. âIâm lost too.â
The puppy didnât pull away. It pressed its damp nose into her hand like it had been waiting for her.
She wrapped it in the only dry corner of her hoodie and held it close, even though her arms were trembling. She didnât know what she was going to do. The shelters were full. The bus drivers wouldnât let her ride anymore. And the man outside the store had already told her not to come back.
But still, she kept walkingâthis time with the puppy warm against her chest.
Then, just as she turned down the alley behind the old pharmacy, her legs gave out.
She collapsed to the ground.
And for a moment⌠she didnât move.đ
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