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Chapter 7 - Amaya

Author: Bryant
last update Last Updated: 2025-05-05 18:51:44

I wasn’t thinking about the guy in the suit. Not really. Okay, maybe I was.

But if I said I was thinking about him, I’d have to admit how much that moment on the street had rattled me. And I didn’t want to do that.

So, instead, I buried myself in Canva.

A true act of millennial avoidance.

I sat cross-legged on my dorm bed in a sweatshirt and sleep shorts, laptop open, surrounded by three half-full tumblers—coffee, water, and a smoothie I kept forgetting I hated. Rufio was snoozing in the banner mock-up I was designing, his tongue out and tail mid-wag in a blurry, perfect candid.

I was creating branding concepts for A

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  • A Bark in the Park   Chapter 3 - Amaya

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    There was a rhythm to walking dogs.It wasn’t just about the leashes or the routes—it was the quiet in between. The slow, deliberate steps. The weight of paws hitting pavement. The occasional huff or sneeze from someone sniffing too close to a tulip.I liked the noise of the city from a distance, not in it, but near it. Moving through side streets with half a dozen dogs gave me cover. I wasn’t invisible, but didn’t have to be seen either. People saw the dogs first. They smiled, pointed, and asked if they could pet the fluffy one or guessed Rufio’s breed like it was a game. I let them. I smiled when it was expected, nodded when I had to, and kept my head down when I didn’t.It was safer that way.

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