Polly had made up his mind he would separate from the pack believing that he was responsible for bringing bad luck upon them. A plan emerged in his head. He would wait for Saucy to fall deep in sleep then he would get away for as far as he could. There was just one problem, well a few problems. His wounds had not healed from the thorn that pricked his side and from being dragged by the fishball vendor. He still could not walk very fast. Saucy would catch up with him easily if he was not careful. Another was that, Saucy has got a powerful sense of smell. All dogs did, him included, but multiply it by four or five times and that was how strong her nose was. Her hearing, too, was pretty good. Better than the average dog so maybe if he moved, it would easily wake her up and his plan would go kaput. Polly was actually afraid to leave the pack. Although he still did not feel like he belonged there, at least he knew there was at least three dogs looking out for him

It’s been days and Martin’s pack, which was considerably decimated, had not found a place to settle in. Food had been scarce. Whatever piece they found was divided among the eight of them and that usually wasn’t a lot. Everyone was not only tired and hungry, they were desperate.Everyone was looking out to him for comfort and assurance but even him was doubting whether he had enough of those for everyone.One night, the pack gathered around, as they usually did, around a whole pack of bread they got from the trash of a small grocery store. It was already expired as stated on the packaging but there wasn’t any molds yet.Martin urged everyone to get a piece each, and as always, he was the last to get a share.Everyone ate quietly this time. There wasn’t that usual chattering and teasing. The mood was dreadful.“I don’t think we’ll be able to last long if we stay together.” Martin said, h

Three big dogs came running all over the school’s basketball court. They did not notice Polly and Saucy standing in front of the gate. They were busy marking the walls and corners within the fenced school. It was afterall their territory that was occupied for a while by those children. “What are grinning about?” Saucy stood up, turned her whole body so she could have a good look at Polly. Polly did not answer at first. He was so focused and looked obviously engrossed at the view before him. “Oh, are you seeing something that I am not seeing? ‘Cause all I see are three dogs doing their usual stuff!” “There’s a dog person in there, Saucy! She’s the one I was waiting to see… Oh, I thought I was just hallucinating.” Polly sounded relieved. “I hope you are right about that.” “Well, I thought you wanted me to choose my human?” “Yeah, I know. I just want to see you hurt again so don’t k

Polly dozed off again. He only regained consciousness when he heard the kids already heading out of the school to go home. He realized he had not seen Saucy the whole day. She did not follow him there. He was so focused on what he planned to do for the day that he failed to even ask her what her plan was. She had a life, too. Lately, her time had all been devoted to his needs, his plans, his life.Polly wanted to stay for a while just so he could watch the three dogs with their human - the same human that he wanted for himself but he was getting worried about Saucy. It was so out of her character not to even look for him for an entire day.Polly had not eaten. He did not feel hungry. When he’s excited, he didn’t feel hungry at all “but Saucy probably is hungry!” Soon as he said that, a big piece of fried chicken fell right in front of him. It’s got about three or four bites taken from it but it still got enough meat to relieve hun

Polly did not know how long he had walked. All he knew was that he must get as far away from that place as he could. But no matter how far he had gone, he was still being tormented by that moment that the man killed his friend. The scene was playing on repeat in his head. He couldn’t take it off. He willed his mind to think of happy thoughts. He willed his mind to sing that song that he used to sing with his mother, or that song that he used to sing with Pilita, or Lupita. None of them worked. He thought he had seen it all but nothing could ever be as terrifying as that moment. He wished that the last moment Saucy would bring with her was that moment when she felt she was needed and loved. He wished that it was that moment with the humans she used to have, or the ones with her puppies, or the ones with Martin, Bruno and her whole pack, or maybe the beautiful moments they had together. Thinking about those moments, he realized most of their moments were diffic