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I passed Mrs Allen’s (well, Mrs Jennings’ now, I guess) withering garden. The loud bang from the school bell echoed through the streets again. I could now see my street sign, ‘Ellis Street’. When I turned the corner, I saw a large black and brown German Shepherd sitting and staring at me. I skidded to a stop and bent down next to him.
‘Hey little guy, what’s your name?’ I asked.
The dog wagged his tail and rolled over next to me. I rubbed his tummy and had a look at the collar. On the
collar it read:
Rufus, 297 Ellis Street
I stopped petting Rufus. There were two things very wrong. One: the address on Rufus’ collar was my address, and two: this was my dream pet, a black and brown German Shepherd named Rufus. Now I was even more anxious to get home. I chucked my skateboard on the ground and began to skate down the road.
‘Come on, Rufus!’ I shouted. We bolted down the street and when I reached what I thought was my house, I knocked loudly on the door. Rufus began barking and I thought I heard footsteps. I told him to be quiet so I could hear inside. Then I heard the door unlocking and a woman with dark hair and blue eyes appeared in the doorway. She looked very familiar, and then I realised …
‘Mum!’ I shouted, throwing my arms around her.
‘Yes honey, what’s wrong?’ she asked, giving me a brief hug. I looked at her again and she looked a bit different, happier maybe?
‘Is it really you?’ I asked.
‘Yes, of course it’s me. Emily, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at school?’ she said, laughing. Then she saw Rufus. ‘How did he get there? He was out the back.’
She came out of the doorway and looked at the fence. There was a hole in it just big enough for Rufus to fit through. She laughed again and gave Rufus some rubs on the head. ‘Oh, I’ll have to get your father to fix that when he gets back from work,’ she sighed.
My eyes lit up. ‘Dad … Dad is here? Like, really here?!’ I shouted, jumping up and down.
‘Um, yes he is, honey. Now tell me again, why aren’t you at school?’
‘Well, I was at the skatepark before school and I might have fallen and hit my head, but I just feel a little drowsy and I thought it would be best if I came home.’
Mum looked at me with her hands on her hips. ‘Come inside and I’ll grab an ice-pack. Where did you hit your head?’ she asked, as she guided me inside.
When I walked inside and put my bag and skateboard on the floor, I saw something that was not right at all.
All of Ellie’s toys and her highchair were gone. There were no signs of a baby Ellie anywhere. I panicked and ran up to Ellie’s room, with Rufus tailing behind me. On Ellie’s door there was a sign saying, ‘Ellie’s Room’. Her door was open just a crack. I slipped into her room to find a mess. There were no pink walls or teddies piled high on the shelves or small Ellie’s cot. Instead, the walls were painted a dark grey and there was a double bunk with clothes hanging off the edge.
This was not baby Ellie’s room.