“Henry, there are clouds coming over the mountain. We’d better get back home before the storm gets here,” Mari said. “It already looks dark.” Henry and Mari said their good-byes and began to climb over a natural bridge of large rocks and stepping stones to get across the river.
A bolt of lightning split the sky and thunder rattled the ground. In the next minute, clouds shifted in the sky. Yellows and grays turned to black. As Clarence thought about the fact that he didn’t know any of the people he saw on this street, he said to himself, “This is a bad time to be lost….Harley!” Clarence climbed up on a park bench for a better view.
“There he is!” Down the street, Clarence saw the dog taking off at a gallop, so Clarence followed. Harley was his only link to home and he was desperate to keep him in sight. When had he ever run this fast in his life? He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he gasped for breath. Then, Harley stopped, wagged his tail, and whined affectionately at a man in front of the fire station. It was obvious that Harley had been running because he recognized the man and was running towards a friend.
“Where’ve you been, Harley? Out chasing rabbits?” The man bent over to pet Harley on the head.
Clarence reached them and leaned forward with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “Harley has been eating pancakes, not chasing rabbits. I think that’s the fastest I ever ran.”
“Pancakes?” the man asked.
ClClarence reached them and leaned forward with his hands and knees
“Pancakes?” the man asked.
Clarence recognized the man’s voice. “Hey! How do you know Harley’s name? You’re the guy from the diner. You’re the one who likes giants!”
“Diner?” the man looked puzzled and Clarence realized the man didn’t know him. “Sorry I don’t recall.”
“Sure you remember! We were eating pancakes in the diner and you rode a motorcycle,” Clarence explained.
“I don’t have a motorcycle. What diner do you mean?” the man asked.
Clarence wondered if this man had memory problems like his grandmother. “That’s okay. Sometimes people have trouble remembering things. My name is Clarence. What’s your name?”
“I’m Simon. If you explain where you came from, I’ll try to help you find your way back,” the man said. Simon sat down on the ground and scratched Harley behind the ears. Clarence could see that Harley knew Simon very well.