“ Madeline ? Madeline ?” My dad said . I heard static and the call dropped . Overwhelming cold spread through my heart , I was a frigid glacier : unable to move . Tears flowed silently down my face . It felt like somebody had sucked the purpose out of life and it was suddenly a black void .
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs . The last thing in the world I wanted to do right now was talk to somebody else .
My grandmother came into my room and sat down next to me . “ You okay ?”
I felt like screaming , shouting , tearing the world apart . Okay ?! Oh , sure ! I ’ ve just received the news that my dog is dead and I ’ m completely fine ! Everyone knew that I loved her more than anybody else did , I cared for her and she ’ s gone from my life forever ! Oh , I ’ m just perfect !
But of course I couldn ’ t say that . So I chose my alternative and said nothing . “ Look , I know you ’ re upset , but it ’ s only one night . She ’ ll be alright .” Wait … one night ? “ What do you mean ?” I asked carefully .
“ Your dad said he called you and told you Rooney needed surgery , so they wouldn ’ t be home for another night ,” she answered . “ Didn ’ t he ?”
Surgery . Rooney was having surgery !
When my dad said she wasn ’ t coming back , he meant tonight ! He didn ’ t mean not coming back ever !
She wasn ’ t dead , she was alive ! Relief flooded through me , and the colors became so vibrant that I thought my room would explode into a rainbow .
Surgery . I ’ d never felt so amazing about the word surgery . She was going to be okay . So yeah , life wasn ’ t always beautiful . But sometimes ? It was .