Life (itself) writes the best stories, as the saying goes. Just like 'all the things we hide'.

The last few years with a dog (after eleven years I finally got one); you come into contact with many, many people, whether you want to or not. You find out things you don't want to know; you hear things or get involved in things you don't really want to have anything to do with.

There were days (and hopefully there will be for another twenty years, because I want my monster to be in my life for a while) when I thought, are we still in high school? Adults behaving like teenagers and giggling is the order of the day. Exhausting, surely nothing more needs to be said about such things.

A foretaste of what will happen here. It's already so sad, but the first chapter that will follow in the coming days is in a different way....yes, and the real reason why this story came to be. The trigger. There's still some context missing, but you'll find out bit by bit. This construct for my idea also took over half a year to build.

Person A and person B have become close friends thanks to their dogs, but when A isn't around, B might say that A's dog is overweight and could do with losing a few pounds. But B would never say that to A's face. One thing I don't understand. If you are friends, you can tell your friend that it might be better if the dog lost weight, if only for health reasons.

I was seriously convinced that when you leave school or graduate, this kind of thing is a thing of the past and it becomes more pleasant from then on because you have arrived in the adult world. Not so. Fiddlesticks. In fact, it gets worse. I realized this for the first time after my first job after graduation, whereas my student days were free of this. I don't even want to know what people say about me.

And that brings us to the next point of how drama can occur. There are people who deliberately want to misunderstand you; they are completely ignorant and believe they can take "anything" or even anything personal when it comes to their dog, when in fact, if the situation were reversed, they would be the first to freak out.

If you're wondering why I do this to myself, the answer is simple. For my monster. It's like with children. You can't always choose your children's friends. My dog chose her own friends. My dog should play, be happy, and one hour is not the world if the person is otherwise okay. In the last few years I have often said no, because there are people I really can't stand, or some dogs simply have a certain behavior due to bad or no training. You don't have to be friends with people, spend time with them in private, or anything like that. I didn't want a dog to make new friends. I wanted a dog because I wanted a dog. But a lot of people think it's all about making friends.

Important. One thing is very important to say here. Not every person is "bad" or "horrible". There are people I like to meet and have a little chat with. Even if they are people where the dogs can't play together because it just doesn't work, there's no time, or you missed the place where they could play. Not everything is bad. Many things are great and I don't regret a single thing. Not a single minute. I wanted a dog for eleven years and I was allowed to fulfill that wish. The only people who can ruin it for me are idiots who don't keep snappy dogs on a leash. Twice I was lucky that she was "only" bitten and not knocked out. So it's not about the people you're dealing with, it's about you. Your dog and you.

So having a dog can mean that you never know what's going to happen next and it never gets "boring".

So why am I writing this story if this "drama" just annoys me and doesn't interest me at all? That's exactly why it's possible. Or to use another saying: "Nothing is eaten as hot as it is cooked", because life is not a soap opera and behind some things there is nothing hidden or it is just exactly as it seems. Rumors just make things worse or are the reason for new rumors. Everyone knows the game of "hush hush" and that's exactly what it is.

To the question, isn't writing this story itself a blasphemy? I have no idea. Maybe, maybe not. I guess it's just a matter of opinion. It's just for entertainment and of course names and other things are not changed. Nothing was added and everything happened 1:1.

Trigger warning:
➥ Age Gap
➥ Alcohol consumption
➥ Bullying

[I never thought I'd have to make one, but we live in 2024 and it's "required"].

The cover could still change as I'm not 100% happy with it.