My Two Writing Teachers colleagues and I are hosting the 14th Annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge, in which teachers from around the world participate in posting a story per day.

It was 2am. A full moon was illuminating our quiet neighborhood in a bluish light. A warm breeze rustled through the branches of trees. Lily, Jackson were each snuggled in their beds. Every member of the household was deep, deep asleep. The whole neighborhood was deep, deep asleep. Not a creature was stirring.

Except Indie.

Indie, our scruffy little thirteen year old dog, awoke from his sleep all of a sudden, and sat up straight.

“Ruff.”

Brinton and I only barely registered this. Indie stood up, turned around in a few circles, and curled back up to try to sleep. But he didn’t fall back asleep.

“Meeeeioo,” he whined. It sounded something a little bit like a cat’s mew. But Brinton and I still didn’t wake up.

“Meeiooo mieooo” he whined some more. Then he stood up, walked across my legs, stepping on them with his pointy paws, and hopped off the bed. He made a soft thump as he landed.

By now I was aware that he was awake but I hoped that if I just stayed asleep he would go back to sleep too.

But he didn’t. “Meeeiooo meeeooo mieooo” he cried, louder, and licked my hands.

I sat up in bed, dizzy with sleep, and sick to my stomach with how tired I was. “Ugggh.. Indie how could you do this to me?” I whispered, as I slipped out of bed and stumbled around in the dark.

Indie followed me down the stairs, and I let him out the kitchen sliding glass door to the back yard, hooking him to a long lead we use at night. He’s deaf in his old age, so he doesn’t hear us and he can’t see us when we call him to come in at night.

The moment Indie was out of the house he barked… and barked…. and barked…. after a few minutes I knew I couldn’t let him stay outside. He was going to wake up the entire neighborhood.

I tiptoed onto the damp deck to give his lead a gentle tug, just enough for him to get the idea to come back to me. He trotted back into the house happily, followed me back upstairs, and waited expectantly for me to lift him back up to the foot of the bed. He turned around in a circle three times, and then settled back in to sleep.

And so the entire cycle began again.