She will curse me again, I said to myself when I saw her on the same alley that I had to cross. Usually when I see her, I try to avoid her and not pass by her. But today was not to be. I saw it too late. She is always accompanied by a white dog, whose eyes are covered with some kind of rather strange sunglasses. Today, the dog didn’t have those glasses.
In front of them, I reduced the speed of my tricycle as much as I could and got as close as possible to the bushes on the side. But it was not to be. The dog got in front of me and forced me to stop. But when I looked at him more carefully, it seemed to me that he was smiling and I burst out laughing and, without wanting to, I said out loud: Your dog is smiling. The lady, who just a few seconds before, had a mad face, simply laughed and told me that I was the first to notice this.
And then she told me that she often looked at her dog and had the same conviction, but she didn’t want to tell this to anyone, so that they wouldn’t consider her crazy, especially since she spends her days only with the dog, without anyone close to be with her.
I apologized for bothering her every morning when I pass the same alley with my tricycle, and I explained that it is the shortest way to my workplace.
She asked me to forget about it and that from now on she will be happy to meet: her, her smiling dog and me, riding my tricycle.
Southend on Sea, 27th March 2023