Bad Luck, Twitch

By Rita Antoinette Borg

When Twitch was abandoned, it turned out to be very lucky because Mitch found him. They became inseparable.

Wherever Mitch went, Twitch went. Wherever Twitch went, Mitch went. One day, Mitch hurt his thumb while playing.

“Bad luck, Twitch,” said Mitch. 

But Twitch heard, “Bad Luck Twitch!”

At night, Mitch tiptoed to the bathroom. He didn’t see Twitch and fell.

“Bad Luck, Twitch,” said Mitch.

But Twitch heard, “Bad Luck Twitch!”

Twitch gave Mitch bad luck!

He’d have to leave, that’s all there was to it.

But where could a dog with bad luck go?

With a heavy heart, he gave his boy one last lick.

He ran away into the rainy street, turning the corner towards the park where he found a bench to sleep on.

He awoke rumbling tummy. He headed to a restaurant to beg for food, but the chef threw him a rock.

Later, he dove into the back seat of an opened car door but a dog was already there. Twitch escaped.

Plodding into the forest alone, he saw a cottage that could possibly belong to a witch. A witch? Wait…Witches love black cats. Maybe they’d love black dogs, too!

That’s when the witch magically showed up.

“How lucky! A black dog,” she cackled, “Come. Let’s make soup.”

“Soup?” asked Twitch. “Yummy. I’m starving.”

The witch diced, peeled and scrubbed potatoes, carrots and turnips. She cooked up a storm in her cauldron.

But when Twitch heard the witch whispering to her cat, “We haven’t had Dog Soup for such a long time, Sweetie?”, Twitch yelped and dashed out the door, down a trail and hid in a cave. And what luck, that’s when he heard:

“Twitch!”

He heard it again. “Twitch!” Could it be his boy looking for him? Twitch followed the call, barking loud.

He saw Mitch biking towards him. With a wagging tail, he raced to his boy. Mitch threw his arms open. Twitch jumped into them.

They hugged.

“I took a wrong turn and here you are, what good luck, Twitch!” said Mitch.

Twitch couldn’t believe his ears.  Him?  Good luck? He was with his boy and that surely was the best of luck! Twitch happily licked his face.

“Don’t run away ever again,” said Mitch. “Wherever you go, I go. Wherever I go, you go. What made you run away?”

Twitch had forgotten.

But he remembered the witch might catch them to make her soup. And that would be the worst luck ever. He pulled on Mitch’s leg.

“No use, Twitch, I’m so lost”, Mitch said, looking scared. “I don’t know where home is?”

But Twitch knew where home was. He showed Mitch the way home.

And he’d never leave it again.

As for the witch and Sweetie, they didn’t eat soup for dinner. What bad luck!

- Total nr. of readings: 1,013 Copyright © The author [2020] All Rights Reserved. This story may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author except for personal use.