Liz

Sam's body swung back and forth and she swung on the swing. The rain outside was falling in little droplets and the sky was gray, matching her mood. A single tear trickled down her cheek, but she let the rain wash away her tears. Her clothes were soaked, her hair wet, and her socks soggy but she couldn't make herself go inside. Because going inside would make her face the reality of it all. Her dog had died. Closing her eyes she started to remember the first day she got her dog, Liz.

Sam was five then. A dog was all she wanted. A dog was all she asked for. A dog is what she was going to get. The sun was shining bright that day. The clouds were big, and white and the world seemed to be celebrating because, she was getting a dog. Her parents, older brother, and her arrived at the pound. She saw many dogs, all of which barked trying to get her attention. Then, Sam saw a cage with a small golden retriever in it. The cage said Liz. Liz was quiet, her head dropped down, and her big eyes watching Sam warily. The owner came up to Sam, "Liz has never had a family. We found her on the streets, and the pound is the only  home she has ever known." Sam knew then that Liz was the dog she wanted. 

Sam opened her eyes, just to see her mom coming out. She knew her mom cared but she didn't want to see her right now. She didn't want to see anyone right now because no one knew Liz like she did. In fact, whenever she was sad, Liz was the one to comfort her, but Liz wasn't there anymore. A fresh new batch of tears started rolling down her cheeks. 

Three weeks later school was starting. No one knew that Liz had died, not even Sam's closest friends, because telling people would be accepting the truth. And she couldn't accept it yet. She didn't know if she would ever be able to do because Liz was her best friend. Liz was her family. Liz meant everything to her. As she stepped into the school building a wave of nostalgia hit her. It had been three months. Long but short. Simple but not. The first day went in saying hello to people, meeting new teachers, and getting schedule's. It was like the first day every year, which was good for Sam because Sam didn't like change. She had already endured a lot of change moved three times to different continents in her 14 years. But, it hadn't mattered because she'd had Liz. Even when making new friends had been hard, Liz had always been there for her. And even when she had made new friends, but school or something else became hard, Liz was there for her. Many people didn't understand. Maybe because they had never had a pet so they didn't understand how important Liz was to Sam, but Liz was Sam's whole world. Sam loved Liz and Liz loved Sam. It was as simple as that. 

A year later... Sam adjusted a photo of Liz that lay on her dresser as she packed up her school supplies for school. There was still pain, there would always be pain but at least she felt better now. So, when her mom and dad brought up the subject of a new dog for her birthday, she stayed calm. "Of course" her parents said, "we would never replace Liz, but we thought it might make a nice addition to the family." And Sam, well she thought so too. So, the next day, they went out to the pound to find a dog. 

As she rode to the pound, Sam thought about the year she had had without Liz. For a long time after Liz died it was hard not to think of her. Not to think of all the times they had had together. Always good times, never bad.  To think of all the memories that still put a smile on her face. That would always put a smile on her face. As Sam settled down in her seat, she remembered one of memory of her and Liz on her seventh birthday.

When Sam was seven she liked princesses, but she loved queens. Sam decided that she wanted to have a queen themed birthday party. She remembered making invitations and sending them out to every girl in her class. On the day of the party, she could barely contain her excitement. As every girl entered the party, they put on a dress fit for a queen and sat down to dine and have tea just as Sam imagined a queen would. The room was decorated with many queens that Sam admired and even though she would never admit it, Sam secretly hoped to put up a picture of herself on the wall and imagine people saying, "Queen Sam, well, she's my favorite queen." Everything was going perfectly until one of the girls in Sam's class exclaimed, "this party's no fun! Is anybody actually enjoying themselves?" Sam just frowned at the girl, but after that, all the other girls in their class acted like they were not having fun. The smiles and laughter that had filled the air disappeared, and so did Sam's hopes for the day. When everyone left Sam starting crying. It is not like having a bad party was the worst thing in the world, it's just that she had such high hopes, that everything would go well. Though as she sat crying, Liz nudged her. "What Liz?" she said. She then saw that Liz had managed to get on of the dresses on her. And that afternoon, they had their own queen themed parties. It didn't matter to Sam that everyone else didn't want to celebrate her party with her. Her best friend did, and that was what mattered. 

So, when Sam got to the pound she looked for a dog who would care for her. She looked for a dog who would stand by her. But mostly, she looked for a dog who would be her best friend.