Each SCWC event features a writing contest in which all conferees are invited to participate. The rules are simple: Write a piece in any form you wish of no more than 250 words based on the topic announced Friday night. The topic for the Sixth Annual SCWC*LA conference was "Stray." Alice Hayward of Los Angeles, CA is the author of SCWC*LA 6 winning entry.
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Ruth had known little happiness. Her parents hadn't been demonstrative, she was invisible as a student, no dates—ever.
A stray dog started to hang around her trailer. Ruth took it in and named it Fionna. Ruth loved the dog as only a woman who
has no children, no husband, and no opportunities could. Ruth didn't go to movies, church, or any place she couldn't take
Fionna.
She stacked two books on a chair so the dog would be able to eat at the table with her. Sitting across from her mistress,
Fionna ate daintily. Dinner conversations were one-sided, but Ruth knew Fionna was interested in her every word. Ruth
bought her own clothes at Goodwill, but Fionna had an extensive wardrobe with a special outfit for each of the holidays
from The Doggie Style Shoppe.
One night when Ruth got home, the dog was gone. Ruth wandered the trailer court and its environs calling, "Fionna, Fionna."
After a night of searching, a frantic Ruth put up fifty lost dog posters. When she returned from putting up the posters,
Ruth thought, I'll call the pound. She went to the phone. Only then did she notice a note on the table. It read:
I KNOW YOU DID YOUR BEST, BUT I WAS BEING
FIONNA
P.S.
DEAR RUTH,
SMOTHERED. I NEED A LIFE OF MY OWN. YOU
NEED A LIFE OF YOUR OWN TOO.
I HATED THE OUTFITS
| Copyright 2008, Alice Hayward. Used with permission. |
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