The Bright Side of Going Dark

by Kelly Harms

“The truth is,” I say, “my dog recently died. I’m just very bad at talking about that.” So bad, I mentally add, that this is the first time I’ve done it in a very long time. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry,” says Dewey. “Do you miss him all the time?” he asks. “All the time,” I admit, praying I won’t cry in the face of Dewey’s kindness. “He was my best friend. I tried to replace him with a guy, but look how that turned out.”