Thanks for coming back. I hope you enjoy the end of this short story of hope…

Paula slowly threw her leg over the rail. She looked at the water, it seemed so peaceful. All of the sudden she felt a tug on her other leg. Something was stuck to her pants, it was dark and she was not sure of what it was, but she just continued to feel the tug in the cuff or her pants. She returned the leg back inside. She couldn’t believe her eyes, it was a dog.

Part of the reason why she couldn’t see it well it was because the dog was black. It was a dachshund. She couldn’t believe a dog that small could have cling to her legs strong enough to stop her from jumping. She sat in the ground looking at the dog. She quickly noticedwhen the dog sat in front of her,  that it was a female dog.

“Hey sweetie, why are you out here? It’s so cold” Paula starred patting her head.  She continued to talk to her new found friend. “Did you escape? Or where you thrown out to life like me? “Paula started to cry again. The dog walked to her and started liking her hands that were covering her face.

“I wish you could understand how sad I am. I wish I could tell you all I have gone through. I also wish you would have let me jump; all this pain would finally be over.  I’ve lost everything! I lost my parents, my job, my health, my boyfriend! I don’t have anything left to hold on to” Paula continued telling her story to the little dog as she jumped in her lap and settled herself between Paula’s legs. She started whining as she placed her little head over Paula’s knee. Paula pat her one more time.

Paula’s heart melted to the tenderness of this little animal. She felt so unloved, afraid and sad yet somehow as she sat on the ground, in the cold in the middle of nowhere, she felt at peace. Every time Paula pet the dog, she would wag her tail making Paula smile at the cuteness of this little dog.  Paula finally looked at the tag and it read, “Hope”. There was no phone number, address or an owner’s name in the tag.

“So your name is Hope” Paula said looking at the little dog still cuddled in her lap. She took a deep breath and said, “Ok Hope, I guess you’re right…all I have is you and hope, hope that just like you who appeared to save my life out of the nowhere, things will work out somehow.”  Paula got up from the ground hugging her new best friend, trying to warm her up with her own body with the hopes that after reaching the bottom things couldn’t go anywhere but up.

Sometimes just is the little things that matter the most. When you find yourself hopeless, look around…God is always handing out bits of Hope… Be blessed!