A Creative Writing Assignment

¶ There was no rain that day, but only she knew. That day she was the only one who had gone outside, the only one who had taken a walk, and the only one that had nowhere to be. She was used to being the only one.
¶ It was a beautiful day, and she had it all to herself. There were no peers to laugh at her as she danced among the petals that fell from the trees with an attitude almost as careless as hers. There were no adults to tell her what not to do, to get down from there, to stop walking in their garden. Her father was nowhere to be seen. Best of all, Pheyla hardly alerted herself to her own presence.
¶ There was no rain, only a curious and delightful substance that the wind brought in. Flakes of this opaque material fluttered down from above the trees and painted rainbows across the grass as the summer sun's rays filtered through them. Pheyla's father didn't like glitter for the mess it made, but this, she thought, would not be a problem. The flakes of what seemed to be some sort of plant material could be brushed off easily before going back inside.
¶ She ignored the thought of going indoors, not wanting to burden herself with the idea until absolutely necessary. To distract herself from the thought, (which thought was in itself a distraction though she didn't want to admit it,) she scurried up the nearest tree to see what the park fountain would look like from above.
¶ The sun sparkled off the water's rippling surface and her mind drifted into a more distant land as she gazed off at it. Skipping along scraps of paper coloured more vibrantly than the world others made her live in, she chased the tale of some thread on a giant spool, until she caught it in her hands and was dragged by it through melting paintings. She had just begun to tiptoe along a strand of thread like a tightrope walker when a shocking sound violently split her dream. She fell from the thread in her mind, but fortunately kept her grip in the park tree.
¶ She clutched the branch she was on whilst franticly looking about below for the source of the sound. She feared the worst, and the worst she found. The dog was back.
¶ The girl screamed, "Go away! I'm supposed to be alone!"
¶ A growl came in reply.
¶ "No! Just 'cause you can smell me doesn't give you the right!" She whimpered to herself, "I'm supposed to be alone today."
¶ The dog leapt against the tree, barking and snarling. Its black fur bristled, its yellow teeth snapped and its red eyes glared. There was only one thing about this dog that might have detracted from its terrible appearance, and that was the one thing that only Pheyla had reason to fear. The pink ribbon was still tied around the canine’s bushy tail.
¶ The dog clawed at the tree, climbing up toward the girl. She stood and backed around the tree, hugging the trunk. "Get back wolf!" She tore off one of her green shoes and threw it, striking the beast between the eyes.
¶ While the animal recoiled and hesitated, the girl climbed down the other side of the tree, knowing it wouldn't offer protection from the predator for long. As she ran across the grass with one green shoe and one colourful striped stocking that her father didn't like, the wolf attacked her discarded shoe, shook it, then dropped it and turned its attention back to her.
¶ Her feet could not race as quickly as her heart was, and the creature reached her just as she got to the fountain. She dove in with a splash and scrambled to her feet. In the center of the fountain was a statue, and she clung to it for support as she looked back at the monster waiting at the side of the pool. She panted almost as hard as it was. "I know you..." she gasped, "I know you can't stand water."
¶ The dog stopped glaring at her and tipped its head sideways in a curious expression.
¶ "Just go away. I'm not coming out!" she shouted at the wolf. "There's nobody here to make me come out, and you can't get wet, so there's no point in waiting for me. Just go away!"
¶ The beast grinned and spoke with in a cool voice. "What makes you think I can't stand getting wet?"
¶ The girl glared and splashed water at the animal. "I know you! Go away! Go away!"
¶ The creature did not go away, and so the child stopped splashing and huddled against the statue, shivering slightly. "You're all wet now," she said. "See what happens when you don't do what I say."
¶ "I was already wet."
¶ "No you weren’t!"
¶ "Ah, but I was."
¶ "No you weren't!"
¶ The wolf smiled and climbed onto the edge of the pool, where it sat down and watched the child. "You are wet."
¶ "That's because I'm in the fountain."
¶ "You were already wet."
¶ "No I wasn’t'!"
¶ "Ah..." the dog bore a large grin, revealing its yellow teeth more clearly than when it had growled. "...But you were."
¶ "No I wasn't! Where would I get wet on such a nice day as this?"
¶ "A nice day?"
¶ "Yes! A nice day." The girl moved back to hide behind the statue, more out of shame than fear. "It's not rain. It's some stuff the wind blew in, and it won't make a mess like glitter."
¶ "You know it's rain," her father said.