Last night the back door was opened for Liquorice, our little black puppy, when she stood before it waiting to go outside. She has taught us that it is wiser to heed her desires than to clean up the consequences! <vbg> Like a good Newf, the only kind there is <g>, Liquorice wandered around the lawn, in the light from the back verandah, for a few minutes in search of the ideal spot to do what a girl has to do. Her task completed to her satisfaction, our little perfectionist, sat down a short distance from our house, peering through the blackness down the hill, past our shadows, towards the light s of a neighbor’s house a half mile away. As I knelt beside Liquorice I quietly told our baby Newf (as though she could understand <vbg>), about how these neighbors, like her, had only recently moved into their home, that they were a young couple with three pre-school age children. Her interest was still elsewhere as I told her of the previous owners and all the dogs they had. Having chased a mosquito, I brought my arm back to continue stroking her side when her head moved to the shadow of my hand, then darted back as she saw the shadow of her profile move. It was those shadows stretching out before her that had aroused her curiosity. What were these dark, ghostlike shapes, lacking form or substance, lying on the ground before her?
Liquorice watched, totally engrossed, as the shadow from my hand played around in circular motions and in straight lines, receding into the darkness, then reappearing again from the gloom. I caused it to move in an arc toward where she was seated. Liquorice started to stand but quickly settled, leaning on me once more as my hand gently stroked her side. She seemed to draw comfort as she watched in wonderment as this agile shadow slowly caressed that original larger shadow.
She shared that original shadow’s feelings as she too was silently caressed on the back lawn.
Arthur Witten
Liquorice