‘Get here now, Humphrey,’ I hissed, racing after him. The closer I got, the faster he ran. No matter how fast I went I couldn’t grab him or his lead.
‘This is not playtime, Humphrey,’ I said, cursing him, and my sister for not training him.
He ran into the garden of a little cottage and then scooted around the side. ‘Where the hell are you going, Humphrey?’ I yelled, staggering after him in the snow. I entered the cottage’s garden by climbing over the little wall and trudging through deep fresh snow. Once I got around the side of the house I heard a pet door flap. The cheeky dog had gone into someone’s house.
Wiping snow from the window at the top of the door, I peered in and spotted Humphrey looking up at me. He began to bark from inside the house. ‘This is someone’s home, Humphrey.’
It was then something moved in the background behind Humphrey. I gasped. It was the arm of someone who was lying on the floor. ‘Help me, please,’ the person called out.
‘Oh God,’ I gasped, rummaging in my pocket for my phone. I needed to call for help. Upon taking it out and switching it on, I saw that it only had 1% battery left. Before my eyes it died. ‘Damn it.’
The handle to the back door was no use as it was locked. I surveyed the downstairs windows in case one was open, but they were all closed.
Humphrey dived out of the pet flap and started barking again. I wanted to vent my frustration at him but that would waste time. ‘Help me, Humphrey. How do I get inside?’
He ran to the opposite side of the cottage where there was a small garage with a flat roof. I gazed up past the roof. There was an upstairs window open. If I could get on the roof I could get to the window. It was big enough to climb through. My first challenge would be to get up on the roof.
I surveyed the side of the garage and scanned the garden. In the corner was a shed. After racing over to it, I yanked open the door. Inside it was a large wooden crate holding tools. I emptied it and took the crate to the side of the garage. Standing on the crate I was able to haul myself onto the garage roof. I shuffled across praying it would take my weight.
Climbing in through the window was tricky. At one point, I did get stuck. After a lot of wriggling, pulling and telling myself I wasn’t a disappointment, I fell through the window and face-planted a bed. The snow had been blowing inside the window and had made the covers damp, but I was grateful to have got in.
I raced downstairs and into the kitchen to find Humphrey sitting by an old lady who was sprawled on the floor.
‘I was losing hope,’ she mumbled, trying to get up. ‘Your little dog kept going to get help and coming back to sit by me. I should have trusted him.’
‘It’s okay, I’m here now. Are you in pain?’
She moved her head slightly. ‘I can’t move my leg.’
‘Stay where you are. Let me call an ambulance. What’s the address?’
‘White Cottage, Boar Lane.’
I grabbed the handheld phone on the coffee table in the living room and dialled 999.
Once the operator had all the information and we’d established the lady was called Mrs Hall and she was eighty-one, they informed me an ambulance was on its way. They advised me to make sure Mrs Hall didn’t move. I said I would stay with her and make her as comfortable as I could.
I grabbed a woollen throw from the settee and placed it over Mrs Hall. Sitting beside her I held her hand in mine. ‘We’re going to get you sorted, Mrs Hall.’
‘You and your dog are angels,’ she croaked.
I chuckled. ‘Not sure about Humphrey.’ He was lying with his head on my lap gazing at Mrs Hall.
‘He appeared after I’d fallen this morning,’ she explained. ‘He shot through the pet flap and began barking at me.’
‘Really?’
‘It was like he knew I needed help.’
I stared at Humphrey. ‘Maybe you’re an angel, Humphrey.’
‘I had a horrible argument with my daughter last night,’ croaked Mrs Hall. ‘It was on my mind when I came down this morning.’
I covered her hand with my own.
‘We both said some terrible things.’ She let out a little sob and Humphrey whimpered.
‘We all say things we don’t mean in the heat of an argument.’ I thought about the conversation with my mother earlier.
