Page 2 of How to Survive Your Own Death

Wanting to get closer to the water, she carefully picked her way down the steep bank. Thick ivy covered the ground, hiding the uneven terrain. Going slow and moving deliberately, she avoided twisting her ankles.

Being at the water’s edge, only a few feet from the trail, felt like being removed from the modern world.

She crouched low to get a shot of water rushing over the rocks. Gorgeous. Certainly more interesting than her earlier shots.

A man with a large black dog stood on the bank above her, under the shade of the trees. Other than inexplicably wearing a black hoodie in this heat, the guy was nothing remarkable. In fact, he had that sweaty, sickly aura of a haunted Victorian doll. But the dog was breathtaking. Tall. Majestic. Thick fur that moved in the breeze. Alert eyes that tracked her every move. That dog had charisma and she was sure she could capture it on film.

Geri approached, holding her camera in such a way that it was impossible to miss. “Hi. I’m Geri. Can I take a picture of your dog?”

What little color the man had drained away. He was pale as a ghost. “My dog? You can see her?”

Weird response, but okay.

“Yes.” Geri gave a warm smile, the kind she used to put clients at ease.

“Are you a photographer?”

“It’s just a hobby,” she said. “Is she friendly?”

“Not really.”

“What’s her name?”

“Bones.”

The dog looked up as he spoke, head tilted as if she had never heard her name before.

“Hello, Bones. You’re a pretty girl,” she said. She held up her camera again. “She doesn't have to move. She can stay right there and I’ll do all the work.”

The man looked baffled. “Why?”

“I like dogs and my ex was allergic. I’m making up for lost time,” she said. The first thing she did after moving into her apartment was adopt a cat from the shelter.

“You should get a dog.”

“Maybe. I’m not sure my cat would be okay with that. She’s skittish, and it seems cruel to bring a dog into her home.” She didn’t know why she was telling him all this but she couldn’t help herself. “You’ve got to feel safe in your home, right?”

“I agree but I sense there’s something more.” He had a strange accent. Not British but that old-timey fake English accent actors used in historical dramas. If a verily slipped out, she wouldn’t have been surprised.

“Seems like a good idea to have a hobby,” she said, fidgeting with the camera strap. “I took a few classes but I switched majors because the boy I loved was a photographer. An artist, you know, with black and white photos. Really classic stuff, and I was going to have to support us both because everyone knows that artists are starving. Now I do medical billing, which is as boring as it sounds but it pays the bills. Boring can be good, right? It never really bothered me until Patrick cheated, and now I’m stuck worrying that it’s because I’m boring. So here I am trying to be less boring, but not for Patrick. Fuck Patrick. This is a journey of self-discovering and healing.” She covered her mouth in shock. Everything she said was true but she had never told anyone her fears that she drove Patrick to cheating by being humdrum and dull. Not even her sister. “Why am I telling you this?”

“I’ve got one of those faces. People feel they can confide in me.”

He really didn’t. He was pale, had circles under his eyes that could have been lack of sleep or smudged eye makeup. And he was disturbingly thin. Some people were naturally lean but he looked like he hadn’t had a meal in a few days. Honestly, a stiff breeze could knock him over.

“What breed is she?” Geri asked, moving onto a safer topic. Bones had the look and the size of a Great Pyrenees, but black and a bit wolfier.

“A common mutt.”

“Those are the best kind. May I?” She held up the camera again.

“If you insist, but I must warn you that she does not photograph well.”

“That can happen with black coats.” Geri took a test photo. Bones did indeed come out as an indistinct black mass.

She climbed up the embankment to retake the photo when a “There you are, babe!” pulled her attention away.

“What are you doing? I had to walk all this way back to find you.” Jaxon trotted up, barely sweating.