Damn, it’s that stupid dog. I can’t hear the woman’s voice, but I know she’s screaming for it to come back. The storm must have frightened Coco and made the dog take off. I don’t know her, but I’ve heard her screaming the dog’s name every day, even above the noise of the waves. For once that stupid dog needs to listen. As Coco finally slows up and plonks down into the sand, I watch the gorgeous woman stop and try not to scare her dog again. By now the rain is really starting to fall heavily, and I can see her clothes getting wet. My feet start moving towards her, but I can’t rush straight down the sand because it will send the dog running again. This woman is so tiny, and I wonder why someone as small as a pixie chose such a large dog. Her mastiff is almost the same size as her.

Whatever she’s saying must be working, as her hands creep closer with the lead. Coco is lying as flat as she can in the sand, like she’s trying to hide from the storm and doesn’t know how to. I see the look of victory on her face when she attaches the lead to Coco’s collar. I feel like cheering for her, because now she can get back to the safety of her home, before things really break loose.

I’ve got to be honest, I don’t like the look of the clouds forming out over the ocean. As I’ve stopped just at the edge of the sand dunes, she still hasn’t noticed me, so I wait to watch her make her way back up the beach. But the harder she tries to get Coco to get up and move, the more the damn dog is determined to keep lying as flat as she can to the sand.

Trying to drag the dog is not working. The weight ratio means that she’s got no chance. That’s when I know it’s time to step in and help. Racing towards her across the sand, I almost laugh at her trying to lift Coco up to carry her. If she weren’t in so much danger, then it would almost be comical.

“Coco, please, baby, we need to go. I’m so scared of the storm, but I can’t leave you.” Her voice sounds petrified as I come up beside her while she is trying to lift her dog.

The howl of the wind is getting louder, but her voice is clear as anything.

“Let me help you,” I shout, trying to be heard above the storm. Not meaning to, I’ve frightened her even more. Her sole focus on Coco means she didn’t see me running to her.