“Um…oh yeah. There it is!” Benjamin led the way, breathing heavily. Clementine leaned in to Roscoe’s ear. “The king really needs to get some sleep.”

A little farther on Benjamin got a boost of energy when he saw a dark tree line stretched left to right ahead of them. He looked far to his right and saw the tall, dark silhouette of the water tower. Its blinking red light flashed as if urging them to continue. “That has to be our road up there!” The excited boy pointed at the trees.

“C’mon!” Roscoe ran on ahead. “Ouch!” He jerked back his head.

“Oh, sorry Roscoe! I forgot about the roads having barbed wire fences along them!” Benjamin said contritely. They crossed the fence and stepped onto the gravel road, into the shadow of the water tower. The blinking red light clicked on and off. Benjamin looked south. “Almost there, guys! I can run if you can!”

The clouds over the new sun began mixing their colors of orange, red, and purple as the three friends ran down the dry, hard road, their legs aching with every step. Benjamin recognized the familiar houses and farms that he always passed when on his bike. A few lights were on in kitchen windows as his neighbors had breakfast. Keep going, Ben!

They were finally down to the last mile, racing along the row of hedge trees he’d walked by so many times with Pugsly. “Almost there, guys!” He smiled through his exhaustion at the sight of his blue newspaper box, beckoning him into the homestretch. They slowed down at the pond along the road with the long driveway. Benjamin looked down at his two friends, tired and saddened, standing next to the fox den.

“Thank you for everything, King Benjamin,” Roscoe said.

“Clementine and I will tell the others everything that happened.”

“Oh! Don’t forget this.” Benjamin pulled the flower from his pocket and the pig took it gently with his teeth.

“Can you come to see us at sunset, Sire? We’ll be honoring Paco’s life.”

Car lights approached from far down the road. “I’ll see you tonight.” He knelt and hugged them, then ran up the long driveway.

Roscoe and Clementine hopped into the fox den, but looked out the opening at Benjamin before he went into his garage and disappeared into the house. They watched the car pull up into the driveway and knew they couldn’t have timed their arrival any closer. Benjamin ran to the front window. Just as he thought, it was his mother.

The orange sun peeked over the hedge trees across the road. Benjamin dashed downstairs into his room, threw his clothes on the floor, and leaped into his bed, almost forgetting how soft and comfortable it was compared to the hard ground–next to a sleeptalking pig! That memory from the campfire in the woods put a tired smile on his face.