Being an Arizona girl, I can never get enough of the rain.  Since I was the only crazy one apart from my parents to go outside, I removed my shirt and went out to the front yard in a tank top and rolled-up sweatpants and bare feet, allowing the storm to attack me.  Ah, the freshness, the cool wind, the splash of rain on my skin!  And how mesmerized was I by the fantastic bolts of lighting that lit the world! Quickly the curls that I had spent so long on this morning melted into their natural straightness, but what did I care?  It was 10:30 at night!  

  At about eight that morning, Sister Camac came over to drop off Tiko, her family's Chihuahua, since they were leaving for California for the week.  Tiko was not happy.  He just sat in his little dog bed all day, glaring at us.

   So my mom took him outside go to the bathroom, but while she and dad were talking, he suddenly bolted.  We took off after him, both in car and by foot, but he was gone.  Perfect timing, Tiko!  While the night monsoon thrashed!  With flashlights we searched the entire neighborhood and area's around the it, praying in our minds while we squinted desperately in the hope of seeing a little tan thing moving about.  Crap!  We can't lose the Camacs' dog!!  The Camacs are new friends, and we couldn't bear the thought of telling them...  telling them that we...  But of course, Mom called them just so they were aware.  

  ...Let's just say an hour-and-a-half later... Makeup was running down my face, my clothes/hair clung to my skin, my feet were still bare.  It was no longer raining, but that didn't make much more of a difference at this point considering how dark and late it was. Hope seemed almost lost.  Dad and I were in the Mini making one finally loop around the back of the neighborhood, when suddenly Dad slammed on the brakes, rolled down the window, and shouted Tiko's name.  There he was! Relief flooded through me.  But the second the dog saw the him, he bolted.  Dad swung the car around, scaring the dog into a corner.  Then he leapt out of the car and chased him.  Suddenly Tiko tripped.  He cried out, but managed to get back up.  Dad was faster.  This time he got Tiko really cornered.

  I was lingering behind, knowing that the dog didn't really like me.  Dad ordered me to call Mom, and I did, and then I sprinted (still quite barefoot) back to the house to get her.  She called Sister Camac again, this time which much more happy of a tone, as we ran to get Dad.  Funny enough, Tiko refused to let Dad pick him up, but practically leapt into Mom's arms.  Then we walked home and gratefully went to bed.

  Then of course Tiko's leg had to swell up.  Two days ago we took him to the vet, and were horrified to discover that he broke two tiny bones above his wrist so bad, it would cost $3000 to fix him up properly.  Unfortunately but obviously my parents and the Camac parents agreed that that's just too much.  So now Tiko is paying for his actions and has to limp around in a giant little cast that it too long for him.  There's a 50-50 chance he'll heal right.  Poor thing.  But he at least seems happier (in a way) than he was when he first arrived; he adores my mom and even manages to hobble up the stairs to find her and climb in her lap.

  But I'm sure he just can't wait for his family to come home.