The woods across the street became my sanctuary. I lay down on a blanket and looked up into the mottle of leaves above where the sun flickered through. Jobby lay down with his body against mine, but sometimes he suddenly shot up, his ears keening toward a suspicious sound. I never knew what those sounds were, but he never scampered off for a chase. After a few moments he settled down again, and I fell back into my lazy dreaming. There is nothing like the deep sleep of a dog against your body.
In winter, I turned to my notebook and wrote whatever popped into my mind. I had no one to talk to. On the page I held conversations with myself.
When I started attending Ironwood Catholic High School, I didn’t need to take the bus anymore. I could easily walk there.
As I watched my siblings move o
