Melony sat hugging her knees on the bench outside her house. Her tears wouldn’t stop. They soaked the ground… more and more… until the water reached her ankles.

A tiny golden fish darted away in fright as the salty stream from the girl’s heart spilled into the pond.

The mother dog paced beside it, gently retrieving the little fish that had fallen out of the pond and placing it back into the water—again and again—before turning her worried eyes to the girl.

Hours passed slowly. Melony fell asleep in her tears, the heavy silence pressing over the house like a weight.

…Then, suddenly, something warm, soft, and damp touched her cheek…

Melony slowly opened her sleepy eyes. She felt something heavy yet soft lying across her chest.

“Hamby!” she whispered, her voice faint but full of joy. The blurry vision cleared as she rubbed her eyes—this wasn’t a dream.

“Hamby, you’re really back!” she squealed, leaping from the bed with such joy she bumped her head on the ceiling.

“Ouch… that hurt!” she said, holding her head. A small bump had formed, but she laughed along with her pudgy friend.

“Where did you go? I thought I’d never see you again…” she whispered, pulling Hamby into a tight hug. Tears brimmed again.

Hamby licked her face non-stop, tail wagging like a tiny broom. Melony laughed again. Warmth returned to her heart.

“Dad? Mom?” Melony carried Hamby downstairs, her heart full of joy, ready to thank her parents—but found the house eerily silent.

—Why is it so quiet?—

As she stepped down, the air felt strange. Suspicion crept in.

While happiness returned…but the silence inside the house was hiding something else.

—Melony was about to find out that not everything… had come back with Hamby.