Molly fell for Neil the moment she first saw him. She didn’t think he was especially handsome, nor did she think he was very interesting or even slightly funny. No, Molly saw something else in Neil, she saw it standing in line at the gas station down the road. Molly was third in line, Neil was just in front of her. In line ahead of both of them was a busy mother, baby over one shoulder and the other arm full of things that most people would buy at a grocery store. Molly had no way of knowing what faces the darkly dressed man in front of her was making, however, she did know that the baby looking over a shoulder was enjoying the show. The baby would smile and giggle as babies did. Molly watched the show, her two ice cream sandwiches slowly melting in her hand. After a moment the baby’s mother turned to see the man who she had been thankful was entertaining her daughter. She however, did not approve of what she saw when she turned around. The grimace was quickly followed by a swift departure from the store.

“Evening, Danny.”
“I see it is the usual, Neil.”

Molly looked down at Neil’s “usual,” two bottles, one frappucino, the other pain pills. After paying for her ice cream sandwiches, Molly wandered out the door, it wasn’t a long walk to her apartment. Normally she would enjoy her ice cream and the cool fall walk home, but this time she was distracted by something she saw in the parking lot. Mr. “Baby Entertainer/coffee and aspirin are my usual” was talking to a cat that was following him to the road. She could not resist the chance to talk to such a man who could entertain babies and talk to cats.

“I have never seen a cat follow someone like a dog would”
Neil replied before turning around, “It isn’t my cat.”

Neil turned around to see a very attractive woman about his age. Not being used to attractive women talking to him, he did the only thing he knew to do. Neil introduced himself, the dark haired pale faced woman introduced herself in return. Her name was Molly. Molly told him that she was walking home and it turned out that she was walking the same direction as him. Molly and Neil walked together in the cool fall evening. Neil explained that he was telling the cat to go home. Molly was surprised that he had decided the cat’s name was Matthew. Neil tried telling her that he didn’t name the cat, that Matthew was what the cat told him its name was. Molly enjoyed Neil’s company enough to offer him one of her prized ice cream sandwiches. Neil quickly became as fond of Molly as she was of him.

Neil and Molly had a whirlwind romance, at least it was by goth standards. Not long had passed before the two had moved in together, they even got a cat. Neil named the cat; he told Molly the cat wanted to be called Jack. Molly was always amazed at how well Neil related to animals and small kids, sometimes better than he did to other people. Molly didn’t mind, she found it sweet, a sign that he was a good man. Six months had passed and Neil and Molly planned a romantic trip together. They booked a trip to the Ukraine, with plans of touring the Chernobyl site.

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The couple survived the long flight with very little difficulty. Molly would rest her head on Neil’s shoulder and in turn he would sometimes rest his head on top of hers. When they finally landed in Kiev they stayed in hotel in the city. The next morning they set out early on a train ride that would lead them near the site. Unfortunately they suffered from a little bad planning. When they arrived the found out that they should have reserved the tour of the site several weeks in advance. They were not the only ones who thought the deserted city was worth exploring. The couple wandered around the train station for a few minutes while deciding what to do. That is when Neil saw the dog. Neil thought the dog wanted them to follow him. So he pointed towards the dog and told Molly that they should go that way. Molly, who was generally agreeable, was once again agreeable. Neil thought she was so cute when she smiled and giggled as she did.

The couple spent the next hour or so walking through woods that had grown up in the abandoned town. Occasionally they would come across signs of the forgotten civilization. Shortly before reaching the town itself, she asked him how he knew where they were going. Neil smiled and asked her to trust him, which she did. He didn’t want to admit to her that he was just following the dog. A few minutes later they came upon a long empty apartment building. Neil saw the dog point to a door, look back at him and then walk inside. Neil put his hand in Molly’s. She was distracted looking at the abandoned buildings and the lonely playground across the road. Neil pulled her towards the door that he saw the dog wander into.

The couple wandered up a flight of stairs. Neil saw the dog again, he slipped into one of the abandoned units. Molly, following Neil’s lead went into the apartment. The couple was speechless. Thoughts of Goldilocks crossed their minds. The living room looked as if the people who lived there had just left a few minutes ago. The twenty year old newspaper was still on the kitchen table, halfway through being read. Molly wandered off to one of the bedrooms. Neil looked around for the dog he had been following for most of the day. Next to the balcony door he saw a dog food bowl, empty of course. He laughed at himself as he considered the possibility that the dog lived here, impossible as that was. Molly called out for Neil and he followed her into the bedroom. The bed looked freshly made. On the shelves in the room where photographs of the young couple who lived there over 20 years ago.

“They must have been a young couple, the place doesn’t look like they had any kids” said Molly.
“They had a dog though, I saw the bowl next to the balcony door. “
“They seem so much like us, young and in love” she responded.

Neil joined her over by the window. He looked out to see what had captured her attention so. There in the distance was the sarcophagus. It stood in the distance as a monument to loss, to destruction, to remorse. Lead and concrete couldn’t cover the destruction, it was all around them. Lost homes, lost lives and lost loves. Neil put his arm around his lady. They both knew that the couple who lived here were now dead, they had to be. The couple stared into the distance, not needing to talk. They soon decided it was time to leave. When they reached the bottom of the stairs Neil saw the dog again. Molly followed Neil and Neil followed the dog who had brought them there. They were heading back in the general direction from which they came. After walking for a bit, the couple started to get hungry. They had packed some snacks but as they were about to pull them out they smelled food cooking. It didn’t take them long to find the source. It was a small family-run restaurant that must have catered to tourists. They were beckoned in and sat down. No one there spoke any English to answer their questions so they had to resort to pointing at the poorly translated menu to order their dinner.

After eating Neil and Molly began their trip back to the train station. They had lost the desire to spend more than that day near the ghastly abandoned town. Neil caught sight of the dog again who had brought them on this tour so far. The dog quickly led them back to the train station just in time for the last evening train. They walked up to the ticket window to secure their fair. Neil tried to ask the man with a strong accent about the dog who they had followed around all day. The man smiled handing Neil his tickets and in a strong accent said: “He looks after young lovers.” Later on the train Molly asked Neil what he had been talking about with the ticketing agent. Neil told her he was asking about the dog they had been following all day, he wanted to make sure it would be okay. He didn’t want to think it was lost or hungry.

“Dog, what dog are you talking about honey?”

Tags: Baby, Cat, Dog, Frappucino, Ghost Story, Ice Cream