text: I remember the sound of life that was here just a year ago. The hustle and bustle of people living their daily lives, now replaced with an empty silence, save for any wildlife growing in humanity's absence. There isn't much time, I suppose, until Mother Nature reclaims what is hers and life on Earth corrects itself. I've already explored enough of the east coast here in the United States for the past six months. I've seen what all I've wanted to: The Golden Gate Bridge with its empty cars scattered throughout, the **HOLLYWOOD** sign, with the Y folding down and the D tilted. I've visited the abandoned theme parks and malls and various hot spots. The mess left within the wake of the departure of people decorates these very locales. Everywhere I go, it's a solitary mess. That's why I've come back home, I wanted to get back to something familiar. I wanted to go back to what I know. As birds chirp overhead and various other mammals scatter and run around outside, I just turn the knob to my front door to my home. "Hey there, Scruffie. Been a good boy while I was gone?" Ruffling his hair, Scruffie's deep brown eyes look up at me, his tail wagging and his butt shaking. His chin was dripping with water, his bowl half empty, just like his food bowl. "I'm sorry, buddy. I miss having everyone around too. Scruffie's footsteps and panting follows with me as I look at the family photo. My wife, my kids, Scruffie, and myself made quite the appearance. I sat with Scruffie on my lap, Rebecca held Saxton, and Jessica sat in front of us, as we all smiled. Except for Scruffie, his gaze was focused elsewhere. Our names were all on the bottom frame outside the photo: *"Reggie (Dad), Rebecca (Mom),* *~~Dylan~~* *Jessica, Saxton, and our new addition, Scruffie!"* "You were such a cute little pup back then, Scruff." He whined as a response. "Yep, it's not the same without them. I'd do almost anything to go back and revisit these days, old friend. I wish to have Rebecca in my arms again, to see Saxton grow into the athlete he became, or when we all joined Jessica on her journey to self-discovery." Wiping a tear from my eye, and petting Scruffie, I motion him onward with me as we continue on our tour. We pass by the kitchen, where we all spent our many meals. What I wouldn't give to have Rebecca's chicken alfredo again... The living room had all the magazines I last had out scattered around. Some of them dated back to my own childhood, and most of them were video game related. Scruffie's breathing becomes more labored at this point, so I take it upon myself to carry him from room to room. The walls in Saxton's room are adorned with posters of punk rock bands and bikini clad women, as Scruffie and I visit. His dumbells and workout equipment lay littered around. He never did clean up well. Anyone that would have gone into this room without actually knowing him would walk away with the wrong idea. Especially when it came to his movie collection. It was all Disney and Nickelodeon cartoons, and some of those Japanese cartoons, aminos or whatever he called them. I pull one out, the one with a young, blonde ninja boy in loose orange clothing on the cover. "I always told him he'd be even better in track, remember Scruffie? He'd always cringe and go: "Dad, that's so cringe, shut up." My story was responded to with a huff and puff from Scruffie as he lay down. Next trip: Jessica's room. I remember when her room's walls were dark green with superhero posters here and there, kept nice and tidy. She still kept it nice and tidy, but those posters were replaced with ones of pretty women and men. She had an extensive video game collection, most of which were Pokemon and Elder Scrolls games. I know this because she would never stop talking about them, and would never pick up on my sarcasm. I take in all I need to here, and I leave the room, closing the door and laughing at the irony of the sign on her doorway: *"JESSICA'S ROOM! DO NOT ENTER!"* It was written the same way when she was younger and it used to say: *"DYLAN'S ROOM DO NOT ENTER".* Last stop is Rebbecca and I's room. I can almost smell her here with me. Scruffie and I sit on the bed and watch halfway through *Hot Fuzz,* the movie Rebecca and I watched on our first date in... 2007, I think? The movie was at the part where Simon Pegg's character watches someone get murdered when I looked over at Scruffie and saw his eyes were becoming more glazed and his breathing was very slow. I've been dreading this moment. I don't want to be completely alone. The last hour Scruffie and I had together was spent watching the sunset. The purple overlaying the orange in the horizon looked so beautiful as I felt his life leave my arms. I spent that night burying him in his favorite spot in the yard. It's days like these that prove no matter how much I want to stay in the past, the world moves forward regardless.