They visited a friend in the city. She had a pool where they swam to their heart's content. In the afternoon, they attended an alumni party where they met some old acquaintances. They teased her nonstop about her lil boy, who, at the time, was playful and sociable, letting people cuddle him.

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"Can we borrow him for a month?" one of them asked jokingly. "That would be great, so you and your husband would be like a new couple again," bantered another. Their laughter filled the air. There was never a dull moment with them all together. Then one of them suggested a drink was overdue, and everyone agreed. However, their preferred drink wasn't available, so they thought they could buy some from the convenience store a few blocks away. Remembering her little boy had run out of diapers, she went out with two of them after making sure her baby was okay. While returning to the party, she ran into her cousin, Jen, whom she hadn't seen for a long while. Her companions went ahead with the drinks. Jen thought they could take a table at the nearby coffeehouse to catch up a bit. It had been 5 years since they last saw each other. They lost track of time, and it was almost dark when they walked out of the Café. She rushed back to the party, but most people were gone, and her acquaintances were not around either. "My boy, my boy, do you happen to know who brought him home?" she asked Jam, who was about to leave the venue. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice who had him. You could call one of them to ask," Jam sensed she was worried. She rang Ruby. She only had her number. But Ruby said she went home earlier than the group. "You can check with Anne, she was holding your boy when I left. I don't have her phone number, but she lives in the only red house on Gov Pack Rd," Ruby explained. She left, frantically running through the busiest street toward the hilly section. "Excuse me, thank you," she apologized as she squeezed herself through people on the sidewalk. She was worried to the point of crying out loud. She kept on running, wanting to reach the red house by the hill. She stumbled, twisting her ankle, just when she was so close to the roundabout. She wailed in pain. "Hey, Ling, are you okay?" Her hubby's voice. She opened her eyes to see her little boy sleeping peacefully right beside her.

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She was panting, body shaking, as if her fingertips were getting pricked. It was but a nightmare, yet it felt so real. She wouldn't wish her boy to be so friendly, ever!

--- --- ^{*First image created via Gemini Banana 2. The second photo is my own. 15062026/08:35ph*} --- --- https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1019054757287043132/1094311862688043198/iFarmGirl--rc.gif

dog and newspaper boy.