Cameron tried to stop the yawn that was trying to escape, but was unsuccessful. Maybe he really should go to bed. He rubbed some of the tiredness out of his eyes and looked through his telescope once more. The moon was so much more amazing when he could clearly see the craters through the telescope.
With a sigh, he moved the telescope from the moon and prepared to put it away. But what was that? Something just streaked across his vision. Focusing the telescope once again, he found a meteor that was making its way across the sky. Most people would call it a shooting star, but Cameron knew what it really was. He knew that wishing on a shooting star wouldn’t do anything, but he always had a wish ready anyway.
Closing his eyes tightly, he whispered his usual wish. “I wish I had a dog.” He’d wanted a dog for a long time, but his parents didn’t. One day, he would convince them to let him get a dog, but he was only ten, and he didn't really have a lot of bargaining power. Oh, well. He might as well just go to sleep. Throwing himself onto his bed, he was asleep within minutes.
The next day, Cameron was out weeding in the garden. It was one of his weekly chores, but he didn’t enjoy it. They didn’t have a huge garden, but it was big enough to have to spend an hour pulling up weeds. He tried to focus and get things done as quickly as possible. He was by the green beans when he heard the whine.
Snapping his head up, he tried to figure out where it came from when he heard it again. Over by the fence was a small, gray ball of fur. Cameron ran over to investigate. He gasped when he realized the little ball of fur was a puppy. As he admired its soft coat, it turned its head and stared right at him. It immediately tried to dart away, but it tripped and fell.
“It’s okay,” Cameron called softly. Kneeling next to the puppy, he saw that it had a rope wrapped around its neck. The poor thing had tripped right over it. Slowly, Cameron reached out a hand and untangled the rope. The dog eyed him warily but didn’t move. As soon as his hand touched the puppy’s back, he felt the little body relax. Carefully, he picked it up and held it close. He could feel the puppy’s heartbeat against his own chest and knew that if he was ever going to get a dog, it would have to be this one. There was no way he was going to let it go.
“Hey, Cameron! What are you doing over here?” Dad had come to see what was going on.
Cameron looked up at his dad with hopeful eyes. “Can I keep him, Dad, please?”
Dad leaned down to look at the pup. “Well, we’ll have to see if he belongs to anyone.” He reached out a hand to pat it. “He’s pretty cute, isn’t he?”
Hope swelled inside of Cameron. Cradling the pup in his arms, he looked into its eyes and saw the puppy staring back up at him. Maybe wishing on a passing meteor had been a good idea after all.
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