SOTM – My New Years Eve Almost Ended In Tragedy! – Story Of The Day!

He wasn’t built to be forgotten in the dark.

“Nora,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady, “go. I’m fine. I’m here. I’m being watched. Go get him.”

She hesitated for half a second, torn between staying beside my bed and running back to the one thing we’d accidentally left vulnerable.

Then she kissed my forehead, hard and fast, and left.

She told me later that the drive home felt like a nightmare loop. The roads were slick. Visibility was garbage. Every red light felt personal. Every slow car felt like an insult.

All she could picture was Buster standing at the back door, waiting, confused, wagging his tail because he trusted us to come back. Or worse—Buster wandering through the open gate, nose to the ground, following some scent into the street.

When she pulled into the driveway, she knew before she even got out.

The gate was wide open.

The yard was empty.

Snow coated the patio furniture, the steps, the place where Buster usually curled up for five minutes before scratching to come back in.

Nora called his name into the wind until her voice cracked.

“Buster! Buster, come on, buddy!”

The neighborhood was alive with distant fireworks and muffled laughter, but our yard was silent. The kind of silence that makes your stomach drop.

She turned on her phone flashlight and scanned the fresh snow.