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Chapter One
"A Day Like Any Other"

Upon waking the old man rolled out of bed, his old bones creaking like the floor on which he now stood. His back pained him as he bent down to retrieve his slippers from under the bed. As he walked to the old, cracked mirror he wiped sleep from his eyes. He looked at himself in the mirror; the face that stared back was a stranger. He was no longer the athletic, brown haired man from his past; his face was haggard, the bags under his eyes had grown from his youth, wrinkles lined his aged face, his light blue eyes stared back at him, the energetic spark he'd known had left his eyes, replaced instead by the wisdom he had learned through the hardships of life.

As he walked to the sink to wash off his face, he shoved aside the dog that was curled up on the small rug in the living room. It truly was a pitiful creature, and, despite the numerous curses he lashed at him daily, the old man loved him. The mangy hair that covered the dog made it seem as though he was going as bald as his master, and in spite of the various curses and beatings given to him by his master, the dog's tail wagged as he passed. It was the kind of endearing love a child would give to a parent, and being that the old man never had children, this was fitting.

They lived a simple life; every day was not much different from the rest. They had grown used to the routine and were content with it, though the plodding pace of the day often angered the man. While the old man washed his face and brushed whatever teeth he had left, the dog got up from his lazy spot on the floor and stretched and shook his head so that the jingling of his collar could be heard.

The old man walked to the refrigerator and took a large gulp from a bottle of milk, he took out some bread for toasting and after it had finished he buttered it and sat down in the single chair at the small table. While he was eating, his dog slunk up to the table and began to whimper. Through a mouthful of food the words the old man spoke could barely be understood, "Wat d'ye want ye mangy mut?" The dog's only response was to look up with a kind of stare that would have melted hearts. "Go lay down and quit bothering me!" The dog knew that it was the only response he would get, so he succumbed to his master's will, and once again curled up on the small rug, giving small whimpers as he walked off.

After breakfast the old man went to the door to pick up his mail. Only one letter was lying on the floor by the door. The old

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