ON THE WAY HOME

    "Hurry up, Kevin! Come on, Erin!" Andy called, out of breath.
    Erin and I ran to the barn. We planned to get together there because Father bought some cows on the pervious day.
    Andy, Erin and I are always together, so people called us "the Trio." We had been brought up in the small country town of Bakersfield in California. The world around us seemed marvelous. The hills and endless fields always waved to us, so we hung around all over town and I knew everywhere well. I loved the mountains looming up through the fog in the early morning, the stream, the wildflowers rustling in the breeze, the field waving with golden crops in fall, and above all my kind and almost family-like neighborhood.
    As soon as we got there, Andy pointed inside of the barn. My eyes were popping with surprise. A boy was sleeping on the haystack. I noticed at a glance he was almost frozen because it was very windy and cold outside.
    "Oh, dear! When did he creep in?" Erin cried out.
    "How come is he sleeping here?" Andy whispered to himself.
    All we could do was looking down at him until he woke up. In about ten minutes, the boy  suddenly opened his eyes with a deep sigh and looked up at us blankly. "Where do you come from? Who are you?"
    He jumped out of bed and looked all round with a puzzled look. He buried his face in his hands and started to whimper.
    "What's wrong? You sick?" I looked at him in doubt.
    Boy did nothing but cry for a while.
    "Please don't make me sad," said Erin.
    Sun-beams began to filter through the broken window. He seemed younger than ten. His shabby clothes and the worn-down heels of shoes told how poor he was.
    Suddenly he began to talk with parched lips. "I'm Dave. Do you have some food and water? I 'm hungry. I ate nothing since yesterday morning."
    I could see his lost two front teeth, so he must be only six or seven. I quickly brought some sandwiches and milk from the kitchen and gave them to him. He ate those up fast. After he ate, he began to tell his story with thankkful expression.
    "I live ten blocks away from here. My dad has to make money because my mom got stomach sancer, so he sold some cows to your father. My favorite little cow, Milky, was sold , too. So I followed your father, hiding in his truck. I cried all day long, then I fell asleep by Milky in here. Milky is my best friend. I can't live without her." Dave pointed out a particularly small cow.
    "Please tell your dad that I love Milky." He looked so sad.
    "Don't worry, Dave. I'll tell my dad and he'll give Milky back to you," I said confidently.
    "Sure? Hurray!" Dave's face beamed with delight and he shouted.
    We all came trooping out of the barn to meet Dad, who was coming to the barn to feed cows. When he saw me, he was surprised.
    "Where have you been, Kevin? Mom is looking for you. What's going on?"
    "Daddy, I've something to tell you."
    Then Dad saw Dave. "I've never seen you before. What's your name?"
    Dave looked embarrassed and hesitated to answer.
    "He is Dave, daddy. I wanna talk to you about him." I quikly cut in Dad's conversation.
    "Go ahead, Kevin," said Dad.
    I told Dad about Dave in one breath.
    "But I already paid for cows to his father," said Dad with a troubled look.
    "Mr. Johnson, please help Dave," begged Erin.
    Dad thought silently, and then he told Dave, "Let me see your Milky."
    We went back to the barn.
    "Look at that small cow. That's Milky." Andy said.
    Milky was standing at the corner blinking her eyes. She looked as sad as Dave.
    "Dave, does your father know you are here? He must be worried. Give me your phone number," said Dad.
    On getting Dave's number, Dad called Dave's house and talked to Dave's father for a while. I felt that moment was the longest in my life.
    At last, Dad said, "Okay, Dave.Take your Milky. That's my gift for you. But you should take care of her well. Promise me?"
    Dave leaped for joy and shouted, "Thank you, sir! I promise. Thank you."
    All of us felt happy as if going up to heaven. Dad had never looked that grreat. I was really really proud of my dad.
    Dave waved his hand powerfully to us and went along the street full of smell of cherry blossoms with Milky. I was sure his father must be very proud of his son, Dave. Soon the wind will scatter petals of cherry blossoms all over the street. We stood there and watched Dave until he was out of sight.
(Assignment 1 : Creating a story based on the given picture)