The "Letting Go" Bloghop

Good morning! Today is the day of Kyra Lennon's "Letting Go" bloghop, to celebrate the recent release of her stunning novella, If I Let You Go. It's a very sweet, fun and emotional read - just like everything else I have read from this talented young lady!

Synopsis:

Madison Connor is about to lose it. Her job, that is. For three years, she’s taken care of Dominic Hartley’s five year old daughter, Tilly, but her world is flipped on its head when Dominic tells her his latest promotion is taking him to New York. With Tilly having a meltdown over the move, Madison and Dominic get into a fight that changes the entire nature of their relationship, causing Madison to ask herself a big question. Can she let him go?

So Kyra has organised a cool bloghop whereby our task is to write a flash fiction piece or personal story (500 words maximum) around the theme of letting go. Now, I apologise if my entry feels rushed - despite being signed up since the hop was announced, I somehow didn't have time to write it until 4 o'clock this morning! Never mind, I hope you enjoy it anyway! It also represents a bit of an experiment for me - it's my first stab at MG (I think - the protagonist is 12) and it's in first person. Oh, and it's not a real life story - pure fiction. It's 500 words exactly - here you go...

Everyone told me it wasn’t my fault. Heidi was a big dog – big and strong – and she’d have been quite capable of dragging me along if she wanted to. Not that she did. She loved me taking her for walkies.

It was just something caught her eye in the road. I never found out what, but it must have been something amazing, like a dinosaur bone. The car must have destroyed it like it nearly destroyed Heidi. I can still see the whole thing – most of all in my nightmares, which is why I don’t like going to sleep any more.

One moment she was bouncing along like she always did – our super Chocolate Lab – the next she was in the road in a heap. It looked like she was sleeping except for the blood. A lot happened in that moment – the brakes screeching, the bang when Heidi got hit, the smell of the cars’ tyres burning – but I don’t remember much else until I was at the vets’ with my mum. There were lots of adults around me, definitely, asking me if I was okay, but I didn’t know any of them.

It was three days later when we were sitting in the waiting room. Me and Mum – Dad was at work, as usual. They were doing an operation, but no one would tell me anything else. I just wanted to cuddle Heidi again, and rub her under the chin the way she liked. She must have been missing being together, too. It was Tuesday, but they’d let me stay off school.

We sat in silence until I asked, “Mum? Will Heidi be alright? And I want a proper answer – don’t just say you don’t know.” I looked at her straight in the face, trying to keep the tears down this time. I’d spilled a lot of them in the last few days, more than most twelve-year-old boys, I was sure.

“Callum,” she said. She squeezed my hand tighter and sighed. “It looks like... we’ll have to let her go.”

“Someone else will have to look after her?” I said quickly, though of course I knew that wasn’t what she meant.

Someone came out of the room where Heidi was, did a sort of smile at me, and said he had to speak to Mum. She went into the room with him. The big clock on the wall said it took three minutes. It felt like three hours.

We had the funeral the next day. I had to look away when they put Heidi in the hole. But not just for me. I couldn’t let Jimbo see his mum like that.

That’s what they couldn’t tell me. No one knew Heidi was pregnant until she got hit – and what if they had all died? But they managed to rescue just one. He’s a great puppy. He’s not Heidi, but it feels like she’s still here, a little bit. And one day I’m going to tell him all about her.

What do you think? Don't forget to visit Kyra's blog here for a list of the other marvellous (I'm making an effort not to use "awesome" so much) participants, and give her a follow if you're not already - you won't regret it! You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Below are the links where you can purchase If I Let You Go and read reviews:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Goodreads

Just a quick note - I've got training all week for my new job (my first in four years - yikes!) and I'm out tonight with the family for my stepson's 18th birthday, so it'll probably be tomorrow night before I get to most of the other entries. I can't wait! And best of luck to Kyra for her continued success - she's going places!