Once you got a dog, you will shout at it. It should be Dog’s Law, or something. I’m on my bike, and then Peanut suddenly runs across in front of me. I brake hard to avoid him getting hit. When I finally stop and see skid marks behind me, Peanut looks at me like nothing has happened and he sits. I shout at him. And he looks like I’m talking about the weather until I lightly bump him. Then he looks like he’s sitting on a fire.

I don’t know, but every time I find Peanut upstairs (he’s not supposed to be there), every time I catch him peeing in the house, I think Peanut is a bit annoying. You get a dog, he’s supposed to care for you, to love you, to sleep with you, but I’m afraid of him coming upstairs, let alone on my bed, because he might pee somewhere.

Well, today when my dad and I were going bike riding, my mom called for us. She asked us for Peanut. She said she would hold on to him for us. It felt really awkward handing Peanut’s leash over.

Well, as we rode down the street, I felt kind of weird to be riding without Peanut.

So as we turned the street, it felt strange. Usually Peanut would slow down, and I would have to pull at his leash, or he’d cross in front of my bike and be slow. But today, there was none of that. That’s because Peanut was nowhere near me.

I was free. But it felt funny. Not funny as in joke, funny as in strange. I didn’t have to hold onto Peanut. I didn’t have to swerve to avoid Peanut. I didn’t have to pull Peanut and tell him to go faster.

So as I turned onto my favorite trail lighted by the low sun under some trees, my dad mentioned the same thing.

Where I was riding now, having crossed the street, I listened to the pitter-patter of the empty nut shells on the ground. But usually, I would also hear Peanut, slowly coming along, lazy.

Yet now, I thought as I turned around and faced the huge moon, it felt strange not to have Peanut near. Now, instead of thinking about Peanut annoying me, I was wondering about if it would be nice for him to be with me, sitting there, enjoying the huge moon on the Chinese Moon Day together.

In the end, I rode home chattering with my dad. When we got home, Peanut was waiting.

I scratched his stomach and then patted him on the head. “Good to have you back,” I told him.

We were a family, and no matter how evil he was, no matter how many times he was bad, I would still love him. Because, again, he’s our family now.