Mitzy the dog knew how to moon-walk, it was her only claim to fame. She spent a few years touring the networks until no one cared anymore. It was as simple as that- one day you’re a star, the next, you’re lost among thousands of other kitchy animal videos on Youtube. The kids in the neighborhood used to stop and call others over to watch her float backward like the King of Pop, now they just ignore her. But this story isn’t really about Mitzy; no, it’s about Hellen, the house wife who lived next door.

Mitzy never took the time to get to know her because Hellen never reacted with any interest when she danced. This particular day, Mitzy lay in the windowsill watching the world work. She easily fit up there because as a miniature schnauzer she only weighed fifteen pounds. Licking her white coat, she looked up and saw a crew from the furniture store delivering a huge mirror to Mr Gardner’s residence across the street. Much more interesting was the reflection of Hellen next door. From the reflection of the mirror, through the window into Hellen’s house, Mitzy saw her raise what looked like a pistol and then there was a flash! Jumping to the back of the chair, down the cushion, running out the doggie door, into the backyard she raced to the privacy fence and began to dig. Once on the other side, she surveyed the scene. This was a graveyard; wooden headstones in neat rows with plants marked the graves. Hellen MUST be evil, she concluded, and had to be stopped! Sprinting toward the walk-out basement door, her mind spun faster than her legs. It was barely ajar and she burst through, looking around. Several dirty wooden tables lined the walls; they were covered in weapons both shiny and rusty. What could Hellen be?! A serial killer? Alien? What was that silent flash? A ray gun shooting lightning? How could she have been a neighbor for so long and Mitzy never know about all this? Did her husband know?! The door at the top of the stairs was open and she could hear Hellen walking around on the floor above. As silently as she could, she ascended. Peering through the door and into the hall, she heard voices in the other room. Mitzy was sure that this was Hellen’s next victim! Scurrying down the hall to the front room, she took a deep breath to bark out a warning but stopped. Hellen was warmly embracing Mr Gardner.

“You’ve really outdone me this year, Hellen,” he said. On the table against the wall was a tomato plant in an ornate pot with a camera to the left of it. Above, a sign that read: “God Bless this Garden.” Mitzy left before being seen, out the basement, past the headstones marked with the names of vegetables.