“Mother! Where’s Bean? I cannot find him anywhere! Where is he? If anything happens to him I will not know what to do anymore. If he is gone...no, this cannot be!” Harriet vehemently screamed between her sobs as her voice rang throughout the house. 
         Harriet’s mother came running down the staircase, knocking down a vase along the way. “Harriet! Darling, Bean should be in his bed at this time, or even in the basement. You should know, more than anyone, that he was born a very active dog - always wandering everywhere since his birth. It is simply one of his many propensities. He is probably trying to reach the bag of beef bones on the shelf downstairs right now. Do not fret about it too much, honey.”
        “Mother! He is not there! I searched the whole house.” While the young girl continued to weep in melancholy, her parent made her way to the kitchen. After fifteen minutes, Harriet was presented with an attempted palliation for her heartbreak: her favorite blueberry pie. Silently neglecting the dessert on a nearby table, she crawled into her mom’s lap instead. And there she sat, not saying a word, eventually drifting off into a deep sleep.
         The sound of morning robins echoed the streets of Bransbary Road. “Bean! Bean! Where are you?  Come on! Come out already!” Harriet’s calls could be heard across the whole town. She seemed to be conducting a reconnaissance in the middle of the street, not missing anything when doing so. Harriet was anything but successful.
         Suddenly, one door on her left swung open. An apoplectic tone of an old woman advanced rudely. “What do you think you are doing, miss? Will you quiet down already? In case you do not know, it is an interdict to go around disturbing other people’s peace in Bradsberry. You have been shouting with that terrible voice of yours for thirty minutes, for gods’ sakes! No one cares about what ever you are talking about! Just keep your mouth shut.” The door slammed closed immediately after. Harriet evidently took umbrage to the cruel remarks of her neighbor, trembling and muttering as she walked to the shore of Bradsberry Beach. Watching the calm waves, which began to slowly undulate against the rocks, she reminisced about all of her good memories with Bean. Harriet stayed there for a long time, the sun setting down in the distance.
        Dinner with her mother was awfully quiet that day. The subtle sounds of tableware were the only noises made at one point. The firm voice of Harriet’s mom could be heard after forty-five minutes of complete silence. “Young lady. Where were you today? I was worried sick. You left so early in the morning, and arrived past the regular suppertime. I think I deserve an explanation.”

         Harriet, knowing that her mother valued the concept of rectitude, decided to be open and honest about her reasoning behind her actions. Truthful words came out of her mouth in a matter of seconds, but not without a few tears. “Dear mother, you know I am really troubled with the problem of Bean missing. Please try to see everything in my point of view. He was my only best friend. And I merely went out for a walk, only to be yelled at by Mrs. Ferica. I was feeling overcome with anger and sadness, so I sat by the ocean for hours. There, I kept thinking about the countless experiences I had with Bean.”
        “Since when did you become so articulate? What happened to the Harriet who used to talk so much nonsense? You are growing up each day, aren’t you?” Her mother paused and sighed, smiling slightly. “I understand, honey. I understand. How about we both try to retrieve him tomorrow? I will contact our neighborhood to see if Bean is at somebody’s house. It will be alright.”
         Harriet warily nodded, and her gaze fell to her dessert: a freshly baked blueberry pie. Her favorite.