Something Like Home

After school one day, Laura feels sad and goes for a long walk. She sees many sparrows. Because her dad taught her birdwatching, she’s great at bird identification. The neighborhood doesn’t have many trees for other birds, only trimmed bushes. Laura bets that Silvia would trim her apart, changing her into the ideal niece who would conform to Stonecreek.

As she walks, Laura thinks about how sparrows weren’t originally from the United States. Sparrows were brought here from Europe to eat caterpillars and moths, then unexpectedly stayed.

Laura notices a dog cage with a sign for a free dog. She rushes over to find a puppy inside. She can’t believe someone would abandon the little dog. The puppy seems sick or dying. Laura yells and panics. No one is around to help. Her heart pounds. The sick puppy triggers her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of finding her parents unresponsive—she alone must decide how to help.

Laura carries the male puppy back home. She’s sweating, her heart is pounding and she is shaking. When she returns to the apartment with the puppy, she yells and sobs for her aunt to help.

Silvia scolds Laura about the strange dog at first, but then stops due to Laura’s wailing. Laura sobs about finding her parents unresponsive. She had to call 911. Laura cries about everything being her fault.

Silvia tells Laura to go to her room while she deals with the puppy. Laura plays with her Rubik’s Cube, regretting crying in front of Silvia and comparing the puppy to her parents. Laura worries that Silvia will change her mind about fostering her now.

To Laura’s surprise, Silvia isn’t mad. She wants to take the puppy to the vet with Laura. The dog is dehydrated. Silvia surprises Laura with her kindness and empathy. Laura made the right choice by saving the puppy.

The next hours are a blur. Laura and Silvia bring the puppy to the vet; he stays there overnight to recover.

Laura’s parents always said they could never afford a dog. She fears she may be betraying them, but she had to help the sick puppy. Laura feels a connection with the puppy; they were both abandoned.

Laura is allowed to adopt the puppy. Days go by with her mind always on the puppy. He makes her feel comforted; he sleeps with her each night. When the puppy is around, Laura feels less lonely. She reminds herself that even the puppy is temporary. This is not her life. The puppy is her aunt’s, not hers.

Laura worries that her parents won’t understand why she called 911. Like with the puppy, she thought they were dying. She wishes she could talk to them or visit them and find closure.

Silvia and the puppy tolerate each other, but they aren’t close friends. Silvia doesn’t like his puppy smell, the way he spills water when he drinks, or that he eats her shoes. Laura defends the puppy in her head. He’s young and learning.

Laura empathizes with the puppy. She also doesn’t get along with Silvia. Laura thinks her aunt could be more loving.

Laura calls the puppy Dog for a while, but she finally thinks of his name: Sparrow. The sparrows weren’t meant to stay in the US, and Sparrow isn’t meant to stay with her, either. The fitting name will remind Laura that when she leaves to be with her parents, the dog sadly won’t be coming along. Her parents won’t allow her to have a pet.

Sparrow has a unique personality. He loves to lick and only stares when Silvia yells at him. He’s scared of almost everything—from mailboxes to loud birds. Laura knows Sparrow very well, but not her aunt. She’s never had to try so hard to understand someone and their rules.

In her trailer, Laura’s room was a mixture of secondhand furniture, free items, and inexpensive decorations. Her parents made a fun game out of finding the best cheap things. She misses her old room and life, though Silvia and Janet wouldn’t understand.

Silvia takes Laura to IKEA, where she picks out a bed. Unlike Silvia, Laura doesn’t value shopping and new material goods. Silvia tells her she shouldn’t use the guest furniture anymore and deserves her own things. Laura thinks she is a guest though. The new furniture and decor they buy won’t make her apartment a home or fix their strained relationship.

Laura asks if Silvia will take her to visit her parents. Silvia can’t do anything without asking her caseworker Janet first. Janet will come over tomorrow for their first monthly home visit.

Laura persists about seeing her parents in rehab if Janet agrees, adding that she knows Mom and Silvia were never close. Silvia promises, despite her past with her sister, that she will be loyal to Laura.

At school, Laura is distracted. She can’t stop thinking about Janet’s visit. Her teacher and classmates ask her to stop fidgeting and focus. Still, Laura can’t concentrate. Janet can give her important information about her parents.

Laura enjoys the graphic novel about a girl her age. Benson sits next to her again. He’s persistent, always attempting to talk. Laura gives in, and they discuss her old school. In comparison, Riverview makes her feel tiny and invisible. Benson listens, then agrees with her. Laura can tell he’s genuine and maybe doesn’t have the easiest life either.

Laura asks Benson about eating and hanging out in the library with her when he could be playing ball outside. Benson admits that he has a chronic illness. He was sick often last year, and his friends bailed on him. They were tired of catching him up and missing him.

After school, Laura continues to think about Benson, his health, and his past friends. She’s saddened they devalued Benson due to his health condition. Laura vows to be patient like the blue heron, staying loyal to Benson and waiting for her parents to return her letters and come back in person.

When Laura gets out of the shower, Sparrow jumps up to lick water from her hair. Laura laughs at the silly dog. She’s still nervous about Janet visiting soon, but Sparrow makes the hard times much better.

Janet asks Laura many questions. Though she tries to be patient, Laura gets annoyed with Janet’s inquiries; she’s supposed to update her about her parents. Laura asks about visiting Mom and Dad, but Janet says she would be a “distraction” and “complication” to her parents’ recovery. Laura disagrees but can’t respond before Janet pats her head and instructs her to keep writing letters. The adults send Laura to her room so they can speak in private.

In her room, Laura is upset that the adults are talking about her. She checks the internet for Harmonic Way again. On their website, Harmonic Way shows pictures of therapy dogs with rehab patients. Laura gets the idea to turn Sparrow into a therapy dog, thinking he will be her ticket to visiting her parents.

Laura watches videos about therapy dogs. She learns that they are well-behaved dogs who are kind to people and animals. The dogs visit people at schools, hospitals, libraries, and other places.

Laura feels confident she can teach Sparrow to become a certified therapy dog. Then, they can visit her parents together.

Laura practices the sit command with Sparrow. She has to push his butt down at first, but the puppy learns quickly. With Laura’s instructions and the help of treats, he learns to sit.

They show off the sit trick for Silvia, who high-fives Laura. Everyone is happy about Sparrow’s progress.

Laura continues to teach Sparrow. He’s almost fully potty trained, but sometimes he gets excited and pees a little inside. Whenever Sparrow makes a mistake, Silvia is furious. Laura believes Silvia never had kids due to the stress and pressure. She also wonders if Silvia regrets fostering Laura and Sparrow.

After two weeks at school, Laura attends extra reading classes. She works with Mrs. M., a reading specialist, for 20 minutes a day. Laura has never passed her reading exams, but Mrs. M. is kind and supportive. Mrs. M. suggests she reads to Sparrow. Laura likes the idea. She thinks if her parents see Sparrow as a therapy dog and a reading helper for her, they will let her keep him.

Laura checks out a dog training book from the library, but she has trouble reading it. She doesn’t want to ask any adults at school for help because she’s paranoid they’ll share her plans. Ever since social services intervened in her life, Laura doesn’t trust adults.

Instead of reading, she watches many training videos on YouTube. Laura finds plenty of resources without having to read.

Benson finds Laura in the library. He spots her YouTube videos and recommends dog training on TikTok. Laura shares that her aunt would never let her be on social media, or have a phone. She’s surprised to be so talkative with him. Benson suggests she ask her aunt if they can hangout one weekend so he can show Laura his dog’s many tricks.

Laura writes to Mom and Dad before they respond to her first letter. She worries the first letter may have gotten lost. She tells them about Sparrow, including saving his life and knowing he is temporary. Laura explains she has a “surprise” plan with Sparrow to see them. She mentions Benson as her closest friend, then signs off with love.