To get to her riding lessons, Malin had to pedal her banana-seat bike up a dirt road. One steep hill usually forced her off the bike.
Malin shoved her bicycle right up that hill. At the top, a huge white dog always lay in the road, fast asleep. Whenever a car came, the driver stopped and honked. The dog rose slowly before ambling off the road.
Sometimes, just for the heck of it, Malin rode her bike in the middle of the road so the cars would have to honk at her, too.
Girl and dog: rebels in the countryside.
Faye Rapoport DesPres is a Best Microfiction 2023 award winner and the author of five books, including “Soul to Soul: Tiny Stories of Hope and Resilience” (Huntsville Independent Press, Dec. 1, 2023).