Chapter 62
Chapter Sixty-Two
Private Message | EchoZone Internal Chat
From: DeadStrings
Subject: Re: Park
Why do you get to name the dog?
Was there some invisible clause in our correspondence that said the person with the best curated playlists automatically inherits the right to name other people’s future pets? If so, that’s a power move. And an unfair one, considering how your taste could make even a broken toaster feel something.
But seriously—why do you get to name him?
Just because I said I might get a dog doesn’t mean I’ve already handed over naming rights.
That feels like giving away the chorus of a song before you’ve even written the first verse.
Maybe I want to name him something ridiculous.
Something without layers of meaning or melancholic backstory.
Maybe something like “Gary.” Or “Clive.”
You know, a name that sounds fine in your head but turns into a mild crisis when you have to shout it across a park.
Then again, I think I’m getting to know you well. My guess is that you’ll probably name him something with meaning. Something that sounds like an inside joke wrapped in a poem no one else gets. You’d call him “Ballad,” and pretend it’s casual.
But if I do get a dog—and I’m still on the fence—it won’t be because I need something new just for the sake of it.
That would be unfair to the dog and dishonest to myself.
It has to mean something. Companionship, maybe.
Or a reminder that life can still surprise you in small, quiet ways.
Like a goofy Great Dane trotting through a park and making someone think of you.
Also—yes. I’d take a song right now. One of those low-simmer tracks. Gentle but not numb. Like resilience wearing headphones.
You know the kind I mean. You always do.