Exploring our new cottage that we bought in the heart of the countryside was exciting. It is the first property I have bought on my own. We had not yet moved in and I was measuring for curtains, deciding what colours to paint the rooms and assessing all the repairs and work that needed to be done.
The cottage, although bijou needed a lot of repairs and love to make it a home. It is a peaceful cottage exuding calm. I let Luna investigate the rooms by herself whilst I listed the work.
She followed me closely, padding behind me, sniffing every corner, peering under furniture. The staircase is open and Luna was a little nervous of the space between each step and so didn't follow me upstairs. After whining her protest at being left behind she padded off.
So many hidden storage areas, so many ideas...I was so engrossed in my discoveries that I didn't realise I had been upstairs for over 30 minutes. Downstairs everything was silent. I called to Luna and began searching the rooms - Luna was nowhere to be seen. I called out again...nothing. I began to panic. Where was she? Maybe somehow she had opened a door, or I had left the front door ajar? I ran outside calling and calling her...no sign of her. I scoured my field at the back of my cottage and the wild overgrown "gardens"....still no Luna anywhere. I even ran a short way up the narrow lane. Nothing.
My heart was racing and my mouth felt dry. The cottage is quite remote, and I had lost my best friend on our first day here. I ran back to the cottage, by now I was shaking, I felt so empty as I frantically searched the cottage again, calling. As I stood in the kìchen I noticed a slight movement, a shadow through the frosted glass of the door to the utility room - I called out and cautiously opened the door....there, sitting in a cupboard with the door half closed was Luna with a "I see you don't like it when I disappear too" look on her sweet face.
What a little minx! All I could do was hug and love her precious wriggling happy body. Was she really teaching me a lesson?
