Boone's Journey

In the outliers of the Turinth Galaxy, Talia Boone embarks on a tedious, mindless mission to repair outpost communication buoys. Talia likes her solo expeditions - no micromanagement, no small talk, and no one to share her hidden stash of vodka. But when the mission goes awry and her cruiser malfunctions, isolation can have deadly consequences.On a lonely dark road in Ireland, drenched and cold from the lashing rain, Nan, a tough Irish grandmother and Jack her companion search frantically for their old dog who has mysteriously disappeared from the back of their campervan on their way to the Airport. Panic grips a tearful Jack like a coiled snake around her throat and she makes a disastrous decision that drives them into a deep ditch hindering their search even further.A dramatic search continues for Bendog in the following weeks, involving neighbours, radio appeals, local adverts and false leads. The family are devastated as no-one has seen nor heard of him.They do not give up hope and leave an outside light on, just in case.3 months later during a family holiday in Spain, out of the blue a stray dog approaches the family as they are leaving for the beach. She is the image of Bendog, although smaller and much younger. The children, Matt 10 years old and his sister Lucy 8 years old are delighted and comforted by the resemblance to their old Bendog. Lucy believes she can ‘talk dog’ and begins speaking secret messages into the little dog’s ears.They return from their days outing to find an awesome discovery of lost treasure sitting outside their gate. Great jubilations are abundant as Lucy’s resolve of being able to ‘talk dog’ gather momentum and are ushered quickly into the garden to meet ‘The Nan’ before falling foul to rotten tomatoes etc. hurtling through the warm air from retired neighbors as they cling to their precious siesta time.A plan is hatched to take our new arrival around the neighbourhood in case she is recognised and reunited with her owner. We drop into the local bar for refreshments and pass the perky peacocks on our route home. Lucy is delighted that no-one has recognised her and we decide to take her to the vets to see if she is micro chipped, which may lead to an address. Information is obtained from the vet and much to the dismay of Lucy an address is located.Meantime to help cheer Lucy up Nan dresses the dog and Lucy in Spanish costumes and the little furry sweetheart sports a Sombrero. As we parade around the village square, all Spanish eyes smiling as we walk by.We are just about to leave when we are approached by two boys who tell Nan and I that they know who owns the dog. Lucy, upset at this news insists that we all follow the boys to their friends address, just in case they have wanted the cute pup for themselves.But, it's true,she really does have a home and we are greeted by the boys’ mother and two sets of twin toddler’s. The mother explains that she can’t manage the dog and all the children and amazingly offers ‘Milly’ to us to look after. Lucy is ecstatic and delighted and re-names her ‘Millylilly’.Unfortunately their is just one snag. The mother is not sure the father will agree to letting Milly-Lilly go? And she won’t have a definite answer until after the weekend. We agree to return first thing Monday to find out and Lucy whispers into Millylilly’s ears another secret message before jumping back into the campervan.At 9am on the Monday morning we roooooorrrred up to the door to find the mother, stern faced waiting on the step, and no sign of Milly. Our hearts plummeted and Lucy’s tears started to fall down her face. But…just then the door opened slightly and out ran Millylilly up into the arms of Lucy, followed by the elder boy carrying her bed and a large bag of food.“But how will we take her back to England?” asked Matt’“No problem, replied Nan, we'll bring her back in the campervan all the way through Europe”.But then, that’s another story.