Carl has always wanted a dog for his entire life. He preferred a German Shepherd but, even if he got a puny Chihuahua he would be overjoyed. This was convenient because Carl’s twelfth birthday was right around the corner. Every night he hoped and prayed that this would be the birthday where he finally got a dog and not any of those lame presents he got for his previous birthdays. On the morning of his birthday, he woke up before dawn in excitement several times but coaxed himself to fall back asleep until his parents were up. Finally when he opened his eyes and looked at his bed clock for the forth time this morning it read 10:37am and with glee he jumped out of bed to wake his parents.
Just as Carl was about to open his bedroom door, his parent busted out of his closet and shouted “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Carl was mind boggled and finally realized that they had snuck into his room while he was asleep. His eyes franticly searched through his closet and his parents’ arms for a cage or anything small and furry. He was disappointed to only find a small oval package wrapped in newspaper. “Happy Birthday” his parents said again while his mother thrusted the package into Carl’s arms and said “I hope you like your present” with her eyes filled with love. Carl tried to open the package as enthusiastically as he could for his mother and was dumbfounded when he found a football. “That’s it?” he asked “a football? I didn’t want a football. I wanted a dog. I hate this lame gift!” then, Carl threw the football down to the floor with all the might he had and it bounced and landed next to his closet. Forgetting about not trying to hurt his parents’ feelings, he shouted “I hate you!” and stormed out of his room.
He ran as fast as he could out of the house and to the town’s local pet shop, a place that always calmed him down. When he finally got into the store he noticed that it was not the same place. The walls were bare of its usual shelves holding pet food and in the room there only stood a full length mirror and an old man. Thinking that he stepped into the wrong store, as he walked out he heard the old man beckon “Carl, come here”. “Wait,” Carl replied as he walked toward the old man “how do you know my name?” The old man answered “Never mind that, I’ve got something important to show you” Carl knew that he should not talk to strangers but, his curiosity took him over and he stood right next to the old man. “Look in to my mirror” said the old man “and it will show your future”. Carl gazed into the mirror and saw what looked like a younger version of his dad playing professional football. “I don’t understand” Carl stated. “Well,” the old man said “that is you in ten years playing pro football. Don’t you understand? It is because of this football that you got for your birthday that led to your career in the NFL.” Carl stared at him blankly then started laughing. “You geezer! This is probably a trick. This ‘magic’ mirror is probably a TV. You’re a fake and I’m not gonna fall for it”. “Oh. We’ll see who will be laughing later” said the old man as he gave Carl a mighty shove into the mirror.
Carl was caught by surprise to have been back into his bed. His though were all scrambled and he believed that he just had the craziest dream that felt like real life. He looked at his bed clock and it read 10:37am. He realized it was the morning of his birthday and quickly ran down the stairs two at a time. There he found a big box-like shape covered in a table cloth. He whipped the cloth off to find a little puppy sitting in the cage. He opened the cage to welcome an embrace as the little German Shepard leaped into his arms. Carl’s eyes were filled with love and happiness until he felt a sharp pain in his neck. “Ow” he said as he put the puppy down gently and just as he ran to the bathroom to inspect his neck he saw a red, demonic stare in the puppy’s eye. In the bathroom he saw the teeth marks from the dog in a thin jagged line. “Oh” he thought “at least it’s just a nip but what was with that evil stare I got from the dog?”
He ran down the stairs to thank his parents but when he opened the door, he didn’t see his parents he only saw his new dog sitting in a pile of blood and assumed the worst, that the dog ate his parents. Without making any sudden movements, he walked as fast as he could to the door and started to run to the pet shop. Out of breathe, he was finally reached the shop and stood in front of the mirror. The dog caught up and leaped to attack Carl. Without anything else to do, Carl held up his arms to defend himself. Carl opened his eyes and found himself in his bed again. He looked at his bed clock as it read 10:37am. He found this very peculiar as he cautiously got up. The same thing happened as what he thought was his dream and he got a football. But, this time he said “Thanks. You guys are the best!” in hope of fulfilling what the old man had said before. If there was one thing, he was just happy that he didn’t get a dog.