Sitting in the large armchair, he leaned forward to run his knotty fingers in the golden retriever’s fur.

At first, the puppy didn’t react, deep asleep in the semi darkness.

Another gentle stroke, waking the furry fellow.

As he gave the next pat, the dog’s hairs started raising along its spine. He could feel the goosebumps forming under his fingertips.

He risked another caress. The puppy growled. Turning his way, the dog started barking angrily.

Lying on the couch, Aurelia put down her book and looked at her pup, after scanning the empty room.

What’s up, buddy? Seeing ghosts again??  

I might just be stubborn, given my past fails, but I am giving a shot at the NYC Midnight Challenge, again. This is a practice for the 100-Word Microfiction challenge starting in two weeks. The prompts for this story were Ghost story / Petting a dog / Dark.