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JAKE

Jake is grieving the loss of his companion Max, who has passed away. For 15 years they were inseparable, going on walks and hikes together every day. Now, without Max by his side, Jake feels lonely and heavy with sorrow. He can't sleep and looks around the empty room at reminders of their life together, like Max's leash hanging by the door, waiting for their next adventure. Martha, their owner, finds Jake and comforts him, saying she also misses Max dearly and understands Jake's pain, as her heart has a hole that cannot be filled without Max.

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Jo Nablo
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1K views4 pages

JAKE

Jake is grieving the loss of his companion Max, who has passed away. For 15 years they were inseparable, going on walks and hikes together every day. Now, without Max by his side, Jake feels lonely and heavy with sorrow. He can't sleep and looks around the empty room at reminders of their life together, like Max's leash hanging by the door, waiting for their next adventure. Martha, their owner, finds Jake and comforts him, saying she also misses Max dearly and understands Jake's pain, as her heart has a hole that cannot be filled without Max.

Uploaded by

Jo Nablo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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JAKE

by Jim Bartlett
Jake’s eyes snap open, and he quickly turns to the side. But like
his aching heart, the spot where Max always sat on the couch remains
empty. He takes in a long, deep breath – really more of a sigh – and
squeezes his eyes closed, hoping that by slipping into the darkness of a
nap, he will temporarily mask his sorrow. For fifteen years they were
inseparable. Always side by side. The walks on the beach with the
gentle waves calling, the seagulls cawing. All those hikes on the trail
where the trees canopied over like arches, wrapping them in a soft
cool shade on a hot sunny day. Even just a ride to the grocery store for
something Martha may have forgotten, they always went together.
Though he knows that in some ways he should be thankful for
just having their time together – those moments forever etched in his
heart – and that the sickness took Max quickly rather than dragging out
the pain for weeks, maybe even months, he still feels cheated. That
somehow, he is missing years that could have been. Unable to sleep,
he looks around the all too empty room, letting his gaze fall upon the
leash, which still hangs from the peg by the door. It seems to wait
patiently, ever ready for that next big adventure. As his eyes well up,
he realizes for the first time how much his grief weighs, how hard it is
to even rise with such a heaviness inside. It is then he hears a shuffle
from behind and turns to see Martha standing in the doorway, her
shoulder resting against the frame.
“I thought you might be in here,” she says. She looks down at him
for only a moment before her stare drifts to the couch. “I miss him,
too, Jake. More than you’ll ever know.” There’s a faraway melancholy
tone to her voice, but he knows that her heart, like his, has a hole too
big to fill. His head drops and he gives off another long sigh, which
seems to prompt her to come over and kneel down onto the carpet
beside him. She slides a hand under his chin and lifts it up, then tucks
back his long, floppy ears, such that their teary eyes can meet. “I guess
you do know, don’t you, Jake.”
How was your experience in assessing the short story? Were you able
to capture the author’s message? If yes, what was it? If not, what
hindered you to capture the author’s message? Explain your answer

Make a comic strip about the story of Jake. Follow the steps in creating
a comic strip. Then, assess your work using the rubric below.
Steps in Creating a Comic Strip
1. Go back to the story, “Jake”.
2. Identify the sequence of the story that you will use in your comic
strip.
3. Write your ideas for your comic
4. Use basic shapes to draw
5. Add in the speech and lettering
6. Add detail to your cartoon

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