Today, I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 141. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger was “document.” This is our prompt.

Document by John W. Howell © 2026

“So what did they say?”

“I need a document from the doctor.”

“Document? What kind of document?”

“They won’t let me stay there until I get a complete bill of health.”

“You look healthy.”

“I know. The parents are pretty upset.”

“About what?”

“Well, they wanted me to go to camp, as you know.”

“You still can after the doctor’s visit.”

“That’s just it. The doctor can’t see me until next week.”

“So?”

“The camp starts this week.”

“Still, you can go to the next session.”

“That’s true, but the parents had planned to go on a trip while I was away.”

“Can’t they postpone a week?”

“I heard them say something about no refunds on the tickets.”

“Yeah, that does hit hard. You wanna come stay at my house?”

“You’d better ask your parents before the offer.”

“Nah. Here’s how we play it. We’ll go to my house, and I’ll look all excited to have you there.”

“What does that do?”

“My parents will feel sorry for you and let you stay until they can contact your parents. Once they do, hopefully, your parents will let mine know the fix they are in. My parents will offer to keep you. Problem solved.”

“Sounds great. Just one hitch.”

“What’s that?”

“How will they be able to contact my parents?”

“Your collar.”

“Huh?”

“Your phone number is on your collar. Now, let’s go.”

“You are a pal.”