Across the street from me is a group of houses, and on the roof of one of these houses is a pipe and some wires. The wires must be running the electricity to the house and the pipe is, I don’t even know. Laundry room vent? Whatever. The point is, after these houses were built, and I looked across the street, the angle and configuration made it look like there’s a dog on one of the roofs. Sitting on my patio, I stared at this thing a ridiculously long time. I stood up and walked down the driveway. It couldn’t possibly be a dog on the roof, but…was it? Well, dear reader, it was an optical illusion. Now, four or five years later, it still looks like a dog.
Recently my sister-in-law was visiting, and she looked across the street and said, “Is that a dog on that roof?!”
It felt most satisfying to have someone else see the same illusion. She laughed when I explained it, though she agreed it still looked like a dog.
Maybe I should’ve argued it was indeed a dog and the neighbors were freaks for keeping a dog on their roof, and we should ruin their lives even if it means burning down the entire neighborhood with you, me, and everything we all love in it.
Under no circumstances should I change my perspective and see it isn’t a dog.
I feel like this is the world we’re in.
Help an author and artist if you can! Subscribe. Share. All those fun things.
Join Patreon or sign up for Paper Octopus. Buy me a coffee!
Thanks for reading!
Marta Bacon 