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Inside a brightly lit supermarket toy aisle, Robi lunges after a red bouncy ball, eyes wide and ears perked. Shiny floors and stacked colorful boxes reflect the overhead fluorescent lights.
Robi, a black mutt with white spots, wagged into the busy store with his mom. A bouncy ball rolled past. "Wait!" he barked, chasing. He stopped. Mom was gone.
Under cool fluorescent lights near the bakery, Robi sniffs the wheel of a metal shopping cart, nose twitching. Racks of warm bread and plush toys line the polished floor around him.
Robi's ears drooped. "Think, Robi," he said. "Mom taught a rule: if we get separated, find the big red bench." He sniffed carts, toys, and warm bread smells. He trotted carefully.
In the store's indoor atrium, Robi sits proudly on a big red bench beside a tall leafy plant, tail sweeping the wood slats. Afternoon light streams through skylights, making his tag glint.
He spotted the red bench near a tall plant. "Good job, paws," he whispered, hopping up. He sat, tag jingling, tail sweeping. "I'm waiting, just like Mom said." He listened hard.
Still beside the red bench, Mom kneels under bright ceiling lights, arms wrapped around Robi’s spotted neck while he licks her cheek, tail thumping. Shopping bags and the tall plant frame their joyful reunion.
Footsteps hurried. Mom knelt, hugging his spotted neck tight. Robi licked her cheek. "I stayed by the bench, just like you taught me," he said proudly. His tail thumped. Together, they finished shopping.